Dear Friends,
So, there has been some excitement in the 20s/30s group in the last couple weeks. Not to say that there isn't always excitement, but sometimes there's a surge that really pushes us forward in a short amount of time. I'm going to try and keep this brief, so let's keep the wisecracks to a minimum.
A couple Saturdays ago we had a wonderful Eucharist, a little Rite II style for those of us who grew up in a little less "high church" kinda church. And we had a guest: Greg Kay! Greg joined us to help out with our greater discussion of how the 20s/30s was going to start the community outreach aspect of our ministry. He brought a lot of great ideas to the table, and a booklet of opportunities for us to peruse. So, hopefully very soon we'll start checking out different organizations and seeing where the 20s/30s group is needed and feels at home. We'd really like to find one organization that provides opportunities for everyone's preferences. Once we find that place we can really dive in which will allow us to be a little more Christlike and will also give us a common experience with which we can share and develop as a group. After Eucharist we went to Pearl Street for drinks and dinner, which was a lot of fun. Really great hanging out with Greg Kay if you haven't done it before, and we think that maybe we'll start asking more people in the parish to be special guests in the future.
The following Monday we were invited over to the Bishop's house for dinner. Bishop Michael and Carol were lovely hosts, serving chips and salsa and homemade guacamole (one of my favorites!). There was also great wine and homemade margaritas just before dinner. For dinner we had tacos, and flan for dessert. As I said, I'm trying to keep this brief, so I won't go on about how great the food was. But, if you're lucky enough to get an invite to the Bishop's house for dinner then I suggest you do what you do for Thanksgiving and starve yourself during the day so you'll have a hardy appetite when you get there. Bishop Michael and Carol are so delightful and great hosts, they will be missed when they leave.
As the summer approaches (or is it already here?), we really want to transition into summer in a few ways. One is the community outreach aspect. Another is that we want to start adjusting our gatherings to more summer-centric ventures. For example, on June 23 we are going to see The Tempest at Shakespeare in the Park. There will be more to follow on where we are meeting, but I suspect that, like all things 20s/30s, we'll most likely have a very loose structure. A final way in which the 20s/30s is transitioning into summer is that we want to have more free form social gatherings. The way we envision this playing out is that more people will step up to have barbecues at their homes or picnics or just to go out drinking. There really is no reason why a group in our demographic should not be able to use the group network to enlist a few delightful people in ventures that aren't inherently religious in nature. Thus far I tip my hat to Jason and Jim, who invited the group to their home for the Burns dinner, and also to Gus, who throws parties at her house almost monthly and always invites the group. I, for all my procrastination, definitely plan on having people over for beer and barbecue. So, if anyone is having or would like to have a social event and invite the 20s/30s group, just contact one of us or someone in the church office and we'll make sure to post it. And I promise that we'll all bring our own alcohol (and probably enough to share), and we won't proselytize anyone.
Lastly, Andrea submitted another piece to me that she wrote a while ago and wondered if I would post it. I decided to tack it on to the end of this, so it is included below. It's really a wonderful piece, and if you are interested in some thoughts from a fellow 20s/30s, I do suggest reading it. I'm going to give a little disclaimer, but this does not reflect on Andrea. It's more administrative. The 20s/30s can only survive in the church as a place where young adults feel free and unhindered by the professional church to speak their minds and share their feelings. We are in a transitional time, being old enough to make a commitment to the church, but young enough to still not know exactly how we feel about everything that the media and greater community are throwing at us. So when you read Andrea's piece, don't judge it for its content if you don't agree; respect that someone else very close to you is thinking about these things and is willing to share those thoughts with us.
A. Peter Snodgrass
Scientists say that the entire universe has been created from one inconsequentially tiny piece of - well, I don’t know what- but that this thing was smaller than an atom. Smaller than an atom. It’s impossible to imagine. On the other hand, it’s impossible to imagine the entire universe, which those same scientists still say is expanding and goes on and on and on- ad infinitum. How could one smaller- than- the- tiniest- speck of super matter create everything in the known universe? And still keep creating? It leads to one conclusion- God.
You don’t have to believe in God. And I’m not going to say, “You don’t have to believe in God because God believes in You!” (Frankly, not even I am that hokey.) After all, we all have free will. And I’m not saying that my idea/ conception/ belief of God is THE interpretation and that everyone else is going to HELL! The problem with organized religion is that their definitions of God are far too simplistic and narrow and, I suspect, that even if you put all of the religions together, amalgamated them into something, it would still be too narrow.
I tend to think of God as a male, probably because that is the notion that I was advertently or inadvertently raised with (I’m not sure, which.) This is also despite the teachings that God is neither male nor female, but still that is the idea that lingers in my head- big guy, booming voice, white hair and beard, muscular, handsome- rather Zeus like, I suppose. I know that this is not really God. God is so very much more.
And what is it with this fixation with “I’m going to hell!”? “Oh, I know I’m going to hell for Saying/ Thinking/ Doing …” What makes you think that you’re so important that God has time to worry about what You did, have done, will do, thought, or said? Asides from the biggies- murder, child molestation, genocide, serial rape, abuse (spousal, child, other)- do you really think that God- with everything in the entire universe to worry about/ preside over/ deal with- that God has time and energy to worry about the everyday little things that humans do? God has much bigger fish to fry, like stopping wars, ending famines, helping us to save our planet- and these are just some of the things that are on our planet, on our little world, and then there’s an entire universe out there that we can’t imagine, that we can’t even begin to comprehend! And persons have the nerve, the audacity to say, “How can this happen to Me!” like you’re so special that you should be exempt. I say just be thankful and count your blessings. We’re so little and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and here for such a short time, barely a blip on the universal radar, that we need to remember to live our lives in the best possible way, to the best of our abilities. What else really matters?
Andrea Szymanski
25 May 2009
09 May 2009
Whisper of God
Although I have been consistently writing the blog entries since Father Paul left, I would like to remind all our readers that this is the St. Paul's Cathedral 20s/30s group blog, not the A. Peter Snodgrass blog. I invite anyone who would like to post something to email it to me or Jason Elliott and we'll happily put it on for you. With that said, here is a lovely and profound entry from our own Andrea Szymanski.
A. Peter Snodgrass
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." (I'm not that well read. It was stitched on a cross-stitch, but nonetheless...) When I saw it I had one of those Eureka! moments, an epiphany of great import. Words on a cross-stitch from a poet spoke to me, and those words left a deep imprint upon my soul.
I think it's always assumed that because God is so great, so profoundly awesome (in the traditional sense of the word as opposed to the less inspiring, modern vernacular) that God is bombastic and loud; that His influence upon us is terrible and grand, but I believe that God, who has made things as wondrous and multi-hued as sunsets and fields of wildflowers, is much subtler than that. God's influence is not bombastic. More often it is the voice in the back of one's head saying, "Perhaps, you should do this..." And because He loves us, God gives us a choice. "Yes, perhaps we should do this, but I think I'll choose this instead..."
I believe that whisper of God, or conscience or whatever you choose to call it, was once so much easier for us to hear, before we, as a species, got too smart for our own good and created the chaos that surrounds us. We've gotten louder. Our lives, everything around us, have gotten louder and so we shout over the cacophony of sound and light and over-stimulation. It's hard to find peace and quiet in a world like that. We shout. God does not.
My personal challenge to myself, which came out of the retreat, was to hear God's voice more clearly. I know God is always with me and tries to help me to be the best possible version of myself. I wouldn't say that I've stopped listening to God but I would admit that He's harder to hear and that by making different choices I've strayed a bit from where God intended me to be. My challenge is to drown out the noise, put aside things that can wait, and to just stop and listen to God's whisper. It's always there. If you stop for a moment, I know you'll hear God, too. After all, he's always there, waiting for us to listen.
Andrea Szymanski
A. Peter Snodgrass
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." (I'm not that well read. It was stitched on a cross-stitch, but nonetheless...) When I saw it I had one of those Eureka! moments, an epiphany of great import. Words on a cross-stitch from a poet spoke to me, and those words left a deep imprint upon my soul.
I think it's always assumed that because God is so great, so profoundly awesome (in the traditional sense of the word as opposed to the less inspiring, modern vernacular) that God is bombastic and loud; that His influence upon us is terrible and grand, but I believe that God, who has made things as wondrous and multi-hued as sunsets and fields of wildflowers, is much subtler than that. God's influence is not bombastic. More often it is the voice in the back of one's head saying, "Perhaps, you should do this..." And because He loves us, God gives us a choice. "Yes, perhaps we should do this, but I think I'll choose this instead..."
I believe that whisper of God, or conscience or whatever you choose to call it, was once so much easier for us to hear, before we, as a species, got too smart for our own good and created the chaos that surrounds us. We've gotten louder. Our lives, everything around us, have gotten louder and so we shout over the cacophony of sound and light and over-stimulation. It's hard to find peace and quiet in a world like that. We shout. God does not.
My personal challenge to myself, which came out of the retreat, was to hear God's voice more clearly. I know God is always with me and tries to help me to be the best possible version of myself. I wouldn't say that I've stopped listening to God but I would admit that He's harder to hear and that by making different choices I've strayed a bit from where God intended me to be. My challenge is to drown out the noise, put aside things that can wait, and to just stop and listen to God's whisper. It's always there. If you stop for a moment, I know you'll hear God, too. After all, he's always there, waiting for us to listen.
Andrea Szymanski
04 May 2009
Ministries Retreat
Now that we've gotten Easter stuff out of the way, let's talk about the next big thing that the 20s/30s group did. This would be the retreat we did at Christ the King Seminary, led by Douglas Fenton from the Episcopal Church Center, discussing the various ministries we were individually called to. Now I'll spend the next little while breaking that sentence down. All the way down.
We arrived at the seminary on Friday April 24th for a prompt 5:45pm dinner. I don't know if this was a Friday thing or what, but dinner was fish, rice, and oily carrots. Now I don't want anyone to think I'm complaining (after all, the retreat was completely free, paid for by the funds from the Trinity Grant we received), but I'm not a fish person so it's easy for me to be unhappy when faced with only one choice. They could have served shrimp and lobster and I would complain. But, they had wonderful strawberry shortcake for dessert so I just filled up on that instead. After dinner we gathered in the common room of the dorm we were staying at to get to know each other a little before starting.
Douglas is a very nice, soft-spoken slightly older gentlemen with a very good spirit. He obviously has a lot of practice facilitating these events, but I must really say that I was thoroughly impressed. A difficulty that the church has always had is with effective facilitation. There inevitably comes a time with certain groups where someone needs to put their foot down or even act as a taskmaster if the goals are to be accomplished. But regardless of what makes a good Christian, many people in the Church are really just nice (harmless) people who just want to hang out with other nice (harmless) people. (Aside: Making statements like this last sentence is a) one reason I believe I am not called to be ordained, and b) the reason I jokingly add disclaimers to my entries.) But Douglas has a certain way about him that gives him the ability to say to someone's face, "No, we are not doing that. We are doing this," without anyone getting offended or even batting an eye. And I can imagine that working with 20s/30s that this is an effective skill which he must use often. But that is not the extent of Douglas' abilities. He's also a very active listener with thoughtful follow-on questions. And lastly, taking a holistic approach to the retreat, there was a definite carefully laid out plan that was systematic, with the result of accomplishing more than I would have thought possible in about 22 hours. And that plan was all Douglas (even though he did tell us it was our retreat and we could do whatever we wanted...which no one did, so maybe he's also a Jedi).
So you want to know what this plan was and where it took us? First things first, we started with roundtable introductions, starting with Douglas and discussing what we do and what brought us to that place. Next we read a poem by Billy Collins entitled "Introduction to Poetry," which gave us a starting point for how we should be reading the Bible passages Douglas assigned. Then we gave a shoutout to Saint Mark (that is, read the collect for his feast day) and said a prayer for Ministry. Afterward, we read some of the "Call" stories from the Bible: the man who wants to inherit eternal life from Mark 10:17-22, God's call to Moses, Samuel, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus' call to the brothers. Finally we read John's announcement to the people of the coming of Jesus from Luke's Gospel. After we had read and discussed each of these readings, focusing on the similarities and differences, we were handed a sheet of paper with the 34 Marks of Discipleship. We went around the room, each reading one in turn and reflecting on them. Then we were asked to pick five marks that we found appealing, and one mark that was not something we were good at. After discussing these, we had a short compline and finished for the evening. This was around 9pm. I think I crawled into bed around 2am after much merriment, including some wine (bottles and a box) and Tanqueray. This, I think, was also part of the retreat because it gave us an opportunity to unwind and have some unstructured time to better get to know the people who'd attended and for Douglas to get a better feel for us as a group.
The next morning we had an early breakfast at 8:15am and reconvened at 9:30am for the next big step in the process. I apologize that I am not exactly clear on all these times so I'm taking a little license in the story, but I can assure you that if I'm off by any amount of 15-minute segments the effect is negligible. Douglas handed out a short "workbook" along with excerpts from The Message, apparently a book that tells the Bible stories as though they were written today. It's hard to explain if you don't know what it is and it's doubly hard to explain because I don't know exactly what it is. It's not a modern day translation because the words are changed considerably but the ideas are all still present. Hopefully that makes sense. I felt that it was really geared towards younger crowds and made the stories more accessible instead of having to read the story in the Bible and then translate it into a modern setting to make it applicable to my life, which was the reason we were reading them in the first place.
The workbook had instructions, which included reading a Bible passage and then reading a section of the workbook that discussed the different types of ministry, which the workbook explained to be gifts: Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Miracle Worker, Healer, Helper, and Administrator. After reading the description of each gift, the workbook asked us to consider whether we or anyone in the group fit the description of that particular gift. I should tell you that the labels for the gifts are not meant to be construed in the strict sense we may think of them in. I'm gonna make some quick, gross generalizations, but that will have to do. Apostles are called to be ordained, Prophets are called to communicate God's message, Teacher are called to impart knowledge and train disciples, Miracle Workers are called to affect positive change in large and small ways, Healers are called to heal the mentally and physically sick, Helpers are called to encourage and keep the church moving, and Administrators are called to establish goals and execute plans. So, what type of ministry are you called to?
We were given about two hours to go off on our own to complete the workbook and contemplate our answers. Most people went somewhere outside where it was warm with a nice breeze. When the two hours were over we gathered for lunch. Although the culmination of the retreat happened after lunch when we discussed the gifts and who fit into which ones, there really isn't much to say about it. We basically discussed each gift individually and then identified people we thought fit that description. Sometimes Douglas would ask if a certain person was surprised at being identified with a certain gift or he would ask how the rationale given for identifying a person with a gift made them feel. After we had covered all the gifts we focused on each person individually and went around the room identifying what gift(s) we thought best fit that particular person. Each person wrote down the gift(s) that they were identified with and then Douglas asked us to think as we prepared for Eucharist about one way in the next year that we would further our ministry and offer it up at the service.
We had a pleasant Eucharist, which wrapped up the retreat, and by 3:45pm we were each off in our separate directions, me and Gus with Douglas in tow to get him to the airport. We hope to gather again in a few months to discuss any thoughts on the retreat and any progress we have made. It was truly an inspirational event, both for those of us who reaffirmed what we already knew about ourselves and those of us who may have found out something new about ourselves. I urge anyone who reads this that did not attend to take some time and consider what your own gift of ministry is and how you can possibly unleash it on the greater community.
There are some great tentative plans for summer gatherings, including Eucharists, Community Outreach, and social events (including a party at the Bishop's place!). Please stay posted on our facebook page and in the bulletin to keep track of what we have planned.
A. Peter Snodgrass
We arrived at the seminary on Friday April 24th for a prompt 5:45pm dinner. I don't know if this was a Friday thing or what, but dinner was fish, rice, and oily carrots. Now I don't want anyone to think I'm complaining (after all, the retreat was completely free, paid for by the funds from the Trinity Grant we received), but I'm not a fish person so it's easy for me to be unhappy when faced with only one choice. They could have served shrimp and lobster and I would complain. But, they had wonderful strawberry shortcake for dessert so I just filled up on that instead. After dinner we gathered in the common room of the dorm we were staying at to get to know each other a little before starting.
Douglas is a very nice, soft-spoken slightly older gentlemen with a very good spirit. He obviously has a lot of practice facilitating these events, but I must really say that I was thoroughly impressed. A difficulty that the church has always had is with effective facilitation. There inevitably comes a time with certain groups where someone needs to put their foot down or even act as a taskmaster if the goals are to be accomplished. But regardless of what makes a good Christian, many people in the Church are really just nice (harmless) people who just want to hang out with other nice (harmless) people. (Aside: Making statements like this last sentence is a) one reason I believe I am not called to be ordained, and b) the reason I jokingly add disclaimers to my entries.) But Douglas has a certain way about him that gives him the ability to say to someone's face, "No, we are not doing that. We are doing this," without anyone getting offended or even batting an eye. And I can imagine that working with 20s/30s that this is an effective skill which he must use often. But that is not the extent of Douglas' abilities. He's also a very active listener with thoughtful follow-on questions. And lastly, taking a holistic approach to the retreat, there was a definite carefully laid out plan that was systematic, with the result of accomplishing more than I would have thought possible in about 22 hours. And that plan was all Douglas (even though he did tell us it was our retreat and we could do whatever we wanted...which no one did, so maybe he's also a Jedi).
So you want to know what this plan was and where it took us? First things first, we started with roundtable introductions, starting with Douglas and discussing what we do and what brought us to that place. Next we read a poem by Billy Collins entitled "Introduction to Poetry," which gave us a starting point for how we should be reading the Bible passages Douglas assigned. Then we gave a shoutout to Saint Mark (that is, read the collect for his feast day) and said a prayer for Ministry. Afterward, we read some of the "Call" stories from the Bible: the man who wants to inherit eternal life from Mark 10:17-22, God's call to Moses, Samuel, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus' call to the brothers. Finally we read John's announcement to the people of the coming of Jesus from Luke's Gospel. After we had read and discussed each of these readings, focusing on the similarities and differences, we were handed a sheet of paper with the 34 Marks of Discipleship. We went around the room, each reading one in turn and reflecting on them. Then we were asked to pick five marks that we found appealing, and one mark that was not something we were good at. After discussing these, we had a short compline and finished for the evening. This was around 9pm. I think I crawled into bed around 2am after much merriment, including some wine (bottles and a box) and Tanqueray. This, I think, was also part of the retreat because it gave us an opportunity to unwind and have some unstructured time to better get to know the people who'd attended and for Douglas to get a better feel for us as a group.
The next morning we had an early breakfast at 8:15am and reconvened at 9:30am for the next big step in the process. I apologize that I am not exactly clear on all these times so I'm taking a little license in the story, but I can assure you that if I'm off by any amount of 15-minute segments the effect is negligible. Douglas handed out a short "workbook" along with excerpts from The Message, apparently a book that tells the Bible stories as though they were written today. It's hard to explain if you don't know what it is and it's doubly hard to explain because I don't know exactly what it is. It's not a modern day translation because the words are changed considerably but the ideas are all still present. Hopefully that makes sense. I felt that it was really geared towards younger crowds and made the stories more accessible instead of having to read the story in the Bible and then translate it into a modern setting to make it applicable to my life, which was the reason we were reading them in the first place.
The workbook had instructions, which included reading a Bible passage and then reading a section of the workbook that discussed the different types of ministry, which the workbook explained to be gifts: Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Miracle Worker, Healer, Helper, and Administrator. After reading the description of each gift, the workbook asked us to consider whether we or anyone in the group fit the description of that particular gift. I should tell you that the labels for the gifts are not meant to be construed in the strict sense we may think of them in. I'm gonna make some quick, gross generalizations, but that will have to do. Apostles are called to be ordained, Prophets are called to communicate God's message, Teacher are called to impart knowledge and train disciples, Miracle Workers are called to affect positive change in large and small ways, Healers are called to heal the mentally and physically sick, Helpers are called to encourage and keep the church moving, and Administrators are called to establish goals and execute plans. So, what type of ministry are you called to?
We were given about two hours to go off on our own to complete the workbook and contemplate our answers. Most people went somewhere outside where it was warm with a nice breeze. When the two hours were over we gathered for lunch. Although the culmination of the retreat happened after lunch when we discussed the gifts and who fit into which ones, there really isn't much to say about it. We basically discussed each gift individually and then identified people we thought fit that description. Sometimes Douglas would ask if a certain person was surprised at being identified with a certain gift or he would ask how the rationale given for identifying a person with a gift made them feel. After we had covered all the gifts we focused on each person individually and went around the room identifying what gift(s) we thought best fit that particular person. Each person wrote down the gift(s) that they were identified with and then Douglas asked us to think as we prepared for Eucharist about one way in the next year that we would further our ministry and offer it up at the service.
We had a pleasant Eucharist, which wrapped up the retreat, and by 3:45pm we were each off in our separate directions, me and Gus with Douglas in tow to get him to the airport. We hope to gather again in a few months to discuss any thoughts on the retreat and any progress we have made. It was truly an inspirational event, both for those of us who reaffirmed what we already knew about ourselves and those of us who may have found out something new about ourselves. I urge anyone who reads this that did not attend to take some time and consider what your own gift of ministry is and how you can possibly unleash it on the greater community.
There are some great tentative plans for summer gatherings, including Eucharists, Community Outreach, and social events (including a party at the Bishop's place!). Please stay posted on our facebook page and in the bulletin to keep track of what we have planned.
A. Peter Snodgrass
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