A Positively Poetic Priest

"Dear People of God: In this Christmas Season, let it be our duty and delight to hear once more the message of the Angels, to go to Bethlehem and see the Son of God lying in a manger. Let us hear and heed in Holy Scripture the story of God's loving purpose from the time of our rebellion against him until the glorious redemption brought to us by his holy Child Jesus, and let us make this place glad with our carols of praise." (A Bidding Prayer, BOS 39) During these twelve days of Christmas, we cannot too often hear the story of Jesus' birth and entrance into this world. God loves us so much that he gave his son to be with us, and that is good news we need to hear over and over again. This coming Sunday, we will hear the story in nine lessons and sing joyously in praise of what God has done for us. In contrast to that beloved Christmas carol, the Twelve Days of Christmas, where the true love gives bounteous material gifts each day of the season of Christmas, our Tru...

it hardly seems like victory the giving up of love yet constant stories, epics, tales repeat the lesson again in order to love, you have to set free you can't love a child by smothering you can't love a cause by keeping it you can't love a passion by controlling it you have to let it be victory is in the gift

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday of Advent, BCP 212) The Collect for this coming Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, has a very optimistic view of our spiritual lives. It assumes that God visits each and every one of us each and every day and that the openness we have inside of us for God can be compared to a mansion. Granted, it is the Church's and mine own personal belief that God does visit each and every one of us each and every day. Unfortunately though, I'm not sure all of us have mansions waiting inside of us for God. Mansions are huge. Monstrous affairs with high ceilings, lots of extra space, lots of windows and light and freedom of movement. Most of us don't live in mansions, let alone have mansions inside of us. Sadly, many of us...

12/14/18 When the Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, announced the Jesus Movement emphasis on the Way of Love this summer at General Convention, I heard many comments about the Episcopal Church not needing another new tagline. The Episcopal Church is already known for some of our short and sweet taglines: "The Episcopal Church welcomes you!", "We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement", "The Episcopal Church: all of the fun, none of the guilt." As much as the mainline denominations in the United States are worried about decline and decay in their churches, we all know having a new tagline isn't going to save the church. However, the introduction of the Way of Love made it clear it was not a new tagline. The Way of Love is a journey, started by God millennia ago, continued by the prophets, walked by Jesus, and carried out by the disciples and follower of Jesus throughout the centuries. The Way of Love is simply a new way of designating and st...

firmly planted grounded in each passing second whisking by so much fluff blown in the breeze unregistered by human thought caught up in past or future dilapidated by realization the now you've noticed has but passed and in thinking caught up in past there is no moment recognizable without memory impermanence is impermanent all is static fluid 10/24/17

Two years ago, when I moved here, I experienced a baptism by fire. For the first time ever, I hosted my family in MY home for Christmas. I don't know how you felt about it, but hosting Christmas in my house the first time for my family was a big deal, Which made me feel very pressured going into the Christmas season. I needed to make sure I had multiple rooms all done up properly. I needed to find all the dust in the house and get rid of it.  I had the nightmare of my mother coming to my house with the white gloves and running her finger along the mantel and making a face about my house cleaning skills... I needed to stock all the foods.  I have two twenty something year old brothers.  We are talking ALL the food. I needed to make sure I took care of our family traditions of having a pickle ornament for the tree and the particular Christmas morning CD we always listen to with the one wrong note in the seventh piece. I had to buy the ri...

I see a town, sleeping by a river I see a festival, celebrating history I see a street, cute store fronts galore I see a playground, the future at work I see the lights, at home in the night I see the elegance, of architecture preserved I see the people, community engaged I see God, waiting for me 10/19/17

12/7/18 John the Baptist Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Second Sunday of Advent BCP 211) Because we live in a time after Jesus' first coming, it does seem a little odd to be preparing for him to arrive. Yet, each year we hear and relive the proclamations of John the Baptist who was sent to prepare the people for Jesus' arrival. The coming of the Messiah was not going to be sudden or unannounced, John makes sure to tell everyone he can that the Messiah was coming and time was short to prepare. Thankfully, this remembrance of John the Baptist and the season of Advent allows us time each year to prepare again for the coming of Jesus into our hearts and lives. When we truly open our li...

the consequences are their own reward the actions must be chosen carefully the rust belt resiliency grinds on polishing the only metal worth the spit indeed there is no transparency when the motivations lack symmetry love gives and takes, holds and lets go love is its own reward, waiting to be enjoyed 10/11/17

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (First Sunday of Advent BCP 211) Advent is the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, into the world and into our hearts. In the Church we prepare and celebrate this coming of Jesus on three levels. The first is Jesus' birth, and the wider world is good about capitalizing on this. We remember Jesus came into the world as a baby, born and laid in a manger. The second is Jesus' coming again to usher in the coming of God's Kingdom. We anticipate this event in the future. The third is Jesus' coming into our hearts and op...

11/16/18  Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Thanksgiving Day BCP 246) Less than seven days until Thanksgiving!! Its go time! Preheat the oven! Prepare the pie crusts! Bake the cookies! Thanksgiving in contemporary culture seems to be a day simply about the food. And increasingly, it seems like we have to rush through the food to get to the Black Friday sales... starting on Thursday. It is important to set aside regular times to be thankful. Given all the gifts we are given, by God and our communities, we could really be setting aside a day a week to honor them all! However, setting aside one ...

the soundtrack of a lifetime simple settings in the background a table here, a chair over there the carpet pathways carrying the melody of daily routine the patterns only we can see punctuated by the harmonies of the intersection of our lives with others 10/6/17

Savor the bridal veil of spiderwebs trailed behind in the flow air artfully streaming in the curved aerodynamic symmetries glinting in the sun 9/26/17

Illness is an invitation Into another way of being Coming without fanfare Or even cream colored paper Yet you stand invited nonetheless An invitation like so many others Giving pause for preparations Bringing worry as to wardrobe Unprepossessing all the same A chance to look at life again

Aka the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed. "O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that in the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen." (Holy Women, Holy Men, p. 665) In the official calendar of church feasts, November 2nd is the day of remembrance and celebration of all those saints whom me have known and love but aren't known to the wider world. All Saints Day (Nov 1) celebrates the official church Saints, the ones known by everyone, like St. John, St. Patrick, St. Lucy. All Souls Day is for our local communities, for us to remember those who have walked among us who have been faithful followers of Jesus. Every year we lose church members, friends, family, who have been for us examples of Godly life. We remember them and the ways ...

https://rustbeltepiscopal.org/2018/10/22/a-greeting-from-presiding-bishop-curry/ Today and tomorrow myself, Deacon Dave Betz, Kaycee Reib, Jeanne Reib, and Kelly Bruckart will be heading to Niagara Falls for Diocesan Convention in collaboration with the Diocese of Western New York. This may be a historic moment for the two dioceses as DioWNY will be voting on whether to have our Bishop, Sean Rowe, as their bishop as well for the next five years. The understanding of the proposal for the two dioceses is collaboration during the next five years in order to build new creative and mission driven ministries to help both dioceses. If you haven’t already, take a moment in the next two days to look at the website Rust Belt Episcopal ( https://rustbeltepiscopal.org/ ) where you can find lot of information about what would change if the vote is yes and why we are looking into this possibility. Also, please keep us and all who travel to Niagara Falls this weekend in your pray...

a simple inquiry of jest sarcasm is at best taken seriously you've found the deepest secrets unlawfully held the flash of insight, nigh improbable is garnered at the end of every foresight who wrote the conclusion? wait for the revelation

In today's world, there are plenty of advertisements and commercials which try to tell us how to live our lives. If we don't drink Coca Cola, or use Lysol wipes, or get our cars checked at Auto Zone, then the commercials tell us that we are not living our best lives. Fortunately none of those things are true. Living our best lives has little to do with where we shop or who checks our cars, but with the wellness of our souls and bodies. Naturally, having a healthy and balanced life is not always easy. Jesus calls to us over and over again, through scriptures, other people, events in our lives, and what he calls us to is living a servant and selfless life. Thankfully, there are lots of supports in our community to help us all live the kind of lives Jesus calls us to. Currently, the Vestry is doing a book study on Brene Brown's book, Rising Strong. In this book one of the topics Brown discusses is what she calls Living BIG. It's a mnemonic for trying to live with ...

"May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength.  May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen." (BCP 460 For Health of Body and Soul) All of us who have had surgery or serious illness lately can share in the knowledge and wisdom of trying to listen to our bodies. Healing takes a while, much longer than most of us want to admit. In the mornings we wake up with grand ideas about what we would like to do, even if it is simply get out of bed or lay on the other side, but we must face the fact that that is not going to happen. Thankfully, our bodies do have their own wisdom about what is okay and what is not. Certainly for me, this time of physical brokenness reminds me of how long true healing does take. It takes three months for bones to be knit back together in a healthy body. It can take years for a broken...

Say Cheese! This coming Sunday is Social Media Sunday across the Episcopal Church, and in some other denominations. What is Social Media Sunday? It is a day for churches to highlight their gifts, members, and worship together by posting on social media websites to share the Good News of Christ with the world. Using the hashtag #sms18, churches all across the country will be sharing who they are with pictures, posts, and video. Here at St. John's and Grace, we have lots of gifts, members, and worship moments to share. We are going to participate in Social Media Sunday in a couple of ways. First, during the announcements time during both services, I will take a selfie of the congregation to post on our social media sites. Second, we are going to remind and encourage you to post on your social media sites about your time at St. John's or Grace and share your experience with others. Third, we are going to have a laptop in the Parish Hall open to our social media websites for ...

This always happens to me when I go on vacation. I get relaxed and restful and then I look back at what I normally do all in one day and I am amazed. How can I manage so much in one day!? Why do I fill up my life with so much busyness? Unfortunately, it is not an atypical way of living these days. Our American society puts such an emphasis on busyness and filling our time with activities, we sometimes forget why we do what we do. However, the why of what we do is very important. As I am on vacation, I always at some point reflect on my normal life. Why is my routine the way it is? Do I want to do all the things I have on my schedule? What can I let go of? How do I want to allow myself to rest in my normal life? As most of us have started back into the fall rush of activities and work, take a moment to reflect on your schedule, on your busyness. Why do you do each thing? Is there a purpose? Are there things on your schedule which are simply busyness? How could you let some of them go...

"The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord." – Psalm 24:1 We have many many possessions. We think we possess them. However, everything in the world belongs to God, and we are only stewards of them. We come into this world as we leave this world, with nothing except ourselves. We cannot change our eternal lives by storing up possessions. In reality, the more we have, the more we are possessed by our possessions. As we come into the season of our Stewardship campaign, it is good to reflect on how much God has given us and how much of what we have is a gift. In the Jewish tradition, the understanding of what we give back to God is very clearly spelled out. We are to give God, through the Temple, the first tenth of all our harvest, our income, and our gifts. Yet, when Jesus comes and teaches the people, he doesn't specify how much or what percentage we are to give. He teaches that we should share out of a thankful heart. For those...

disjointed manifestations of love, of broken hearts survivor's guilt in trade I speak of which I know to give, one must receive I was rescued first, indeed... there is no mistaking the need the chain wrapped around our heads linking me to you and you and you... 9/10/17

Ephphatha. Be opened. Ephphatha is a funny word to our ears. In Aramaic it means to be opened. Aramaic was the language Jesus spoke most of the time. It is characteristic of the gospel of Mark that we hear the words Jesus used, instead of being translated into Greek and then English. There is an understanding in Mark that the words of Jesus are powerful. Words do have power, that is true, though not in the same way as some people in the ancient world understood them. They weren't magical. However, it is interesting that Mark was concerned about representing the words Jesus used. Ephphatha. Be opened. The woman in the story from the gospel passage was certainly ready to be open. I imagine that by this point in her life, she was at the end of her rope with trying to help her daughter. I'm sure over the years, she had tried everyone. The physicians, the local healing woman, the priests, and nothing had worked to this point. She was prob...

This coming Sunday is Rally Day! The Sunday in which we kick off our program year at St. John's and Grace. This year we start the program off with a Community Service Project; we will be making Care Packages for the Homeless. The list of items we need is below. We start off the year remembering Jesus' service to those in his community and his care for all those around him. We follow in his footsteps and we offer our gifts and services to those in need in our community. In doing this community service project, we also allow the members of Grace Lutheran to participate in the national Lutheran "God's work. Our hands." day this Sunday. In Jesus God promises to be with us always and to help us in times of need. However, sometimes we have to be the hands which do God's work. St. Teresa of Avila wrote, Christ Has No Body Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Your...

the terrifying passionate tension of loving and hating in the same moment the mind boggling twist of light, both wave and particle intercepted as both sound and sight the shaking aftermath of rage I give my body to the night the darkness which is not judgment but rather thought 9/7/17

Human relationships are complicated. We can leave that statement as fact just the way it is. Most human relationships fall into one of three categories, though even these broad categories don't always catch everyone in our lives. We have acquaintances, we have friends, and we have "family". Acquaintances are those people we know through social events,  through work, through groups and we only talk to them in those contexts. We don't usually go out of our way for acquaintances the way we would for friends or family, but we could chit chat with them in some capacity. Our relationships with them are characterized by the social laws and rules of the context in which we know them. Friends are those people we spend time together with on a mutual basis. We like them, we know something more about them. We might share funny emails with them or call them occasionally, We would know if they became ill or lost their dog. Our relationships ...

"Mom! How do I know when the chicken is done?" "When it sounds done." 9/5/17

Some days the things I most need to pray about, I am way too anxious about to sit still and pray about. Thankfully, I don't always have to sit still in order to pray. One of the great traditions of the Christian faith is prayer walking. Prayer walking is a large genre of different kinds of prayer done while moving. One form of prayer walking is pilgrimage, another walking a labyrinth. While those are two very specific types of walking prayers, there are also examples of less structured prayer walking which can be helpful on a daily basis. One way of prayer walking is by walking around a location which is the site of concern. If you're anxious about a work problem, then you can walk around your office space or work conference room praying about the situation. If you are having problems at home with a family member, walk around their room or the room in which you tend to fight and pray about the relationship. Many times communities do this in an organized way. When social iss...

This past Sunday, the Epistle reading in the Revised Common Lectionary was from the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 6:10-20. Since this passage is paired with the Bread of Life discourse from the gospel of John, the number of times one preaches on it is few and far between. This passage is rather well known for a passage from Ephesians, because it talks about putting on the armor of God. The author of the passage outlines some items of clothing which followers of Jesus should put on in order to fight against the spiritual forces of evil in this world. Belt of Truth Breastplate of Righteousness Shoes of Peace Shield of Faith Helmet of Salvation Sword of the Spirit It sounds lovely. But there are a few things I noticed about this passage this past week. While there are some very good reasons for the pieces of clothing mentioned, I realized that if I drew a diagram of the armor of God, it leaves some portions of my body rather uncovered. It also leaves out a few aspects of the fait...

in error of my enamored plight I wrapped my arms around a tree waited until love came into sight and paid the Devil's cursed fee with jolly glee he brought a rose which smelled of sweetest delight yet still I looked for other beaus hankering for an ungodly fight Satan's lowly curse had me consumed the blackest poison I had subsumed yet still true Love came as a knight and turned my darkness into Light 8/22/17

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 How can we possibly follow Paul's suggestion to pray without ceasing? Typically there are only two things we human beings do without ceasing, our hearts keep pumping blood and our lungs keep breathing air. Early in Christian history followers of Jesus put together this injunction to pray without ceasing with the unceasing nature of breathing and started the tradition of Breath Prayer. Very similar to some eastern breathing prayers and exercises, Breath Prayer focuses on your own breathing. To practice Breath Prayer, choose a quiet spot to sit or kneel comfortably and a phrase to repeat. Many people use the Jesus Prayer while practicing Breath Prayer, although there are many other good phrases or prayers that could be used. A good prayer for Breath Prayer is made up of two parts, one to be said while breathing in, and ...

the blue sky poised to take possession of the sea God separated the great waters the lofty mountains poised towering over the rustic valleys God separated the distant lands the hunting soaring eagle poised high above the community of rabbits God separated and named equally 8/8/17 (This pairs nicely with my reflection for church this week, here .)

"The sea is his for he made it, and his hands have molded the dry land." Psalm 95:5 All the way at the beginning of the Bible, at the very start of Genesis, God lays out how human beings are supposed to be in relationship with the earth. God asks the first human beings to care for creation and to be good stewards of it. We are not simply in charge of everything around us, able to do as we please in our environment. We are to care for it and treat it well, in order that it may flourish and might be passed along to the next generations. In today's society, taking care of the Earth is seen as only something certain kinds of people do. However, taking care of our environments is not simply an environmental issue, but also a justice issue. Many times when the environment is not taken care of, it is in areas that greatly affect and damage the poor and needy, those who are already struggling. Currently St. John's and Grace have two opportunities for you to help in car...

do you ever feel the desire sinking into your fingers itching your very nerves to clean every space in the house sometimes our darkest desires impulses we cannot control feelings we wish to deny aren't the crazy ones but the embarrassing ones to clean out the tub 8/5/17

"God walks everywhere incognito." (C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer) It can be a great comfort to know that God walks among us all the time. Unfortunately, we don't always seem to be able to see God at work in and around us all the time. While there are many practices which help us open our eyes to God in the world, one of the best practices is Christian meditation. Many people feel that meditation is a practice of Eastern or New Age religions and not Christianity. However, Christianity has a long and deep tradition of meditation, especially in monastic traditions. Christian meditation is not simply about emptying the mind, but connecting to the mind of God and being open to God's presence. Practices of meditation range from meditating on a verse of scripture, repeating it in the mind to allow it to settle and for you to see it with new eyes or heart. Or perhaps meditation by looking deeply at an image, an icon or a cross, and letting the imag...

a fast paced stillness biking through the woods nothing between you and breathing with the song of life surrounding a slow steady stillness sitting on the meditation pillow nothing between you and breathing with the rush of life in your veins a very present stillness kneeling in the church to pray nothing between you and breathing with the love of life listening 7/29/17

Studying the whole Bible all at one go is an enormous task. No one can get through all of it in one day or even a couple of days! The most common ways of studying the Bible are following different guides which break up different books or genres of the Holy Scriptures into accessible passages for study. There are hundreds of good commentary and Bible Study books and programs available online and through book stores which focus on different books or topics included in the Scriptures. Many times people join Bible Study groups, like our Wednesday Night Bible Study, in order to be able to have personal guidance and listen to other's perspectives on the chosen passages. Even if you aren't interested in following someone else's guidance through the Bible, there are many good ways of reading and studying the Bible on your own. Four time honored ways of reading the Bible on your own are by following one of the following patterns: Lectio Divina, the Artist method, the Detective me...

the dry erase board was covered in notes marketing ways of labeling others ways of separating, dividing, and creating fear are we all just soup cans lined up on a grocery shelf segregated by our outward devices lacking what is seen by the heart? please let me lose my paper label torn with relief from my sides pour me out and let me splatter see the colors born inside

Did you know that our Episcopal Church is made up of dioceses in 18 different countries? I hadn't. This is just one bit of information I learned this month while at General Convention. As a first time delegate to General Convention, I was amazed and overwhelmed and inspired by the breadth and depth and diversity of the Episcopal Church at General Convention. Granted, the Episcopal Church is not perfect, and there were some long dry meetings. However I learned so much about how the church works on the international level and about good work going on throughout the Church. Every three years, delegates, bishops, youth, alternates, vendors, and more gather together at General Convention to help guide and govern the Church for the next three years. We lift each other up in prayer, celebrate good work, mourn losses and injustices, and work together to move forward along the way Jesus calls us. This year at General Convention, some big news headlines were about revision of ...