Worshipping at St. Gregory the Great, Athens

Yesterday, I enjoyed worshipping with family at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia. Yes, I was there with my mother and my wife. But that's not all I mean by family. I am trying to convey that in worshipping with that congregation, I felt at home.

There were things that were different from King of Peace. The music was a different mix of hymns and service music than typically found at King of Peace. And yet when their choir led an anthem by Rutter, it reminded me of our ensemble so beautifully singing another piece by Rutter a capella. No sense of competition and one being better. Just a sense of connection between the two groups and the way they led us in praising God.

The sermon was thoughtful and well delivered. While I trust that is not so different from King of Peace, I enjoyed the way the Rector, Beth Long, made a connection between Job and Bartimaeus and then moved to those of us in the congregation. It was a nice change for me to listen and reflect on the sermon.

At communion, the back row came up first and the ushers worked their way to the front row. Each group called up, would go stand in a circle around the altar for communion. But even with this difference, I noticied the similarity of seemingly distracted children taking commmunion with such seriousness and reverence, even if I did smile at the way one girl licked her lips after taking communion with real bread (we also use real bread at King of Peace).

Our worship spaces are different, but share a wooded setting, lots of natural light and simple lines. From the happy noise of a congregation greeting one another before the service, to the fairly late arriving crowd, to the energy of the children going out for their service and coming back in to nave later, there was also much that was the same. This was especially true of the words of the liturgy themselves as we confessed, repented and were offered absolution, gave one another the sign of peace and then continued speaking the story of our redemption, which had begun with the scripture readings and sermon, and then we continued to Christ's presence in bread and wine.

This is the familiar worship I have encountered again and again in Episcopal churches large and small and I am always amazed at how in different settings with different people, the feeling of being with family is what comes through the strongest. So I am thankful to that part of the Body of Christ, the family of God, worshipping at St. Gregory the Great in Athens, for welcoming us in and making us feel inwardly that which was already true, that we were at home. I pray others feel the same in visiting King of Peace.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Plant My Church

Victoria and I are just home from the Plant My Church Conference at Kanuga, the Episcopal Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I taught or tag-team taught several sessions on the initial phase of church planting (gathering folks), buying land, and building a building. Victoria also facilitated a discussion on spouses in a church plant. It was a great several days with some awesome church planters working all around the country, together with clergy and lay leaders feeling called to this ministry. We were meeting alongside the Start Up! Start Over! Conference for people looking to kick start congregations that are stalled or declined. It was a great group and some wonderful learning even as I taught. Here are a few views of the sessions.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Church Planter

Riding for their lives

Bishop Mark Hollingsworth of the Diocese of Ohio, and seven other cyclists have completed their 12-day, 4,000-mile relay bike ride from the General Convention in Anaheim, California to the Episcopal Church Center in New York City. The ride raised awareness as $35,000 for the Episcopal Relief and Development Nets for Life Project.

There is an Episcopal News Service article, Cross-country ride raises awareness in the fight against malaria, and blogs from the riders telling about their cross-country trek, which included 120-degree heat in the desert and the closeness which can only come in sharing an RV bathroom among 11 people (including the support team).

For more information on the malaria prevention project, go to www.netsforlifeafrica.org.

Ubuntu

As I wrote yesterday, I am in Anaheim, California for The General Convention of The Episcopal Church. The theme for this once every three years meeting is "Ubuntu, I in You and You in Me." It was spelled out at length in a book by the Rev. Micahel Battle sent to deputies in advance of the convention. Those of us in the Diocese of Georgia know Michael Battle as he has spoken to us in our diocesan convention and taught at Honey Creek.

Michael did the Church a service in traveling to South Africa to study with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and learn from his battle against Apartheid. From this, he came to write about the theology of Ubuntu, a difficult to translate word that reveals the African thought that I am because we are. I find my identity in us.

It is a very African way of approaching both philosophy and theology and it is deeply grounded in scripture. Christianity has always been a team sport and even solo Christians (hermits for example) know that they are "a part of the main" to borrow a phrase from Anglican poet John Donne.

So I am at The General Convention, fully entering into my own small role in this large meeting, knowing that I need the Body of Christ (those with whom I agree as well as those who make me embarrassed to be Christian) and it is in that Body that I myself am found. Because of Christ's presence in y'all, I am.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
Clergy Deputy, Diocese of Georgia

We Join in Council

Wisdom cries out at the gates:
let those who seek to discern wisely
sit and reason together in my presence!
And so, Holy One, we join in council here.
In the urgent concerns and in the clutter of our agendas,
may your Wisdom be our guide,
that we may love kindness, do justice,
and in humility desire only you;
we pray in the name and through the Spirit
of Jesus, the Beloved. Amen.

Today, I am traveling to Anaheim, California. I am going there to serve through July 18 as a clergy deputy for the Diocese of Georgia in the once every three years General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Bill Bruce is also making the journey for Bill to serve as a lay alternate deputy to the convention. Bill will be on hand if a member of the lay deputation needs to leave. He will also spell deputies out so that we maintain a full deputation on the floor for the full meeting.

Having served as an alternate deputy in 2003 and a deputy in 2006, this will be my third General Convention. This time, I will serve on the Dispatch of Business Committee, which is involved in the behind the scenes work to keep the business of the convention flowing. It should be an interesting view of things. It will involve as schedule of working typically from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Meeting regular since 1785, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church will have 1500 clergy and lay representatives called deputies and alternates and nearly 200 bishops. It is a massive event with 8,000 to 10,000 total attendees, including exhibitors, visitors, guests and media.

I will be busy, and internet access of $12.95 a day and beyond my reach, but I have set this blog (which auto posts to Facebook as well) so that it will continue to give daily updates of quotes and the like so that this blog will continue even while I am taking part in the councils of the Church. Official news of the meeting will be posted here: Episcopal Life coverage. I will post a photo and note or two if time permits, but will make fully and prayerfully taking part in my work in California the priority.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
Clergy Deputy, Diocese of Georgia

The prayer above was written by the Rev. Jennifer Phillips.

Updates - The Revs Linda McCloud and Jay Weldon

The link above is to a local news story in Billings, Montana on Holy Cross Church, Episcopal. It's the church the Rev. Linda McCloud left Camden County to start.

News also comes from the Rev. Jay Weldon that he and Alison have bought a house in Albany, Georgia where he has accepted a call to be the new Rector of St. Patrick's Episcopal Church (pictured below).

Manteo & Virginia Dare

Little certainty surrounds the fate of the English settlers who inhabited Roanoke Island's lost colony, but it is known that in August 1587, Native American Manteo and English baby Virginia Dare were baptized. Manteo's baptism was the first recorded baptism of the Church of England in North America, while Dare was the first child born to English settlers on the North American continent. These first two baptized Christians within our Anglican tradition show amazing breadth, a grown Native American and an infant immigrant from England.

The icon pictured here was given to me by Bishop Clifton Daniel of the Diocese of East Carolina who said, "The baptisms of the Lost Colony mark a peaceful beginning to multi-cultural relations in North America. A commemoration of this event allows us as a people to reflect on this beginning and the changes that have shaped our nation and shed light on the challenges we face today."

Bishop Daniel's sermon on the first commemoration of a feast celebrating their baptisms (held last year) is online here: Commemoration of the Baptisms of Manteo & Virginia Dare. His diocese hopes to have The Episcopal Church mark the date of their baptisms in the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts.

This is one of many proposals which will face the once every three years The General Convention of The Episcopal Church this July. I will be there as a clergy deputy of The Diocese of Georgia along with King of Peace member Bill Bruce, who will be on hand as a lay alternate deputy of the diocese, serving some of the time to "spell out" deputies or take their place if someone must leave.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

I Am Episcopalian

The title of this post is not surprising for an Episcopal priest to write. But the title comes from a new "micro site" of The Episcopal Church appropriately found at www.iamepiscopalian.org. The site states is purpose as

to see and hear the very personal reasons we choose to be Episcopalians. Our controversies and conversations have been public. Our governance is transparent. You are free to see our imperfections, as well as share our joy in that which unites us—our openness, honesty and faith.

There is even a chance to post your own video additions (of no more than 90 seconds) to the site. Fran Moneleone of Ocean Grove, New Jersey says, "Some of us carry burdens with us but we all know that by the time we leave [church] our burdens will be lifted and our hearts will be lighter,"

I tend not to push a denomination as I know Christ is present in all sorts of churches. That said, I love The Episcopal Church and find it the place where I can best live into being the person God called me to be. I found in The Episcopal Church a place where I could bring doubts and uncertainty openly. Questions were welcomed and all were encouraged to come and worship and live into the answers together. I also found a more meaningful (for me) connection to the holiness, mystery and wonder that is God in liturgical worship and in other ancient traditions of the church that spoke to me very deeply. I still value these things about this little corner of the Kingdom of God. What attracts you to The Episcopal Church?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Note:
Tonight we begin our Lenten study "How We Got the Bible" where we will read for ourselves some of the texts that didn't make the cut and learn how the 66 books in the Bible came to be our scripture. Wednesdays 7-8 p.m. The handouts I created for this study are online here: How We Got the Bible and the also essential Additional handout.

Ten Guidelines for the Future

The Rt. Rev. Harry Shipps, retired Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, offers the ten guidelines for the future in the newsletter of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Savannah:

1. The Church is a community into which all are invited.
2. The Church is the people, not a building.
3. Public Worship, keeping the New Covenant every Lord's Day, is a fact of life for Christians.
4. The Episcopal Church is not a congregational church, but rather a hierarchical church.
5. The basic "unit" of The Episcopal Church is the diocese, not a parish.
6. Evangelism is a Biblical mandate.
7. Tithing, 10% is Biblical and the standard teaching of The Episcopal Church.
8. A comprehensive and united plan for the future is essential.
9. None of us is indispensable, nor is any one parish.
10. Be willing to do something for the first time.

Innovation

A week ago, I was in New Orleans meeting with the Network of Ministry Innovators. We are a group of 32 persons in varying places within The Episcopal Church asked to mine our own experiences to try to figure out how the denomination can identify and spread best practices for congregations, with an emphasis on creating new congregations and redeveloping existing, declining churches. I was honored to be a part of the group and to hear the stories of others. I hope that our work, which is still ongoing, will be of benefit to the church.

In brief, we did find some common threads. These included a deeper understanding of how important it is to receive coaching. Or as we came to see it, if professional atheletes have a coach guiding them in every single game, why do we think those in ministry don't need someone from whom they can routinely get input. That outside perspective on what is being done and why is invaluable. We also so how much context of ministry matters to the particular froms that ministry will take. And one more key learning was how important support from the diocesan level is to the success of new initiatives.

We also looked at the nuts and bolts of getting the word out about a church, welcoming newcomers and more. But we all agreed that church's should do what they do as it is the right way to be the Body of Christ and not just something we do to get more people or money.

This is just a thumbnail sketch of what we discovered. Next we will look at the vehicles (websites, books, conferences, etc.) for sharing the best practices as we discover others. We aren't looking for a new thing exactly, as the church has long done many things right even as we drop the ball in some areas. As one participant, Simon Bautista Betances put it, "Innovators point us to the past to show us the way to the future."

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Network of Ministry Innovators

I leave tonight for New Orleans. I will be there through Thursday morning taking part in the Network of Ministry Innovators Gathering. The meeting is an invitation only meeting at the expense of The Episcopal Church bringing together 30 people lay and ordained working in diverse settings within the denomination. To what end? It was described to me as follows:

The Network of Ministry Innovators is a gathering of leaders in our church who are offering creative ministry responses to our changing world. The focus of this gathering is on Evangelism, Congregational Vitality, Church Planting and Church Redevelopment. The objective is to create and develop a network that listens to what is happening both in our world, as well as in the church and responds faithfully to the Spirit’s leading. This networked group of practitioners will share their discoveries and “best practices” with the larger church in the hopes of creating resources and support systems that will nurture a fresh spirit of leadership and vitality. All of this is motivated by a desire to share the good news of God in Jesus Christ with the world at large, to see lives transformed and to birth fresh expressions of ministry.

So I will go and listen as we all seek to hear where the Holy Spirit is leading our Church, in the larger denominational sense of that word, and then speak up as I feel led. It is an ambitious schedule of meetings that starts tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. with the last event beginning at 9 p.m. and a similar (sometimes later) schedule for the other days. It will be a time full of meetings, but also of prayer and worship, as we will worship together with The Episcopal Church's Black Ministries Conference meeting at the same time at the same hotel.

I don't know what God has for The Episcopal Church in this meeting, but I am honored to be invited and look forward to getting back together with the few others I already know and meeting the rest of the group tapped by the denomination as innovators in there varying settings. This blog will continue on autopilot with daily posts scheduled to upload each morning at 5 a.m.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

Pray for Holy Cross, Billings

The Rev. Linda McCloud, who spent some months last year working from King of Peace, is now in Billings, Montana. She is serving as a church planter there and her new congregation, Holy Cross Episcopal Church, is set to start August 24 at 10 a.m.

Please pray for Linda and for the Holy Spirit to guide people to her as she builds this new congregation which seeka to restore all people to unity with God and with each other in Jesus Christ. You may visit them online at www.holycrosschurchbillings.org.

Our Bishop at Lambeth

I ran across the above photo of a sea of bishops and spouses at the once every ten years gathering of Anglican Bishops around the world known as The Lambeth Conference. You can see them circled in the photo below. There is also a picture with our Bishop in a slideshow of the Bishops lined up for a group photo set to the sounds of them singing Amazing Grace while the photographer lined things up. Bishop Louttit is at the top in the first photo of the show: Bishops in Full Voice. And in the small photo below they are shown at the Millennium Development Goals Walk the bishops made together.

Some say the fate of our centuries old communion rests with this meeting. Perhaps it does. I think the fate of the communion rests with Jesus Christ and the work of God's Holy Spirit. But that's just me. I am holding the Louttits in my prayers.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

A Heartbreaking Report

The Episcopal News Service is carrying a report from the Diocese of South Dakota and the challenges faced in ministry there: Diocese of South Dakota tries to offer hope to people who feel hopeless, hungry, forgotten. The article says in part,

Unemployment is about 85 percent in Buffalo County.

Suicide rates in the area are seven times the national average. Diabetes is a leading cause of death. Cancer rates are increasing dramatically on both reservations, while drug use and drug selling, and alcohol abuse is rampant. HIV/AIDS is present but rarely talked about, behavioral health specialists say.

Casinos, once seen as a way to lift Indians out of poverty by bringing tourists and their money to the reservations, are not helping on the Crow Creek Reservation, residents say. Those who are employed often cash their paychecks at the Lode Star Casino in Fort Thompson, dreaming of doubling their money.

"People are selling everything they may have to go gamble," said Tolly Estes, a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Fort Thompson on Crow Creek and the son and grandson of Episcopal priests who served on the reservation. "The casinos have done more harm than good."

Episcopalians and federal officials on the Crow Creek Reservation say they struggle to help residents meet basic needs such as food, shelter, heat and electricity. They have difficulty helping people find the money to bury their family members, they said.

"Right now we're just trying to keep people alive . . .right now we're just trying to get people food," Estes said as he sat with Anderson, Robertson, Tinsley-Roe and others in the nave of Christ Episcopal Church. Estes told of cars following relief agency food trucks in hopes of being first in line and of a youngster at school trying to put mashed potatoes, gravy and corn in his pockets so that he could take food home to his younger brothers and sisters.

"This is the scariest I've ever seen it," Estes said.

The full article is online here: Weaving a web of relationships, rebuilding the body. Pray for our sisters and brother in Christ in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota.

Taking the Church to the Street

The Washington Post has two important videos about Ecclesia Ministries, a ministry of presence to and prayer with the homeless founded in 1993 by the Reverend Debbie W. Little. The first video is below, the second is along with an article online here Taking the Church to the Street:

What in the world?

In response to the question: What in the world is The Episcopal Church doing? One reliable answer is providing disaster relief. Episcopal Relief and Development follows in the wake of disasters and works with partners to provide sustained assistance. The most recent example is Tornado-affected areas receive ERD outreach. The relief is in response to the killer tornados that left more than fifty people dead in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee on February 5. It is in this sort of response that denominations shine as disaster response is something we do together as churches that no one church could do alone as I saw first hand working in a combined Lutheran Disaster Relief-Episcopal Relief and Development Reponse in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That work continues even as support goes to this new tragedy.

Feasts for the Eyes

The Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts has a new online exhibit called Feasts for the Eyes. Curator Judith McManis writes,

My own reaction was probably much like your own.
I looked at all the images, really connected with a few, had almost no reaction to some and thought I actually disliked others. I then read all the stories, knowing how much I needed to know about these wonderful artists and their offerings. I happened to have scheduled a weekend retreat at Holy Cross Monastery in upper New York state and left the images and their stories to ‘simmer’ over that time. Upon looking at them again, I found I really did have ‘new eyes’. Particularly with those that had previously troubled me, I saw new aspects, new layers and new connections with the Spirit.

Her full statement is here: Curator's Statement. Click on any of the pieces shown here at the blog to go to the page about that work. Then you can click on other artists' names in the left column to see more pieces from this exhibit.



Another Feast for the Eyes
Our daughter congregation, The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek, held its first worship service this past Sunday with 75 people present including the King of Peace Ensemble. Photos are online at their blog Sunrise on the Marsh.

Sanctuary

So show your love for the alien,
for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
—Deuteronomy 10:19
The word "sanctuary" means "an especially holy place within a site of worship." Sanctuary also means "a place of refuge or protection." Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church in Cave Creek, Arizona tries to provide both a holy place for worship and a place of refuge and they are taking heat for it.

The self-proclaimed "Little Church with the Big Heart" was on ABC's Nightline program last night as that show considered the Imigration debate. An article on the church's ministry is here Nightline to feature Arizona Congregation at the Episcopal News Service. An article on the segment itself is online here America's Toughest Sheriff Takes on Illegals.

The controversy is this: In 2000, the Town of Cave Creek asked the church to allow workers to gather in its parking lot from Monday to Saturdat as a place where employers can find day laborers. Out of that beginning, came The Good Shepherd Dayworker Program which matches individuals willing to work in a day labor capacity with those in need of temporary workers. The program is self-supporting with workers earning $8-$10 per hour paying the program a dollar a week to take part. Private donations and donations from other churches also support the program. It was, according to the church, designed to offer, "a safe place, no questions asked, for employers to meet laborers." On a given day, 35-50 workers take advantage of the program.

Then the sheriff started targeting vehicles leaving the church, searching them for illegal aliens. Once rounded up, they are taken to the county jail where Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants everyone to know that he can always make more room at the county jail, with its always flashing neon "vacancy" sign and signature pink underwear for inmates. According to Nightline,

He's built a tent city to handle the overflow. With no air conditioning in the blistering desert heat and just two spare meals a day that cost the county 15 cents each, the conditions there rival the prison for enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay. The jail seems geared to punishment, rather than rehabilitation.

Good Shepherd's Rector, the Rev. Glenn Jenks says that the sheriff misunderstands the basic drive fueling the illegal imigration,

The drive that brings them here is one of the most basic and powerful drives, and that is for a father to feed his children. And I think a lot of people underestimate that -- they think that if they can just make it a little uncomfortable for them they'll go home. Some will, but the vast majority won't. More will just come. And they'll keep coming and keep coming.

But the church has become a flash point for some. Last year, the American Freedom Riders targeted the church program. See a Sonoran News article American Freedom Riders Return. The AFR believes churches and other nonprofit organizations facilitating illegal activity should have their nonprofit charters revoked, which is something the group has discussed pursuing.

The town still stands by its original request as the town manager recently confirmed,

From our side as the town's administration, we think the Episcopal Church is one of the best assets in our community.

The program has become a "signature ministry" of the church according to its rector who says that goals is letting day laborers "know they're cared for, loved, welcomed and safe. Just the fact that they are here on a daily basis reminds us always of why we're here."

What do you think? Is the church providing sanctuary in the sense of a safe place, a refuge, in a positive sense? Or are they simply harboring illegal activity?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor


The county jail as photographed by Nightline
There is also a tent city jail for overflow

"Then I will draw near to you for judgment;
and I will be a swift witness against...
those who oppress the wage earner in his wages,
the widow and the orphan,
and those who turn aside the alien
and do not fear Me,"
says the LORD of hosts.
—Malachi 3:5