This is an exciting week at Redeemer. Today a photographer is coming to catch shots of us working with Camp Biloxi and other NGOs on the rebuilding effort and the ministry taking place here. All of this is an outgrowth of the House of Bishops meeting in NOLA and the work that the Diocese of Massachusetts and the Gulf Coast Partnership led by Bishop Cederholm is doing here. Bishop Tom Shaw is coming this weekend and we are making preparations for a Gulf Coast feast. Ron Edwards said that he would wear his best overalls. For those who do not know what overalls are – well you will just have to come and see….
I have moved a bit from my traditional reports on this blog to reflect on what the HOB meeting means for us in Biloxi. The newsletter article for our parish paper that I have pasted below is my reflection on the gathering ahead.
Rev Jane rambles on…
Have you ever considered what it is that makes us Episcopalians. I have a friend in Massachusetts who would say "the prayer book" She is fond of saying that we should not print the entire service out as it is just not an Episcopal service without using the BCP (Book of Common Prayer). Another might say it is John Hooker and the three-legged stool. For sure, at some point, we began to diverge from the path of our Roman brothers and sisters by adding reason to the foundational sources of scripture and tradition in meditating on our understanding of God. So scripture, tradition, and reason became the Anglican three-legged stool. But lately there is a sense of experience being a fourth leg. Does the inclusion of our experience of God moving in and around us make us less Episcopal? Another possible contender for differentiation might be adherence to the via media. For those who have yet to delve deeply into Anglican lore the via media is the "middle way". We are neither Roman Catholic nor fully protestant, neither liberal nor conservative, neither low church or high church. As Anglicans we strive to be open and attentive to diverse opinions, beliefs, and worship traditions. I have heard people say that Anglicans are wishy washy and will never take a stand on anything. That sense of being non-confrontational comes, I think, from our via media tradition. But I see a different way of looking at how we walk the middle road.
As Anglicans we do not have a statement of beliefs, we have a statement of faith. In that statement we affirm our faith in God who creates us, Jesus who redeems us, and the Holy Spirit who renews us. Sometimes in blessing I say "Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier" rather than "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". The former are really functional descriptions of the Trinity whereas the latter names the three persons. OK, perhaps I am just getting "churchy", but my reasoning is that it is not OK just to name something, one needs to know how it works, too - if one is to fully understand it. Biochemists love to give alphabet soup names to chemicals (DNA, BNP etc), but it is the analytical and physical chemists who learn how to understand and to use them.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu in an address available at http://www.episcopalcafe.com/video/, says that, "Jesus says that when He is lifted up he will draw all, all, all into His incredible divine embrace so that God is all in all". I believe that the true essence of via media is being able to stand side by side with that all. All skin tones, all faiths, all denominations, all languages, gay, straight, rich or poor – we are all held in the same incredible, wide, loving embrace that exceeds our human ability to comprehend. I don't have to agree with you to stand at the Table with you. I just need to recognize God's face in yours. If I cannot, then I am the lesser for it.
Next week the House of Bishops will be meeting in New Orleans. Archbishop Rowan Williams is coming and there will be much debate about sexuality and schism and yes about the middle way. Whether or not we choose to walk together, unified in God's embrace is a question right now. But somehow I just think that God is looking at us and shaking her head and thinking: "they just need to grow up a little and learn to play together". I found a quote on the Via Media website from Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. In C.E. 258 he wrote, "We ought to hold firmly and maintain our [Christian] unity, especially those of us who are bishops presiding in the Church, thereby revealing the episcopate to be one and undivided. The episcopate is one; it is a unity in which each bishop enjoys full possession. The Church is likewise one, even though it is spread abroad far and wide, and grows as her children increase in number. Just as the sun has many rays, but the light is one; or as a tree with many branches finds its strength in its deep root; or as various streams issue from a spring, their multiplicity fed by the abundance of the water supply, so unity is preserved in the source itself."
The sun does indeed have many rays and the church does indeed have many members, but we are all of the same body in Christ (with deference to St Paul). There is much to be done in Mississippi, Louisiana, and everywhere else that people suffer. My prayer for the House of Bishops will be for them to move away from the things that divide us and focus on the things that unite us – our love of God, our desire to serve others, our willingness to turn away from sin, our commitment to prayer, our place with others in God's loving embrace. By the time this letter goes out we will know more about the mind of the bishops. Bishop Gray tells us in the video he made recently that no matter what happens in New Orleans, when it is all over there will still be an Episcopal Church, there will still be a Diocese of Mississippi, and there will still be Redeemer. God's work goes on regardless. I hope and pray that the bishops realize that also.
God's Peace be with you,
Jane+
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Two years and counting
In our baptismal promises we commit to seek justice for all human beings, to love others as we love ourselves, and to proclaim the Good News. Those commitments of Justice, Compassion, and Hope were the foundation upon which the first of many somber services held across the Gulf Coast to remember the tragedy of Katrina was built. A couple of months ago I was asked to create a liturgy for an intefaith memorial service to mark the 2nd aniversry of Katrina. Many phone calls and google searches later a sunrise service was birthed. I had not seen the pictures of the service until I ran across them in the GCP blog (www.gracebook.org) . The day before we had rain - lots of it. I was afraid that Gulfside Assembly, where the service was to be held, would be a mud hole. I had images of cars stuck and tractors coming to haul them out - after all much of the town of Waveland is still a wasteland beside the now tranquil waters of the bay. But as you can see from the pictures it was beautiful. People came from Biloxi and from New Orleans to remember and to commit themselves to the task ahead, to plant the seeds of justice, compassion, and hope in the hearts of all who still suffer in the aftermath of Katrina’s wrath.
I have read a lot lately about the “competition” between Louisiana and Mississippi for federal and private sector funding. Mississippi accuses New Orleans of getting all of the attention and being more “interesting” than Mississippi’s devastation. New Orleans and Louisiana accuse Mississippi of engaging in partisan politics in the granting process. Louisiana says that Mississippi got more money per victim than Louisiana and Mississippi says that their proposal was better and too bad that Louisiana did not get their act together in time to make a valid plea for help. Back and forth – I have to say that sometimes I just want to say “Enough already – there is enough suffering for all – we need to stand together!” The complexity of these issues rivals the Gordian Knot and will probably require the same solution.
But the reality in Mississippi is that very little of the money that has been allocated has gone to assist the poorest of the poor. In New Orleans the reality is the same. Money has gone to restore infrastructure, businesses, federal projects, and middle income homes, but precious little is left over to go to the poor. The justice work that I am involved in here in MS is largely coordinated out of the Steps Coalition. I have written about this group before. On the surface it is a jumble of non-profits with very little power, but standing together we have forced the hands of the governor’s office to produce the date included at the end of this blog. Dry as it seems it is necessary to have such data in order to know for whom we must advocate and to whom we must make our case. The work is slow and frustrating, but it has its moments.
I came to Mississippi to help rebuild a parish and to be the “person on the ground” for Massachusetts, but more and more I see my work being the spark that ignites hope in those people who can do the most to rebuild, the people who live here. For sure none of the work we have done would have been possible without the help of volunteers, but in the end it is Mississippians and Louisianians who must create a future here. As for me I am working one person at a time. I am engaging the parish in the work. I have written before about some of our projects, but I think it is important to repeat that a major focus for me is to involve the people here in the work of rebuilding and then reaching out to help others. We are trying to live with a spirit of abundance in the midst of devastation because we know that it is not buildings or roads that make us rich – it is the relationships that we have gained in being served by the people of Massachusetts and elsewhere and those we have forged by reaching out ourselves. I am beginning to extend my work into New Orleans by helping St Anna’s to set up point of care testing for their free medical van. They are a wonderful group of committed Christians who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God through the street of the Ninth Ward and Chalmette.
Homelessness, hunger, violence, all of these are increasing at alarming rates here. One of our parishioners is a case worker who points to the uncertainty that permeates our lives. She sees a lot of post traumatic stress. But she says the most common word used to describe the feeling now with hurricane season actively underway is fear. Fear makes people do strange things. It makes us distrustful, suspicious, and it turns on our self-protective mode. The fear that we on the coast have comes from not knowing when another storm will come and destroy all that we have built. It comes from not knowing if the government can be trusted - depended on to keep the infrastructure safe, support the needy, protect us from manmade or natural danger. Fear is the opposite of faith and it is a paralyzing condition. If I do nothing else while I am here except offer a source of hope and encouragement to those who are struggling each day to maintain faith and courage to go on, I will have done God’s work. In the end that work, done by the thousands of volunteers who came and continue to come is the much more important than how any nails are hammered or how many walls are painted. We must keep coming because we are the source of hope and hope is born out of our faith. As Christians we are bound by Christ in an undulating web of support. When my faith flags, your faith sustains me. Together we look forward to a time when the seeds we are planting now, will flower into tall oaks with branches to support generations to come.
Some interesting data:
The amount of money allocated by both federal and private sectors has been beyond comprehension. If that is true then why did the Holloway couple have to come to me today to ask for help to pay the electric bill for their FEMA trailer? Here are some statistics: 116 billion allocated for all of the Gulf Coast (AL, MS, LA, TX). Mississippi requested 34 billion and received grant of 23.5 billion. The GAO reports that FEMA lost 1 of every 6 dollars to waste, fraud, and abuse. Of the 23.5 billion to Mississippi: 10 billion went to the environment, 4.3 billion went to repair federal facilities, 1.04 billion was split among 14, 423 MS homeowners. The homeowners who were eligible were those making 80% to 120% of the average median income. In MS for a family of 4 that number is $58,000. Now you know why so many former homeowners have not been able to rebuild. They do not make $48,000 per year – not even close. In fact, the poverty rate in Mississippi in 2006 stands at 21%. In Harrison county the per capita income is just over $20,000. (data is taken from Sun Herald on various days. www.sunherald.com)
I have read a lot lately about the “competition” between Louisiana and Mississippi for federal and private sector funding. Mississippi accuses New Orleans of getting all of the attention and being more “interesting” than Mississippi’s devastation. New Orleans and Louisiana accuse Mississippi of engaging in partisan politics in the granting process. Louisiana says that Mississippi got more money per victim than Louisiana and Mississippi says that their proposal was better and too bad that Louisiana did not get their act together in time to make a valid plea for help. Back and forth – I have to say that sometimes I just want to say “Enough already – there is enough suffering for all – we need to stand together!” The complexity of these issues rivals the Gordian Knot and will probably require the same solution.
But the reality in Mississippi is that very little of the money that has been allocated has gone to assist the poorest of the poor. In New Orleans the reality is the same. Money has gone to restore infrastructure, businesses, federal projects, and middle income homes, but precious little is left over to go to the poor. The justice work that I am involved in here in MS is largely coordinated out of the Steps Coalition. I have written about this group before. On the surface it is a jumble of non-profits with very little power, but standing together we have forced the hands of the governor’s office to produce the date included at the end of this blog. Dry as it seems it is necessary to have such data in order to know for whom we must advocate and to whom we must make our case. The work is slow and frustrating, but it has its moments.
I came to Mississippi to help rebuild a parish and to be the “person on the ground” for Massachusetts, but more and more I see my work being the spark that ignites hope in those people who can do the most to rebuild, the people who live here. For sure none of the work we have done would have been possible without the help of volunteers, but in the end it is Mississippians and Louisianians who must create a future here. As for me I am working one person at a time. I am engaging the parish in the work. I have written before about some of our projects, but I think it is important to repeat that a major focus for me is to involve the people here in the work of rebuilding and then reaching out to help others. We are trying to live with a spirit of abundance in the midst of devastation because we know that it is not buildings or roads that make us rich – it is the relationships that we have gained in being served by the people of Massachusetts and elsewhere and those we have forged by reaching out ourselves. I am beginning to extend my work into New Orleans by helping St Anna’s to set up point of care testing for their free medical van. They are a wonderful group of committed Christians who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God through the street of the Ninth Ward and Chalmette.
Homelessness, hunger, violence, all of these are increasing at alarming rates here. One of our parishioners is a case worker who points to the uncertainty that permeates our lives. She sees a lot of post traumatic stress. But she says the most common word used to describe the feeling now with hurricane season actively underway is fear. Fear makes people do strange things. It makes us distrustful, suspicious, and it turns on our self-protective mode. The fear that we on the coast have comes from not knowing when another storm will come and destroy all that we have built. It comes from not knowing if the government can be trusted - depended on to keep the infrastructure safe, support the needy, protect us from manmade or natural danger. Fear is the opposite of faith and it is a paralyzing condition. If I do nothing else while I am here except offer a source of hope and encouragement to those who are struggling each day to maintain faith and courage to go on, I will have done God’s work. In the end that work, done by the thousands of volunteers who came and continue to come is the much more important than how any nails are hammered or how many walls are painted. We must keep coming because we are the source of hope and hope is born out of our faith. As Christians we are bound by Christ in an undulating web of support. When my faith flags, your faith sustains me. Together we look forward to a time when the seeds we are planting now, will flower into tall oaks with branches to support generations to come.
Some interesting data:
The amount of money allocated by both federal and private sectors has been beyond comprehension. If that is true then why did the Holloway couple have to come to me today to ask for help to pay the electric bill for their FEMA trailer? Here are some statistics: 116 billion allocated for all of the Gulf Coast (AL, MS, LA, TX). Mississippi requested 34 billion and received grant of 23.5 billion. The GAO reports that FEMA lost 1 of every 6 dollars to waste, fraud, and abuse. Of the 23.5 billion to Mississippi: 10 billion went to the environment, 4.3 billion went to repair federal facilities, 1.04 billion was split among 14, 423 MS homeowners. The homeowners who were eligible were those making 80% to 120% of the average median income. In MS for a family of 4 that number is $58,000. Now you know why so many former homeowners have not been able to rebuild. They do not make $48,000 per year – not even close. In fact, the poverty rate in Mississippi in 2006 stands at 21%. In Harrison county the per capita income is just over $20,000. (data is taken from Sun Herald on various days. www.sunherald.com)
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