Monday: Losing Nothing (?) in Translation

Today we began our work at Divine Savior.  We were welcomed with the offering of coffee, hot chocolate and fresh rolls.   Then it was off to do what we came here to do. 

As I watched several of our group tasked with building an outside shelter for the washing machine we will be installing, I witnessed the first challenge ... A language barrier.

Amongst our group we have three young ladies and a few adults who can speak Spanish, but  I don’t think anyone was prepared  to translate  a chuck key for a drill,  lead anchors, level, and flashing to the clerk at the local hardware store.   The clerk was very patient and worked with us, and we were able to purchase all.  The flashing needed to be delivered, and one hour later, we found out we had ordered corrugated sheeting.  Oh well, 4 out of 5 is not bad.

The church we have partnered with offers elderly care and after school care for children from 5 years of age up to 12 years.   Our young teens were wonderful with the children.  Watching them teach the younger ones English while the younger children would relay it back in in Spanish, to playing musical chairs.  It became crystal clear to me we do share the same language.  The language of opening oneself up to friendship.

I am looking forward to what tomorrow will bring,

Brenda Pearson

Grace Church Mission to Bogota: El Segunda Dia!

Following our morning activities of settling in and familiarizing ourselves with the space and work for the week, I heard small voices laughing and chattering near the main entrance to the church. I peeked my head around the corner toward the sound and was delighted to see the smiles and curious faces of children. I had learned that part of the ministry of the Church of the Divine Savior is to provide lunch, snacks and a safe space for children from the community to gather every day after school, and even the potential language difficulties were not enough to prevent me from feeling less than enthusiastic to interact with these young ones. In the bit of mission work I've had experience with, especially trips I took to Mexico in high school, my favorite part has always been interacting with the families- especially the children- who make up the community.

There was nothing extravagant or particularly well-organized about the time I spent sitting with the children and three fellow young people from Grace: we simply sat with them, played games like tic-tac-toe and the infamous Minecraft on one of our phones, asked questions about school and activities, and laughed and ate candy. Even in our occasional stumbles over language, we were able to share some of the essential and most beautiful facets of being human: expressing curiosity, smiling, hugging, and playing.

It was a beautiful and whimsical encounter with God and community, especially when considering how much of the world perceives Colombia as a place too dangerous or foreign to be characterized by such everyday acts of human kindness. I am grateful beyond words for the Spirit ever so present across socioeconomic background, cultures, continents, and ways of being. What a gift to be in relationship with this hospitable community.
Eva Englert

Sunday in Bogota: Lots of Church!

Greetings Grace Church,

            Today we travelled to Divine Savior to meet the congregation for the first time.  When we arrived we were welcomed with some food and beverages, and were told that we may want to eat something as the service would be very long. Felt a little like being at Grace, although I speak almost no Spanish, smiles seemed to be communication enough. Father Jose asked for someone to read one of the lessons in English during the service. I found myself volunteering. Huh? I have never read at Grace, not once in the 12 or so years I have attended. After volunteering I started to panic, until I read over what the reading was to be. It was about how we have to cross over the lines of jealousy and work together doing Gods work. And it is all Gods work. Sometimes we forget, or get caught up in arguing about who’s right or wrong, or focus so intently on having it our way that we don’t see that, it is all Gods work. He is giving us the tools to do all the things that need to get done. So back to my panic. I looked up a couple of times while reading and even though most of the congregation didn't know what I was saying they were listening. It was just a matter of being present with them. Gods work? I think so…..

Peace

Maria

Sunday/Domingo February 16, 2014 in Bogota

Kathryn Benjamin’s reflections on our experiences today.

We are so grateful not to be in the midst of a new foot of snow!  Instead, we admire the green grass and leaves on the trees as we take our 45 minute van ride to church.  There is a ridge of mountains near us on one side, they surge upwards, lush and green (there is a ring of mountains around Bogota, but the morning is foggy and hazy, so we can’t see all the way across the expanse of city to the other ridge of mountains).

The women of the church welcomed us with coffee and rolls before the service, to help fortify us as the service would be 3 hours long.  The coffee with milk/café con leche is sweet – like melted coffee ice cream.  

In the church, we are seated up front on padded benches perpendicular to the pews, so everyone can see us and we can see everyone.  The church is packed: there are perhaps 30 pews (15 on each side of the aisle), filled with women, men and children.  While the community may not be rich financially, they are rich with locally grown flowers – there were six arrangements: two behind the altar, two in front of the altar, one in front of the lectern, and one in back at a statue – abundant with well over 100 roses and many chrysanthemums.  I wonder if Grace could expand its flower garden and enjoy our own abundance of the gifts of the earth and our tending. 

The order of service is familiar – it is the same as ours, just in Spanish.  We have prayer books to follow along.  Maria reads one of the lessons in English, Noah reads to Gospel in English, and Ted repeats his sermon in English, each after the Spanish version is delivered.

The music for the service is all recorded and amplified with four speakers.  The volume makes the music very present, tangible, but not oppressive; it is an integral part of the worship experience.  The congregation sings, and sometimes we can pick up the refrain and sing along, too. And there are many occasions for clapping along, which help to rouse me when I begin to get sleepy, and in general adds to the spirit of the worship.  We wonder about conducting a service like this at Grace sometime!

The liturgy of the word and communion seem to be the warm-up for the truly important part of the Sunday morning worship: the healing prayers that are offered afterwards.   Father Jose offers a long, heart-felt general prayer preparing us to offer up our problems and needs and concerns, about health or money or anything else, to God/Senor.  Nearly everyone lines up in the center aisle to receive a laying-on-of-hands blessing.  Some are “slain in the spirit,” attended to by the ushers who catch them and lower them gently to the floor.  The people are so open to experiencing God’s spirit.

Episcopal Cathedral in Bogota

Later in the afternoon we worship again at the Cathedral, just a few blocks away from our hotel.  The service is conducted in English, and attracts people who were born in o English speaking countries (e.g. the US and India) and those who enjoy this way of practicing English.  While it is a comfort to understand all that is said, I miss hearing “Senor” – the Spanish reference to God or Lord, which sounds so special and reverent.

We gather at the hotel afterwards to reflect on the day and to prepare for tomorrow.  There were many other experiences and observations that I will leave for others to share.

Gathering at Atlanta...

We had our first time of gathering, praying and reflecting together in the Atlanta airport.  We got out of Boston just before the big storm hit, and changed planes in Atlanta for Bogota.  We spent some time sitting on the floor in the terminal, led by Eva, discussing our hopes and prayers for our trip and our Christian ministry and witness. We are excited.  We are blessed.  And ready to encounter God through others and service.

 

Getting Ready for Mission to Bogota!

Twelve members of the Grace Episcopal Church, Medford community will be traveling to Bogota, Columbia February 15-23 to take the next step in establishing deep relationship and partnership with Episcopal churches in that area.  The team includes Maria and Molly Fenn, Brenda, Jim and Ruthanne Pearson, Steve and Ellie Viggianni, Kate Woodward, Eva Englert, Katherine and Emily Benjamin and me.  The Rev. Ted Gaiser, who currently serves as a missionary in the Diocese of Colombia, and who also served for several years as a Deacon at Grace Church about six years ago, has helped to build this connection and will be hosting us in Bogota.  Grace Church has been supporting Ted’s work in Colombia the last several years.  Maria Fenn is leading us on this trip, and has done incredible work pulling everything together for us to go. 

We will be working with the Church of the Divine Savior, which is a thriving community just outside the Bogota city proper. The building that houses the church is also home to a few fairly new outreach projects in their community. The projects we will help with are building rehab, supplies and possible set-up of after school space and some general work in the elder care service the parish is already providing. We are hoping to build upon the work already started in this parish and continue to work with them in the future to assure the success of these programs. This truly is an exciting moment to grow the work and connections we have already begun in Colombia!

I hope that you will keep our team in your prayers while we are away.  A different team member will be blogging each day, and you will be able to read about our journey here.

Worshipful Walks - Worship in the midst of Creation

This fall, as part of Grace Episcopal Church, Medford's Experiments in Sunday Night Worship we did several, what we named, Worshipful Walks. The walk is a short hike, stopping on the path along the way for prayers, reading from scripture, meditation and finally the Holy Eucharist celebrated at a pre-chosen beautiful setting.

The service is designed to help connect with the experience of God in nature, and help to inspire for the care of creation and the environment. 

We did walks in several different green spaces around Medford, a walk through the Fells to Wright's Tower, along the Mystic Lakes and in the Brooks Estates.  

 Here is an articles in the local papers about the walks:

Medford Transcript

Inside Medford





Here is a sample bulletin from one of our walks:

Grace Episcopal Church Medford

Experiments in Evening Worship

Worshipful Walks- Brooks Estate

Sept. 29, 2013

5:00 PM

All Are Welcome

Words of Welcome

Opening Prayer- The Collect

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Station 1: Song &Scripture

Song- “Seek Ye First”

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

And his righteousness

And all these things shall be added unto you

Allelu, Alleluia (repeat)

The Holy Scripture: Nehemiah 9:6-7

And Ezra said: “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

Lectio Divina (LD)- You are invited to speak a word, phrase, or thought that catches your attention.

Walk in silence to 2nd station

Station 2: Nehemiah 9:6-7

                 LD: Share in pairs where this passage has meaning for you and/or where it invites you today. Later, you will be given a chance to share with the larger group.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

And his righteousness

And all these things shall be added unto you

Allelu, Alleluia (repeat)

Walk to 3rd station

Station 3: Prayers of the People

               

An excerpt from“A Future Not Our Own”- a prayer by Oscar Romero (read together):

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders;

Ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Walk to Loop Trail

Song at the fort: “Sanctuary”

 Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary

             Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving

 I’ll be a living sanctuary for you

Walk to 4^th station

Station 4: Poem & Guided Reflection

Walk in silence to 5^th station

Station 5: Eucharist

Songs: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

 Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore

         

Dismissal 

My Sabbatical Plan and Reading List

I am going on sabbatical from Grace Episcopal Church in Medford from April 15-August 15, 2013.  I have two themes for my sabbatical - 1.) leading change in organizations and communities and 2.) emerging and new forms of Christian community.  

My sabbatical includes leading a conference, attending four or five different conferences and trainings,  going on a week-long silent retreat, teaching Sunday School at my wife's church (Christ Church, Waltham), attending the Wild Goose Festival and visiting a number of emergent churches and christian communities and driving across the country with my family.  I am really excited for this time away from the day-to-day of parish ministry and the chance to reflect and learn about where the wider church and my parish is changing and growing.  

Some folks have asked for my reading list, so here it is.  It is getting kind of long!  Let me know: what else do you think I should be reading?

• Born of Water, Born of Spirit, Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook
• American Grace, Robert Putnam
• Give and Take, Adam Grant
• Switch:  How to change things when change is hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation, Kegan and Lehey and Immunity to Change: Kegan and Lehey
• Liturgical Sense, Louis Weil
• Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else
• Lost in the Middle:  Claiming the Faith of Christians who are both evangelical and liberal
• You Are Already Praying, Cathy George
• Buddhist Boot Camp, Timer Hawkey
• Jesus Freak and Take This Bread, Sara Miles
• In the Neighborhood: the search for community on an American Street, Peter Lovenheim
• Blessed are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy in America, Jefferey Stout
• Destiny Disrupted: The history of the world through Islamic eyes, Tamin Ansary
• Transforming Leadership: new vision for a church in mission, Norma Cook Everist and Craig Nessan
• Emergence Christianity, Phyllis Tickle
• The gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, Brene Brown
• The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Heifitz and Grashow
• Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church, Duckworth Jessi
• Scattering Seeds: Cultivating Church Vitality, Stephen Chapin Garner
• Appreciative Living: The Principles of Appreciative Inquiry in Personal Life,
  Jacqueline Bascobert Kelm
• Sacred Acts, Holy Change: Faithful Diversity and Practical Transformation, Eric Law
• John Marshall: Definer of a Nation, Smith, Jean Edward
• How to Pray When You're Pissed at God: Or Anyone Else for That Matter, Ian Punnett
• And some fiction…

Since it is the day after Ash Wednesday...

Since it is the day after Ash Wednesday, most of the religious world will have forgotten about Ashes to Go, and the debates surrounding it, until next year.  But, I would like to reflect on the experience of doing Ashes to Go with my parish for the first time this year.  Here is some of our local coverage of Ashes to Go - Boston.com, Medford Transcript, and Inside Medford.

First, “Ashes to Go” was not Grace Episcopal Church, Medford’s first experiment in bringing church practices outside of the church walls.  Last Advent we set up a “Blessing Station” at a local commuter rail stop in order to offer prayers of healing during the darkest week of the year.  We received some good press, which you can find here.  We actually expected “Ashes to Go” to be a bit easier than the Blessing Station to do, and the energy that our first endeavor produced in the parish meant we had more ministers for “Ashes to Go” – so we were able to place three teams around town for “Ashes to Go” and were able to reach more folks.

Second, “Ashes to Go” was positively received, but in this first ring town outside of Boston, we didn’t have droves and droves of people come forward to receive ashes.  Our three teams, two at bus stops, one at a commuter rail station, served at total of about 40 people in one and a half hours.  Some of that is just the layout of the town, and public transportation hubs – no single place has loads of concentrated foot traffic during the morning commute – it is much more distributed around town.  We all had many profound encounter with folks, someone who told me they "didn't deserve ashes,” then a few moments later came with tears in her eyes to receive them, feeling reconnected to a faith she seemed to have lost.  Another man talked with me about God in his life and recovery from addiction.  He never took ashes, but it was a profound encounter.  A daughter took ashes home for her father on hospice.  And some school kids as they got on the bus.  And some folks who when offered ashes said, “what the hell…” or “why not?” and received them and walked away.  What the experience meant to each person was different, some profound, some not so much.

Third, there are some really good blog post running around the internet of “Ashes to Go,” (you can read two good ones here and here) many of them focusing on the meaning of the ashes is lost outside of the context of liturgy in the church.  One friend wrote to me that it has no meaning outside of “Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, Christ has Come Again.”  I guess my feeling is that we do not have a lock on the Christian message inside of the walls of the church.  Many folks have experienced resurrection in AA meetings, through their own struggles, and in many other ways.  Many people have received formation in Christian teaching and practices, but haven’t been a church for years for a whole host of complicated issues (less than 20% of Boston Roman Catholics even attend church).  “Ashes to Go” opens the doors to encounters with these folks, and many more.  My sense is the encounters are ultimately more important than the ashes.  Maybe these encounters will be encouragement to rediscover of community of faith, maybe it will just be encouragement for their own spiritual exploration outside of the church, maybe it will just be a story told waiting in line for the bathroom at work – we don’t know.  It’s a gift of something we as the church know and love to the wider community outside our doors. 

Fourth, the controversy around “Ashes to Go” is a healthy and important part of a changing church.  “Ashes to Go” is not “the answer,” but it is an important experiment, like our blessing station, on new ways to do and be the church.  New ways to share and spread the message of the transformational power of God that we know within the church walls, to people who want and need to hear the message.  The traditions of the Church are what we, as church people, know best.  Why not figure out how to share what we already know, and find life giving, with those who want and need to hear the Good News, instead of inventing completely new ways, unfamiliar to us in the first place.  It’s about grounding our evangelisms in the traditions we know, and giving them as a gift to the world.

Is “Ashes to Go” the greatest thing in the world, to change our church and invite and welcome new people in.  No it isn’t.  Is it a great experiment that can help us to learn new ways of sharing the faith we know and love with a community who wants and needs to hear our message?  Yes, it is.  We are going to do it again next year, and other things like it.  How else are we going to know what works, and how to bring Jesus grounded in our tradition out into the community, than to start trying…