My last Sunday at San Jose Episcopal will be on April 26th. The past five months have really flown by!
Yesterday afternoon I was out for a walk with my three sons. Brennan and Aidan are 9 and 7, respectively, so they rode their scooters and then went hunting for tadpoles and lizards in and around a retention pond by our house. I had three month old Joshua in the jogging stroller (not that I will ever jog with it...) and I mused about the parallels between Joshua's first three months on earth and my five months at San Jose.
Each of us started our little journey in a position of extreme comfort and peace. Joshua began his journey in the womb; there is no warmer, safer, more completely peaceful place than that. I started my recent journey at St. Andrew's; which has been my parish home for eight years. In that time, SAE has become my safe place. St. Andrew's taught me to be a man and follow Christ. It was there that I learned how to be a mature adult, to tithe, to pray, to worship, to raise healthy children and to be a real friend.
Then... trauma. For Joshua, it was birth on January 15th. A tough way to come into the world, but at least you get in! For me it was starting my internship at San Jose on the first Sunday of Advent, 2008. For each of us the change was a shock:
"who are all these strange people?"
"why am I here?"
"when do I get to return to the comfort of my safe place?"
But for each of us the transition turned out to be no so bad after all. Joshua quickly found himself in the loving arms of his wonderful mother and family. He was safe, warm, and fed. I quickly found myself surrounded by caring and thoughtful Christians. I was safe, warm and fed.
After the initial shock wore off, both of us started to enjoy our time in our new surrounding immensely. Joshua came home from the hospital after a few days and then got to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and the dog. Eventually he visited St. Andrew's and was introduced to his larger family. After the first few weeks at San Jose I started to really enjoy every minute of it. I had been afraid that there would be no other place on earth like St. Andrew's. This was true and yet it was not... San Jose and St. Andrew's are loving, thriving, giving Christian communities; each with it's own voice, flavor, and palette of colors and attitudes towards life and the world. The important stuff is the same: devoted to God, followers of Christ, prayerful and giving, love for one another, care for those who hurt, openmindedness, and fondness for the Episcopal way. Some important things are quite different, mostly it is the people themselves and their stories of life with Christ and each other. Other things that are unique, and joyously so, are the music, worship style, architecture, and traditions. This is fantastic because it gives so much spice and variety to each community. After a few weeks at SJE I was ready to savor each moment I spent there.
During our walk Joshua fell quickly asleep. The warm sun was shining down on us from a bright sky full of fluffy clouds. The light from the sun had that filtered, yellow glow that you only get on a spring afternoon. The baby looked so peaceful and content lying there in the stroller, dozing quietly in the warm sun. He knew he was safe and loved; that there was nothing to worry about. I know how he feels.
Jon
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Holy Week afterglow
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
Wow, what an exhausting, yet wonderful Holy Week! It seems like it has been months since Palm Sunday, not eight days. I served at both the 8am and 1030am services at San Jose on Palm Sunday, doing the sermon for the 8am. The readings on Palm Sunday are designed for people who won't be attending all of the Holy Week services, so they include the Passion, etc. It's like having a mini Good Friday service in the middle of your Palm Sunday & makes for a difficult sermon. Both Father Mark at St. Andrew's and Father Steph at San Jose had trouble with it too, so I didn't feel too bad that my novice attempt was a bit confused.
We did the Tenebrae for San Jose on Sunday at 4pm. It was a pretty service, with an unusual (to me) choral style. Not that the choral style was unusual, it was just not the chant style that I expected for Tenebrae. Anyway, it was nice.
On Wednesday night Marti and the kids did a Seder dinner with 75 people at St. Andrew's. It was great, as all her events are. I came early and ate dinner, I love middle eastern food, but had to leave for the Taize service at San Jose. That was a great service. Father Britt has a lovely singing voice and it was very uplifting, while still mindful of the solemn tone of Jesus' last week before the Crucifixion. The music was incredible and the soft lighting of the candles really set the perfect mood in the San Jose sanctuary.
Thursday night was madness. I participated in Father Mark's last supper drama at St. Andrew's, playing the role of James the Younger. The drama was great and very well-received. After that we had the foot washing. I started crying when I watched Don Sitterson, Earl Williams, and Pat Shouvlin washing each other's feet. These gentlemen are in their late seventies and mid eighties and have been friends for close to five decades. They have always been an inspiration to me. After the foot washing we stripped the altar and turned down the lights. Following the end of the service we took a short break and then at 10pm we started the Maundy Thursday vigil. This silent vigil reminds us of Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsemane when the discipiles repeatedly fell asleep while they were supposed to be keeping watch for him. I had the 1pm and 3pm shifts. In addition to managing the watch and participating, my kids usually spend the night in the parish hall. This year we were joined by Robert Slama and his son, 5 year old Adam. The watch went well and was very rewarding in terms of meditation and prayer. At 6am, Robert, Adam, me and my kids, David and Carol Childers and Gary Walker all went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast (thanks Dave & Carol!).
Good Friday had a noon and 7pm service. I was so tired by Friday that I had a hard time staying awake during the noon service. Marti was beat too, so I asked Father Britt if I could skip the 7pm service.
St. Andrew's had two Good Friday and two Holy Saturday services. (Father Mark is TIRED!) The kids stayed with my in-laws and Marti and I went alone with the baby to the Saturday night Vigil at 7pm. It was a beautiful service that included the baptism of Gary and Jan Walker's granddaughter.
Finally, Easter day arrived bright and beautiful on Sunday. The music and scripture for the 7am Vigil at San Jose were perfect. At 9am I joined the choir for a delicious breakfast and then at 1030 we celebrated again with 300 of our closest friends. Both services were great and the festive Easter spirit filled the parish.
I know that clergy and staff the world over are tired from their Holy Week work, but I pray that all are renewed and enriched in their walk with Christ.
God bless,
Jon
Wow, what an exhausting, yet wonderful Holy Week! It seems like it has been months since Palm Sunday, not eight days. I served at both the 8am and 1030am services at San Jose on Palm Sunday, doing the sermon for the 8am. The readings on Palm Sunday are designed for people who won't be attending all of the Holy Week services, so they include the Passion, etc. It's like having a mini Good Friday service in the middle of your Palm Sunday & makes for a difficult sermon. Both Father Mark at St. Andrew's and Father Steph at San Jose had trouble with it too, so I didn't feel too bad that my novice attempt was a bit confused.
We did the Tenebrae for San Jose on Sunday at 4pm. It was a pretty service, with an unusual (to me) choral style. Not that the choral style was unusual, it was just not the chant style that I expected for Tenebrae. Anyway, it was nice.
On Wednesday night Marti and the kids did a Seder dinner with 75 people at St. Andrew's. It was great, as all her events are. I came early and ate dinner, I love middle eastern food, but had to leave for the Taize service at San Jose. That was a great service. Father Britt has a lovely singing voice and it was very uplifting, while still mindful of the solemn tone of Jesus' last week before the Crucifixion. The music was incredible and the soft lighting of the candles really set the perfect mood in the San Jose sanctuary.
Thursday night was madness. I participated in Father Mark's last supper drama at St. Andrew's, playing the role of James the Younger. The drama was great and very well-received. After that we had the foot washing. I started crying when I watched Don Sitterson, Earl Williams, and Pat Shouvlin washing each other's feet. These gentlemen are in their late seventies and mid eighties and have been friends for close to five decades. They have always been an inspiration to me. After the foot washing we stripped the altar and turned down the lights. Following the end of the service we took a short break and then at 10pm we started the Maundy Thursday vigil. This silent vigil reminds us of Jesus' time in the Garden of Gethsemane when the discipiles repeatedly fell asleep while they were supposed to be keeping watch for him. I had the 1pm and 3pm shifts. In addition to managing the watch and participating, my kids usually spend the night in the parish hall. This year we were joined by Robert Slama and his son, 5 year old Adam. The watch went well and was very rewarding in terms of meditation and prayer. At 6am, Robert, Adam, me and my kids, David and Carol Childers and Gary Walker all went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast (thanks Dave & Carol!).
Good Friday had a noon and 7pm service. I was so tired by Friday that I had a hard time staying awake during the noon service. Marti was beat too, so I asked Father Britt if I could skip the 7pm service.
St. Andrew's had two Good Friday and two Holy Saturday services. (Father Mark is TIRED!) The kids stayed with my in-laws and Marti and I went alone with the baby to the Saturday night Vigil at 7pm. It was a beautiful service that included the baptism of Gary and Jan Walker's granddaughter.
Finally, Easter day arrived bright and beautiful on Sunday. The music and scripture for the 7am Vigil at San Jose were perfect. At 9am I joined the choir for a delicious breakfast and then at 1030 we celebrated again with 300 of our closest friends. Both services were great and the festive Easter spirit filled the parish.
I know that clergy and staff the world over are tired from their Holy Week work, but I pray that all are renewed and enriched in their walk with Christ.
God bless,
Jon
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Almost done with internship.
A lot has happened since our visit to Sewanee in early March.
Regarding my seminary education, I was accepted as an MDiv student at Sewanee! This was a fantastic relief and lead me to go ahead and announce that I was leaving to all the people that I work with. This has been very liberating and fun. It's nice to not have to keep the "secret" anymore, plus I get to talk about my faith without worrying so much about "crossing the line".
Now, my internship at San Jose is drawing to a close. I am a little sad about this, I have really enjoyed getting to know the wonderful people there. My relationship with Father Britt and Deacon Sorey has also been great, they are kind hearted teachers who enjoy sharing their faith and their experiences. I will especially miss serving on the altar there, which has been a real privilege.
Regarding my seminary education, I was accepted as an MDiv student at Sewanee! This was a fantastic relief and lead me to go ahead and announce that I was leaving to all the people that I work with. This has been very liberating and fun. It's nice to not have to keep the "secret" anymore, plus I get to talk about my faith without worrying so much about "crossing the line".
Now, my internship at San Jose is drawing to a close. I am a little sad about this, I have really enjoyed getting to know the wonderful people there. My relationship with Father Britt and Deacon Sorey has also been great, they are kind hearted teachers who enjoy sharing their faith and their experiences. I will especially miss serving on the altar there, which has been a real privilege.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
