A Positively Poetic Priest

9.28.14   God of the vineyard, naming us to help create fine wine, you honor us, along with prostitutes and tax collectors, in your kingdom. When we are confused about our role, our part, guide us to your will, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen I have two brothers. I almost have the exact two brothers Jesus is talking about, one who tells you he will do something and does not and the other tells you he won't but then does. My brothers are not always consistent in this pattern, but it is their tendency. My youngest brother will accept when my Mom asks him to do the dishes and 45 min later, you'll find him sitting in the kitchen, dirty dishes still stacked all over and him listening to music "preparing" to do the dishes. He still swears he will do them... Just, when he is ready. The other has an adamant "NO." But he does occasionally do what he has said no to. Early this summer, I ...

I am a Millennial. There are no two ways about it. I was born in the late eighties. I grew up with home computers. There are many other things that point to my Millennial-hood, but those two things are enough to establish identity. But one thing I do not identify with as a Millennial is not going to church. I get asked often why people my age do not go to church and I am going to honestly answer for myself: I have no idea why Millennials do not go to church. On an intellectual level, I can point to many reasons and problems why someone would not want to go to church at this age of life. Church is on a day off, church is confusing, church is hard and requires talking to new people. Religion can be oppressive and close minded and becomes an institution which does not allow new ideas or growth. Millennials are not in leadership positions, people do not offer activities and classes geared for the age group... the list goes on and on. However, on a gut level, I do not understand. And I...

In the name of God who is the great I AM. Amen. This past week I was at a conference for Latino ministries in the episcopal church. One of the keynote speakers, who happens also to be a priest in Houston, talked about how Latino cultures are put into boxes by Americans because most Americans do not spend any time trying to learn about the cultural differences between different groups and nationalities. People see dark skin or hear a different language being spoken and make assumptions. But no one deserves to be put in a box. Mexican culture is different than Peruvian or Dominican. Not all Latinos like Mariachi bands, are Catholic, and eat tacos. Just like all Texans do not drink Shinerbock, drive trucks, and wear cowboy hats. Some do, but not all. I have learned. Another speaker, this time a woman bishop, talked about how we need to get out of our boxes. A slightly terrifying idea for an introvert, but it goes both ways, it seems. We hide in our own boxes putting other people...

This was my first sermon at my new Parish.  10 August 2014 Have you walked the labyrinth lately? Part of the reason I was drawn to Holy Spirit is the labyrinth which lays outside that wall. I have always found labyrinths to be a helpful practice for my faith and a good metaphor for the life which I have been leading. At face value, a labyrinth seems kind of pointless. It’s a giant circle that you walk around without really getting anywhere. You do get to the middle, but its by a circuitous journey that takes much longer than it would take just to go straight toward the middle. A lot of times life seems that way. I try to do one thing, but I end up having to do all these other things before I can get to what I want to do. But I have to trust the process. I have walked enough labyrinths all over the country to have realized that the point is not just to get to the center geographically, but to get to the center of life. It’s a small focused journey to God. It’s part of a larger wal...

You are sitting on the dark rocky shoreline of the Galilee, some of you standing in the edge of the water, not really watching the little children playing in the water, but definitely watching the small, rocking, wooden fishing boat, pulling the hair from your faces as the wind carries Jesus' voice to you as he teaches about the kingdom of heaven. Interestingly, no one asked Jesus what the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus has a burning desire to talk about it though, because talk about it he does. At length. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are phrases used more than ninety times in the New Testament. We have a number of parables which talk about the kingdom of heaven, but we do not have record of anyone asking the question. But because Jesus tells us without anyone having asked, I assume its important. Why do we need to know about the kingdom of heaven? It seems that God cares about us, and in doing so, wants to share with us what home is rea...

The Allergy Friendly Church Communion Protocol A step by step guide to integrating allergy friendly communion wafers in your church. 1. Who needs them? Find out who needs allergy friendly wafers, what they need to be free from, and how many people already need them. Also, see if anyone needs sulfite free wine. (Be warned: once the allergy friendly community in your town finds out that you are welcoming people with allergies to participate in your service, you may find that new people who need allergy friendly wafers start coming.) 2. Aquire allergy friendly wafers that your members can have! (You may think this is a no-brainer, however, you would be surprised. Many people who have one allergy or intolerance, have multiple allergies. Many times it can be difficult to find wafers that are completely free of all issues.) Some companies that sell communion specific wafers are Ener-G and Almy . If an allergy friendly member would like to make their own, there are many easy r...

One thing that may be very helpful for when you go to a new church or learn about new allergies and want to remain an active part of your church will be a Cheat Sheet for those who are in charge of food preparation. I made up the following Sheet for my own use. It has been helpful and it has been put up on the bulletin board in the kitchen for reference.  Elizabeth's Gluten, Dairy, Oat, and Soy Free Diet Allows : Fruit (apples, oranges, pears, peaches, bananas, berries, avocados, grapes, grapefruit, pineapple, dates, figs, lemons, limes, melon, pomegranates, tomatoes, etc) Vegetables (asparagus, peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, celery, corn, herbs, lettuce, mushrooms, peppers, okra, garlic, onion, potatoes, lentils, squash, spinach, etc) Meat (chicken, pork, bacon, ham, beef, lamb, duck, fish, shrimp, etc) Grains and Flours (Rice, Corn, Potato, Tapioca, Bean, Garfava, Sorghum, Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat, Arrowroot, Amaranth, Teff, Montina, Flax, and Nut) Nu...