One of the blessings of my life is that the previous owners of my home loved to garden and they left me with small but prolific beds and a lovely yard. This has been a glorious spring for plants and trees and I have reveled in the glory of color, texture, form and fragrance in my little corner of the creation.

            This past Monday was a beautiful late spring day and provided a perfect opportunity to spend a few hours outside planting, weeding, dead-heading and watering.  I have one of those Episcopal Diocese of Ohio’s lawn signs on my property, the one that proclaims, “Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World!”  As I puttered in the yard, an older woman who I believe lives down the street a block or so from me, walked by on the sidewalk. I looked up at her and said “Hello.” I had seen her before but never had occasion to speak with her. She stopped, looked at me and then at the lawn sign. Finally after a brief silence she said, “I love your sign.  Every time I walk by and read it, it makes me feel good.” “Thank you,” I replied. “It makes me feel good too.” We engaged in a few small pleasantries and then she picked up her bags and continued her walk.

            I know that those lawn signs were met with mixed emotions from many people when they were distributed from the Diocese two months ago.  A lot of folks who I tried to get to place them on their home lawns looked at me as if I had asked them to walk barefooted across hot burning coals!   I often get this same reaction when I ask people to staff our booth at the Shaker Farmer’s Market, march in the Memorial Day parade, put door knob advertisements out in their neighborhood,  attend Bible study at Panera’s, wear Christ Church tee shirts in public, or participate in an outdoor liturgy where others can see them.  Too many people are just horrified at the prospect of making any personal connection to their faith community in any public way or venue, no matter how low an impact it may have on their lives. 

            Since interviewing at Christ Church four years ago I have heard much about this parish needing to get out into the greater community “beyond our red doors.”  This statement is a metaphor at our parish; it means we need to be concerned about more than just ourselves and stop engaging in naval gazing inside these walls.  We need to get outside of the building and get public with our faith. Our Gospel imperative is to proclaim the Gospel by word and deed by being a Christian community that lives our faith with integrity. Or put plainly, waling the talk, doing what we say.  That means publicly serving the people whom we live among.  But the problem is a lot of us talk profusely about getting beyond those doors, but too few of us actually dare do it. 

          Faith, my friends is personal, but it is not private!  Jesus did not sit in some synagogue or the Temple in Jerusalem and wait for folks to come to him.  Jesus went out into the world and met people where they are, in real life. His is the model we are to emulate if we are going to be faithful followers of Him.  The model of waiting for people to come to us – engaging in naval gazing - means we are idolizing the concept of Jesus, but we sure are not following Him.

          Now I know some of us think it is just plain bad taste - a violation of proper etiquette - to place a lawn sign in our yard that speaks about our belief in God.  We think it equally as bad to do the other things people are urged to try to do around this parish, so they can tentatively break out beyond the red doors of this church, as well as those equally formidable metaphorical red doors of their lives. 

            The real question before us in this debate about a private versus a personal faith is this: How are we going to love our neighbors if they can’t see us; if we do not meet them where they are?  How are we ever going to have a simple encounter that allows us to share our faith in a serendipitous conversation with the elderly lady carrying her groceries down our street, without the outward and visible sign of our faith? 

            These are real questions confronting main-line Christians today. The answers to them and others related to them will determine the future of our expression of the Christian faith in general and specifically the viability of this congregation.  I urge you to reflect prayerfully on these questions, as well as moving toward making more public statements of your faith by your presence which is the most powerful outward and visible sign we have to offer.  Our future as Episcopalians, as well as the future of this peculiar and lovely Episcopal parish we love, depends on it.

Peter +

            The next time you come to church look up at our flag pole. No, no one is sitting up there; that American fad ended in 1929! (There is no need for a resurrection of it either!)  But something new is fluttering in the breeze underneath the Stars and Stripes; a Rainbow flag.
            June is Pride month, a month when gay and lesbian people are honored around the world.  The rainbow flag, which has evolved to become the most powerful emblem of LGBT culture, is a sign of diversity and inclusiveness, of hope and of yearning.  In June our LGBT sisters and brothers and the Rainbow flag remind us that what unites us as human beings is much more powerful than what differentiates us. 
            Think about it, inclusion, hope and yearning for a better way of life are not desires limited to one group of people, they are passionate human desires.  As a Christian I would say they are key building blocks of the world as God desires it to be, that world we know in theological terms as God’s kingdom.  Seeing the Rainbow flag waving in the breeze on our property reminds me that Christ Church is an intentional community of diversity and inclusion; we hear God’s call to offer radical hospitality and infinite respect to ALL God’s children.  In a world where too many people would still rather divide and hate versus unite and love, our community of faith is a powerful witness to another way of life.  So it’s not just a pretty flag we are flying, it is a public witness of our faith.
            I am grateful to the Vestry and Wardens for their support of my request to fly the Rainbow flag at Christ Church for Pride month.  I hope that this small gesture with a big meaning will fuel your hope, yearning and passion for, as Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
            Happy Pride month!

Peter +

During the school year there is a crossing guard who is stationed at the corner of Palmerston Rd. and Chagrin Blvd. If I leave for the office before 9 am I am sure to see her there helping youngsters on their way to the Lomond School, cross the road safely.

Now you might think that there is nothing really extraordinary about a school crossing guard, except that this woman has one habit that makes her stand out as being extraordinary; she waves at each car that passes by! It is truly amazing to watch her offer this small gesture of greeting and kindness that makes all the difference in the world.

Now some people do not wave back. In our hardened and cynical society I suppose some folks see her as strange and ignore her. They think, "Why in the world would this person be waving at me when I don’t know them? She must want something or be a little crazy."

But many motorists do wave back at her, especially those cars with parents and children heading toward the school. On my initial encounter with the crossing guard lady, I also was not sure if I should wave back, because well, I didn’t know her, and thought she must have spotted someone she knew and was waving at them, and well you know, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself . . . especially in public.

I am speculating here, but I am willing to bet that the crossing-guard lady is a person of faith. For the sake of this letter let’s suppose her to be a Christian who takes her faith seriously. This lady knows that life can get hard and we can get so self-absorbed. But she also knows that the smallest kind gesture can change that in a heartbeat. God’s love flows through her and she makes a difference in the world by her waving to all. It is a profound public display of love.

The crossing guard lady is like the cashier lady at Rite Aid who when she hands you your receipt tells you, "God loves you!" It took me a while to get used to that, I’ll tell you! I thought "Why is she talking about God in public?" But I have come to appreciate this little blessing she offers me when I purchase something and now I always reply, "And God loves you too!" I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful I feel when I make this response to her. The cashier lady has liberated me from my fear of offering a small payback of the enormous love of God that comes to me and should flow from me.

I know that these women’s public displays of love and care seem radically counter-cultural to many, maybe even to you. But what they are doing is foundational to being a follower of Jesus. We need to see the crossing-guard lady and the cashier lady as role-models, even as iconic, not strange or weird or foolish. They "get" what following Jesus is about, and so should we.

Monday is Memorial Day and the annual Shaker Heights parade. Christ Church will again field a contingent to march in the parade and smile and wave and toss candy to children and by our very presence tell people that, "God loves you!" Yeah, it’s kind of foolish. Yeah, it means some sacrifice of your time and effort on a holiday when you would rather sleep late, read the paper, mow the lawn, etc. Yeah, it means people who know you in this city will publicly see you – in of all things – a church group!

But in the end by marching in the parade you will in some small, but significant way, become more of a follower of Jesus. And I guarantee that you will love that feeling.

Even for an "un-hip" guy like me, I’d say that was way cool!

Peter +

"Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,

      April 22nd is officially designated as Earth Day this year.  The website for Earth Day 2010 states that this day, “can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs.  Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability.” 
      The Bible addresses humanities responsibility for our good stewardship of the earth very early on.  Theologically one could argue that Earth Day was created by God! In Genesis, God gives over the completed Creation to human care and declares its goodness. The understanding of course is that we have a religious, moral and ethical responsibility to take care of this good gift we have been given. The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer 1979 (BCP) also has several collects for the earth including one titled, “For Joy in God’s Creation.” And one of my favorite phrases in the BCP occurs in Eucharistic Prayer C, which speaks of, “this fragile earth, our island home.”
     The May edition of National Geographic has a cover article called, “Mount St. Helens: New Life in the Blast Zone.”  This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of that volcano erupting which resulted in the destruction of 200 square miles of forest and 57 human deaths and countless decimation of wildlife.  The article examines how in the intervening years what was once annihilated is now teeming with new life. For instance fish now thrive in once toxic waters, and abundant flocks of elk roam newly lush fields and forests. The resurrection metaphor is a powerful one in this renewal of life after death story.  In many respects while the earth is very fragile, it also has the capacity for miraculous healing of itself.
     Is it coincidence that the thirtieth anniversary of Mount St. Helens erupting coincides with the eruption last week of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland?  I don’t know, but it provides us with a valuable lesson to examine these two events. While the Iceland volcano did not result in human causalities it certainly has caused havoc in the economies of most European nations.  In six days the estimated loss from grounded air travel, tourism and agriculture is $1.5 billion dollars. This all has been lost due to the shut down of air traffic due to the volcanic ash that hovered in the air over most of the continent. 

      While the ash did not come west to the United States we Americans will surely see shortages of and increased pricing for European agricultural products and flowers.  We import considerable amounts of produce, dairy and meat from Europe to feed our appetites. And 20 million flowers per day are flown out from Amsterdam to the world, mostly to North America.  Maybe it is really we humans who are the truly fragile one’s with the way we are so reliant, (demanding of?) items from far away lands to satiate our appetites and wants. 
      Local sustainability is, I think, key to the message of Earth Day.  The future of the symbiotic and fragile relationship between humanity and the earth lies in local sustainability.  It will lead to less stress on the Creation, better health for humans, animals and plant life, energy efficiency and just a better world; a world as God intended it to be. We at Christ Church are growing in that understanding of what it means to be good stewards of the good earth God has given us.  Our on-going presence and support of the Shaker Square farmers market, promoting green theology and now our new Community Garden are all steps in that direction.  
      I pray you examine your own life and habits and begin to take on new, sustainable ways of living your life. One suggestion is to take on one of the plots available for you to grow produce, flowers and herbs in our new garden.  Not only will you be healthier and happier, you will be living deeply into your faith.
 

      Blessing for Earth Day!

Peter +