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Christian Formation

Basics of Faith Class beginning Sept. 29th

By Christian Formation, News

Dear Co-conspirators in the Gospel, If you attended any of our worship offerings last week, then you heard Father Christopher mention an upcoming “Basics of the Faith” or “Episcopal 101” class. Mark your calendars! Our first class will be Wednesday, September 29th at 6:00pm and will continue weekly until November 3rd. Classes will meet in-person the South Room and there will be a virtual option as well. All are welcome! While the Episcopal Church recognizes that all baptized with water in the Name of the Triune God are full members of Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, we also recognize the need to make this faith our own. After this period of six weeks, participants may choose to be confirmed, received, or reaffirm their baptismal vows: Confirmation: the sacramental rite by which baptized Christians make a mature, public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their baptism…

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September 10, 2021

All about Epiphany

By Christian Formation

When I think of Epiphany, I think of a story about Jesus as I would imagine it. I picture him as a boy — the oldest of several boys in his family. A boy from a nondescript northern Galilean village. Of course, he was close to his mother and father and his brothers, but he always seemed connected to something much bigger. His mother seemed to understand this part of him from the very beginning of his life. She remembered that at his circumcision an old man named Simon said some pretty strange things about her child. She also remembered that trip they took to Jerusalem at the festival of Passover. As a 12-year-old boy, he disappeared from them for several days and was finally found sitting among the rabbis in the temple, asking brilliant questions. Now as the child grew in strength and spirit, she continued to wonder, as…

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January 28, 2021

How are you doing?

By Christian Formation

Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle: How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing these days? In these very strange days in which all of us are experiencing levels of stress greatly increased due to the events in our country and due to the ongoing, seemingly endless pandemic which has changed all of our lives jarringly and dramatically, how are we? I ask the question of you who read this because it seems important to me for everyone of us to give careful thought to our answer. How are we doing? Part of our answer centers on what we are doing to “protect” ourselves from the onslaught of the incoming “missiles” bearing yet more and more stressful news. Because the world today is “connected” electronically, hardly anything happening anywhere in the world escapes our knowing it. I long to not know much of what the electronic connection…

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January 21, 2021

Evangelism 101

By Christian Formation, Upcoming Events

Everyone is invited to join us for a new Wednesday Workshop Series, Evangelism 101: Learning to tell our sacred stories. Talking about our faith can be difficult. Let’s explore it together each Wednesday from Jan 13-Feb 3 at 6 pm on Zoom. Series hosted by Seminarian Allen and NO READING REQUIRED! If you have questions, email allen@thedoubter.org The season of Epiphany, also called Epiphanytide (January 6-February 16) is the season in which we celebrate the manifestation of Christ to all the peoples of the earth. In the coming weeks we will hear again of the visitation of the Magi, Jesus’ baptism by John, the wedding at Cana, the calling of the first disciples, and the Transfiguration of our Lord. All of these stories are meant to show that the significance of the Christ Child isn’t limited to Palestine, but is much greater than we could have imagined! As you heard…

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December 31, 2020

Pandemic Marathon Tips

By Christian Formation

A well-known saying among marathoners is that “There are two halves to every marathon—the first 20 miles and the last 6.2.” While not mathematically accurate, this saying is correct in that it takes as much effort to complete the first 20 miles as it does the last 6.2. I have been fortunate to complete a few marathons over the years, so I know how difficult the final miles can be. Actually, it’s miles 20-25 that are the most difficult because once you get to mile 25, you get a psychological lift that the finish line is not far away. At mile 20, though, you are exhausted. The runners are no longer talking to each other (a complete change from earlier in the race) as they are conserving every ounce of energy they have in order to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. The people cheering them…

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December 13, 2020

Dates do Matter!

By Christian Formation

Dates matter to me.  The 10th of December is the Feast Day of Karl Barth and Thomas Merton.  They both died in 1968.  Barth was a theologian and Merton, a Trappist monk.  When I arrived at The General Theological Seminary in September of 1969, I did not know anything about either of these two men.  However, during my years at Seminary they both became important to me in my own spiritual growth…even though it has taken many years of living beyond those years for me to come close to understanding why that would be so. My fleeting memory of anything about Barth comes from a professor at GTS who, commenting on something I had written for his class, wrote in a comment that my thoughts were “Barthian.”  Unfortunately, Dr. Carpenter who wrote that note did not elaborate and, more unfortunately, since I was not a very good student, I had…

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December 10, 2020

Lighting One Candle

By Christian Formation

Living Compass is currently hosting an Advent group on Facebook. It is based on our booklet of daily readings for the season of Advent, and its theme is Practicing Hope with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind. In case the idea of Advent is new for you, please know that it is a four-week season that many Christians observe to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. It is similar to the season of Lent, which is a time to prepare for Easter. What follows is a reflection I wrote for our Advent booklet. It speaks of the power of love and hope. Have you ever found yourself, perhaps when the power has gone out at night, in a completely dark room where you can hardly see at all? Now imagine yourself in that same situation but with a single candle and some matches. You light the candle and then,…

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December 6, 2020

The Season of Advent

By Christian Formation

This year has been one of waiting. We were waiting for elections to come and go. We are waiting for a vaccine for COVID-19 and to safely be with those we love. And especially now, we wait for the coming of the Christ Child. Many of us know that the season of Advent is the period before Christmas when we, the Church, anticipate the birth of Christ. What is often overlooked is that Advent is also a season of expectation for when Christ will come again to fulfill God’s dreams for the world. As Christians, the first Sunday of Advent is our New Year’s Day. Advent is the mantle of the Church’s year when we consider the kingdom that is both among us and yet to come, and when we—with Mary—ponder these things in our hearts. In light of this season of expectations, your clergy, vestry, and I want to…

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November 20, 2020

The Work of Democracy Continues

By Christian Formation

Most mornings, I begin my day by writing in my journal. Many years ago, I learned a practice called “Morning Pages” from Julia Cameron, the author of The Artist’s Way. The method is as simple as it is powerful and involves writing stream of consciousness thoughts down in a journal every day for a predetermined length of time or number of pages. One of the Morning Pages practice guidelines is that you don’t share what you write with others. I’m going to break that rule right now as I share a little of what I wrote this past Wednesday morning, the day after our national election. The first thing that came to mind that morning was an extended quote from Howard Thurman. Thurman was born in 1899 and was brought up by his formerly enslaved grandparents. He grew up to be an influential philosopher, theologian, pastor, and civil rights leader…

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November 7, 2020

Refraining from Complaining

By Christian Formation

During a previous Halloween season, I wrote about the “no complaining for 24 hours challenge” and received so much positive feedback that I thought I would invite us all to try it again this year. With all that is happening right now, this challenge is more timely and, perhaps, more difficult. Before you read any further, please stop and note what time it is. Remember the time because for the next 24 hours, I invite you to join me in taking the challenge to abide by the advice offered in the quote box above: go 24 hours without complaining, not even once. Can you do it? Can I do it? Of course, we can. Will we, though? We’ll soon find out. Negativity is easy and rampant, especially in these anxious times. The half-empty view of life is all around us. Like a virus, it’s highly contagious. Being cynical is often…

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October 31, 2020