Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/31/09

Yesterday I took Cherilyn and the children to the Greensboro airport as they departed to spend a week in sunny Florida visiting family.  Believe it or not, I actually enjoy spending time in airports (as long as I'm not delayed).  Airports, perhaps more than any other location, contain the most diverse grouping of people in one place.  From all colors, nationalities, languages, faiths, you name it - you can see 'em all hurrying with their carry ons to their concourse. 

I was one of many saying goodbye to travelers.  Hugs and kisses and 'call me when you land' could be seen and heard in many languages.  Sitting in the airport, or while on the plane, I've often wondered where my travel mates are going.  What's their story?  Who (or what) will meet them when they land?  We all in transition together.

My seminary, Candler School of Theology at Emory University, had a very unique chapel.  It wasn't designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but it looks like something he might have done and in fact, I believe parts were inspired by his design of Unity Temple in Illinois.  The first day I walked in the chapel I didn't like it.  It was too modern for me - too abstract.  It looked like a bus station inside.

Come to find out, that was exactly the point.  It was designed to look like a train station.  Parts of the chapel, including the altar, had places where you could see right through.  Parts were not finished.  The chapel was the perfect place for seminarians.  Women and men completely in transition.  We were not were we began and we were not yet at our destination.  We were travelers. 

Think about this the next time you walk in St Timothy's (or any church).  When you sit in the pews, remember that you are sitting in the nave.  We believe the word nave comes from the Latin, navis, for ship.  Look up.  See the ceiling?  Looks like hull of a ship, doesn't it?  Again, that's the point.  We are travelers.  We are not were we started and we have yet to arrive at our destination but we are always moving.  And with God's help, we are moving together.

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3.27.09

From the Inspiration Department, here's a story I saw on the news this morning.  Makes you wonder what our excuse is, doesn't it?

From the Associated Press.

ST. LOUIS - Arizona State sophomore Anthony Robles has lost in the semifinals of the NCAA wrestling tournament.

Born with one leg, the No. 12 seed at 125 pounds made it to the semifinals of the NCAA wrestling tournament Saturday before losing to unbeaten top seed Paul Donahoe of Edinboro. Donahoe (35-0) prevailed 5-2 in a mostly defensive match.

Robles (28-7) tied it at 1 with an escape 9 seconds into the final period before Donahoe used his strength to pull away in the final 1:29.

Robles said Donahoe didn't beat him because he was born with one leg, but because Donahoe was the better wrestler.

NOTE: He was the national champion in high school.  Here's a quote I found in an interview after he won the high school championship: "I think God gave me a gift by only giving me one leg," Robles said. "Other people may not see it that way, but I do."

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3-25-09

Good morning.  Don't worry, you haven't been kicked off the Morning Email list.  The past few days have brought Vestry Retreats, etc. etc. etc. and so the Morning Email has dropped off a bit.  But we are back!

This morning I finished up my article for the April newsletter.  I want to share it with you a little early because it will segue into tonight's adult study discussion.  Here it is:

Years ago Cherilyn brought me a print she bought from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She correctly knew that I would like it because it looked like an illuminated manuscript adorned with embellished Latin.  For a long time I thought the Latin phrase that dominated the print, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was Shakespeare's famous line from As You Like It, "All the world's a stage."  That shows you how rusty my Latin is.  Actually Theatrum Orbis Terrarum means "theatre of the world" and the print was from the first modern atlas created in the 16th century. 

"Theatre of the world." "All the world's a stage."  Church.

As Episcopalians we have a connection to the liturgy (worship) of the Church in a way that makes us unique among our sister denominations.  That connection, while being very real, is often hard to explain.  We are protective of our liturgy and we value even the smallest act or detail that from the outside may seem insignificant or even petty.  Deep down in our liturgical DNA, however, we know that the Church is the "Theatre of the Universe" and is the stage in which the drama of our salvation is played out each and every week.

This is especially true during the season of Lent and Holy Week.  The hard truth of human sin and suffering is presented in real dramatic fashion in our liturgies.  What is more dramatic that having a cross of ash inscribed on the forehead with the words, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return?"  But at the same time, the Theatre of the Universe also presents in dramatic fashion the love of God.  Every Sunday liturgy in Lent begins, "Bless the Lord who forgives our sins.  His mercy endures for ever."

Worship is a play, but not in the sense that it is make-believe.  Worship is a play in that the eternal is presented and the unfolding story of human beings returning to the love of their Creator fills every scene and act.

To say "Alleluia, Christ is Risen" is not just to make a theological statement, it is to join in a chorus.  It's a chorus not only sung here, but everywhere and in all times.  The beauty of our liturgies is that all the Church is a stage and every worshiper plays a part.  The liturgy draws us into the story and gives us a role because we share in God's story!  There are no minor characters.  There are no understudies.  There are no stage hands.

We are all in the spotlight of God's love.  We bask in this love in the liturgy as the story is played out.  The Church is the Theatre of the Universe.  Let us come not to watch, but to act out God's salvation.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!
The Lord is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Tonight we will explore the drama of liturgy with an emphasis on the drama of Holy Week - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter.  This is my favorite topic.

A couple of other things:
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation.  Take a moment to meditate on the Archangel Gabriel visiting Mary and saying, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you."

Also, some previews into our new website that will be unveiled soon.
The video from Sunday's sermon is here .
Some pictures from the past few weeks are here .

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

What Happened on the Cross?

I remember a few years ago my father calling me on the phone with a 'theological question.' You must realize, my father has never asked me a 'theological question' so I was all ears.

He was driving down the road and saw a billboard that said, "Jesus died for your sins."

He had a very good question: "How did Jesus die for my sins?"

In other words, what happened on the cross? We confess that Christ died for us, but a deeper question is how did his death save us? We confess the 'what' but we are uninformed about the 'how'.

Christ's work on the cross is called the atonement. There have been many ideas throughout the history of the Church has to what the atonement did. Tonight we are going to explore this very simple, yet incredibly profound question - how did Jesus die for our sins?

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - St Paddy's Day

On this St Paddy's Day, I thought I'd share a little bio about the good saint:

Patrick was born about 390, in southwest Britain, somewhere between the Severn and the Clyde rivers, son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. When about sixteen years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. Until this time, he had, by his own account, cared nothing for God, but now he turned to God for help. After six years, he either escaped or was freed, made his way to a port 200 miles away, and there persuaded some sailors to take him onto their ship. He returned to his family much changed, and began to prepare for the priesthood, and to study the Bible.

Around 435, Patrick was commissioned, perhaps by bishops in Gaul and perhaps by the Pope, to go to Ireland as a bishop and missionary. Four years earlier another bishop, Palladius, had gone to Ireland to preach, but he was no longer there (my sources disagree on whether he had died, or had become discouraged and left Ireland to preach in Scotland). Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh in the North, where he built a school, and had the protection of the local monarch. From this base he made extensive missionary journeys, with considerable success. To say that he single-handedly turned Ireland from a pagan to a Christian country is an exaggeration, but is not far from the truth.

Almost everything we know about him comes from his own writings, available in English in the Ancient Christian Writers series. He has left us an autobiography (called the Confession), a Letter to Coroticus in which he denounces the slave trade and rebukes the British chieftain Coroticus for taking part in it, and the Lorica (or "Breastplate" a poem of disputed authorship traditionally attributed to Patrick), a work that has been called "part prayer, part anthem, and part incantation." The Lorica is a truly magnificent hymn, found today in many hymnals (usually abridged by the omission of the two stanzas bracketed below). The translation into English as given here is by Cecil Frances Alexander, whose husband was Archbishop of Armagh, and thus the direct successor of Patrick. She published nearly 400 poems and hymns of her own, including the well-known "There is a green hill far away," "Once in royal David's city," "Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult," and "All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small."

You can read about every saint of the day here.

 

 

 

Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/12/09

A short one for this Thursday - here is a document I created a while ago that I handed out to the 8:15am Wednesday Adult Study on Lenten Customs and Traditions.  Go ahead, impress your friends with what you know.  It's okay.

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3-11-09

"Behold the wood of the cross on which was hung the world's salvation."

This quote comes from the Good Friday liturgy as the cross is processed down the church. Tonight I've got a very interesting presentation on just that - the cross. It's part art history, theology, and just all around interesting stuff. For instance, did you know that in many churches you will see what we know as the swastika? We'll talk about that and many more interesting tidbits.

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/9/09

The 'springing forward' of our clocks this weekend reminded me of an enigmatic portion of the Book of Ecclesiastes:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace."   (3:1-8)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible describes the preceding 8 verses in this way: 'a rhythmic series of antithetical pairs that together (seven sets, each with two pairs of opposites) represents the totality and variety of the times and seasons encountered by human beings.  These events include those that simply happen to people (like being born and dying) and occasions to which they must respond (like planting and plucking up what is planted).

I like that description.  Two things simply happen - birth and death.  Everything in between depends on our response.

--
Fr. Steve Rice
Rector, St Timothy's Episcopal Church
Winston-Salem, NC
www.sttimothys.ws
www.sttims.blogspot.com
336.765.0294

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/6/09

This morning I did something that I;ve been putting off. My office computer had at least 150 icons, files, whatever cluttering the screen. Computer folks tell me that when the screen is cluttered and things are not put in their place, the computer gets a bit sluggish.; It's good to clean things up. I think the spirituality in that is obvious. Remove the clutter. Run better.

That's why I'll never omit the Collect for Purity at the beginning of the Eucharist (except when it's called for):
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PS: If you want to try something new - Stations of the Cross at 5pm in the Church today.

Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/5/09

  Blog_Reader
I think this is funny.  This is from the Times of London:
Chrch sez stop txtn 4 lent.  Or, put another way, the Italian branch of the Roman Catholic Church wants its followers to forswear text messaging,
social-networking Web sites and computer games in the run-up to Easter.
While many Italians traditionally give up fatty foods or, in extremis, alcohol, the appeal to go without some of the trappings of
the modern world, including Facebook, iPhones and computer games, on Fridays — and on other days if possible — is unprecedented.
It appears to stem partly from Pope Benedict XVI's recent warning to the young not to substitute "virtual friendship" for real human
relationships.
The Pontiff warned on his YouTube site in January that "obsessive" use of mobile phones or computers "may isolate individuals from
real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development."
Pope Benedict also has personal experience of the distractions of obsessive texting. President Sarkozy of France, a renowned
technophile, came in for withering criticism for checking his mobile phone for text messages during a personal audience with the Pontiff.

I like the fact that the Pope said this from his YouTube page!.  Here's a video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkbXNNGk6Jo )of the pope talking
about the internet.
 PS: Don't forget about the Day of Caring ( http://www.sttimothysws.org/index.php?option=com_ckforms&view=ckforms&id=1&Itemid=102 ).
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Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 3/4/09

  Blog_Reader

Sorry this email is a little late today!
Bob McGee shared this story with me yesterday from the Iranian poet Saadi (Middle Ages):
A fox who lived in the deep forest of long ago had lost its front legs. No one knew how: perhaps escaping from a trap. A man who lived on the edge
of the forest , seeing the fox from time to time, wondered how in the world it managed to get its food. One day when the fox was not far from him he
had to hide himself quickly because a tiger was approaching. The tiger had fresh game in its claws. Lying down on the ground, it ate its fill, leaving
the rest for the fox.
Again the next day the great Provider of this world sent provisions to the fox by this same tiger. The man began to think: "If this fox is taken
care of in this mysterious way, its food sent by some unseen Higher Power, why don't I just rest in a corner and have my daily meal provided for me?"
Because he had a lot of faith, he let the days pass, waiting for food. Nothing happened. He just went on losing weight and strength until he was
nearly a skeleton. Close to losing consciousness, he heard a Voice which said: "O you, who have mistaken the way, see now the Truth! You should have
followed the example of that tiger instead of imitating the disabled fox."
With that in mind, I want to share and/or remind about our Annual Day of Caring.  On this day we focus our attention and efforts on 'taking
food to the fox.'  There is a display in Drake Hall that describes all the different ways we can volunteer on the Day of Caring.  Some may wish to
stay at St Timothy's on that day and prepare boxes for Operation Shoebox (this provides basic comfort items to our men and women in the Armed
Forces).  It's only from 9am-1pm and it's only one day – March 14.  You can find out more and sign up in Drake Hall, or since you're already
at your computer, go here ( http://www.sttimothysws.org/index.php?option=com_ckforms&view=ckforms&id=1&Itemid=102 ) and sign up online.
PS: Wednesday Night Dinner tonight!  Topic – Rekindle Lent (it'll be fun).
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Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 2/3/09

  Blog

Black Ice.
Beware of the darker side of snow.  When it falls, it is beautiful.  Large flakes that seem as large as your hand.  Everything is covered, the
air is crisp, while young and old alike enjoy playing out in the yard (at least for a minute).  But then the sun warms.  Yesterday it sounded like a
rain storm at St Timothy's as the melted snow rolled off the roof of the church.  It saturates the ground and puddles and then as the sun goes down
– it freezes.  Black Ice.  Black ice occurs when water freezes and there are only a few air bubbles trapped inside.  It's not black – just
transparent.  It provides an almost invisible coating to whatever is underneath and it can be dangerous. 
It reminds me to something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: "The eye is the lamp of the body.  So, if you eye is healthy, your whole
body will be full of light; but if you eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light in you is darkness, how great
is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23)
One could interpret this is many ways.  But for me, today in this first week of Lent, I'm reading it as good counsel to keep my eyes open – not
necessarily to look for the creeping things that hide in the shadows – but in terms of being self-aware.  Do I know myself today?  Am I seeing
myself and my situation clear?  Can I detect those invisible (hurtful) coatings around me and those around me?
And most importantly, am I in the light?
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Fr. Steve's Morning Email - 2/2/09

  Blog
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."  Psalm 51:7
On this snow day I present to you a slide show of our beautiful church washed in snow.
Click here ( http://picasaweb.google.com/frsteverice/Snow?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGM7qbN8NvBDg&feat=directlink )for the slide show.
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