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Tzitzit (TSIT-sis)
Have you ever wondered about symbolism in our church? In particular, do you know why the altar has a cover, what the color means, and why the priest wears a scarf?
First, it’s not a scarf, it is a stole. Although it keeps my neck warm, the stole is designed to show my “rank” which is priest. Deacons wear a stole, but it is worn diagonally across the chest to show their rank. Bishops wear a stole, but they have four additional items that indicate their rank (the hat [miter] and shepherd staff are the most obvious).
Second, the color of the stole and altar cover is designated by the season. The Easter season is white. The next season, Pentecost, is green, followed by Advent which is blue, then Christmas/Epiphany – white and green respectively – and then Lent which is purple. When you see someone wearing a white stole, you will know that they are a priest and that the season is either Easter or Christmas.
The color-coded Church calendar, vestments, and altar covers are ancient designs with origins from Jewish tradition. This Sunday at church I will be wearing a white stole that has a total of ten red and gold tassels – five on the right, five on the left. Those tassels (tzitzit in Hebrew) match the altar cover fringes that ring the front cover. It is a beautiful set and displays deeply religious symbolism.
I’ve been reading about Jewish prayer, in particular, Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad; Hebrew for “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The Shema is a foundational prayer in Judaism in three parts. The first part listed here is a declaration of faith in one God. The second part is to love God with all one's being, and the third part is a declaration to obey God’s commandments. Comprising of three passages from the Torah, it is recited multiple times a day usually in the morning and evening.
You might wonder what this has to do with my stole and the altar cover. My answer is this: tzitzit. The tzitzit are fringes or tassels tied to each of the four corners of a Jewish prayer shawl. They are widely considered a reminder to think of God at all times (like a string tied around one’s finger). In particular, one is to think of God’s commandments.
My stole has ten tassels which correspond to the Ten Commandments. As far as the fringe around the altar cover, it reminds me of a prayer shawl that one would wear back in the 1st century. In particular, Jesus had a garment that was woven as one that most likely had tzitzit. The altar is our representation of Christ’s presence. As such, the altar – the centerpiece of our sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving – is draped in a prayer shawl.
Symbolism and beauty transcend time and language. They are also indicators of our spiritual unity with our ancestors. Hear this: the Lord is One. The stole and altar cover point to our unity, our one-ness with God and one another, in beauty and symbolism
- Fr. Dave
First, it’s not a scarf, it is a stole. Although it keeps my neck warm, the stole is designed to show my “rank” which is priest. Deacons wear a stole, but it is worn diagonally across the chest to show their rank. Bishops wear a stole, but they have four additional items that indicate their rank (the hat [miter] and shepherd staff are the most obvious).
Second, the color of the stole and altar cover is designated by the season. The Easter season is white. The next season, Pentecost, is green, followed by Advent which is blue, then Christmas/Epiphany – white and green respectively – and then Lent which is purple. When you see someone wearing a white stole, you will know that they are a priest and that the season is either Easter or Christmas.
The color-coded Church calendar, vestments, and altar covers are ancient designs with origins from Jewish tradition. This Sunday at church I will be wearing a white stole that has a total of ten red and gold tassels – five on the right, five on the left. Those tassels (tzitzit in Hebrew) match the altar cover fringes that ring the front cover. It is a beautiful set and displays deeply religious symbolism.
I’ve been reading about Jewish prayer, in particular, Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad; Hebrew for “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The Shema is a foundational prayer in Judaism in three parts. The first part listed here is a declaration of faith in one God. The second part is to love God with all one's being, and the third part is a declaration to obey God’s commandments. Comprising of three passages from the Torah, it is recited multiple times a day usually in the morning and evening.
You might wonder what this has to do with my stole and the altar cover. My answer is this: tzitzit. The tzitzit are fringes or tassels tied to each of the four corners of a Jewish prayer shawl. They are widely considered a reminder to think of God at all times (like a string tied around one’s finger). In particular, one is to think of God’s commandments.
My stole has ten tassels which correspond to the Ten Commandments. As far as the fringe around the altar cover, it reminds me of a prayer shawl that one would wear back in the 1st century. In particular, Jesus had a garment that was woven as one that most likely had tzitzit. The altar is our representation of Christ’s presence. As such, the altar – the centerpiece of our sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving – is draped in a prayer shawl.
Symbolism and beauty transcend time and language. They are also indicators of our spiritual unity with our ancestors. Hear this: the Lord is One. The stole and altar cover point to our unity, our one-ness with God and one another, in beauty and symbolism
- Fr. Dave
The Leper and the Gossiper
Does it seem like movies and shows on television use more profanity now than in the past? Study after study shows we can definitively (and unfortunately) say “yes” to that question. There’s one word in particular that has shown a substantial increase from 511 times in 1985 to 22,000 times in 2023. During the same time, violent images in movies and television have tripled in content.
Christians share a holy responsibility to partner with God as protectors and healers. That responsibility starts with us protecting and healing ourselves. The Bible instructs us to avoid being influenced by forces that harm. In the first century, people of the Jewish and Christian faith were told not to bring idols from the Romanized world into their home. Teachings of that era instructed the faithful to be careful of the words we use when talking about ourselves and others. Words, in our Abrahamic faith, are to lift up, to find common ground, to express the truth and to worship God. In the 21st century, we should be wary of the negativity we bring into our homes and senses through the media. We are asked to ponder if our words are used for breaking down or for building up.
At first read, the Book of Leviticus (third book of the Bible) seems to be full of archaic purity laws. But a closer read shows Leviticus is helping us to be protectors and healers. This week I read a Levitical teaching about metzora (Hebrew) which is loosely translated as “skin disease”. Two lengthy chapters are dedicated to a hyper-focused detail about the spectrum of dermal infections and the priestly role as healer. Someone with metzora must be cut off from interactions with others until a priest declares the disease to have passed. There is a similar Hebrew word to metzora; it is motzi shem ra – the act of gossip. Metzora is about outer body decay. Motzi shem ra is about spreading decay of the community through gossip, assumptions, lies.
In the Biblical era, Temple priests were a reliable source to declare who was free from skin disease. In the Gospel, Jesus healed some men of metzora and they were required to go to a priest to be declared clean. But what about motzi shem ra? Gossip infects and travels quicker than infection skins diseases and can cause rapid decay of the body of the community. Jesus uses some of the harshest language possible to tell people not to speak poorly of others – to avoid motzi shem ra – and instead to use words wisely to build up the community. Case in point, the trial Jesus was subjected to (that led to his crucifixion) was full of motzi shem ra. The early Church lived into being protectors and healers by avoiding the spread of gossip. Instead, they used words to build up and heal.
The good news is we have eradicated metzora, for the most part, in North America. The bad news? Motzi shem ra still exists. If we are to live into our role as protectors and healers, Jesus reminds us that it starts with the words we use – not to break down but to build up. We need to protect what we take in to know what is true and what is motzi shem ra. And, like our spiritual ancestors, we need to remember to use words to heal and mend ourselves, our homes, and our communities. While media content of the 21st century continues to use more profanity and violent images, we are to do our best to heal and protect ourselves and our community.
- Fr. Dave
Christians share a holy responsibility to partner with God as protectors and healers. That responsibility starts with us protecting and healing ourselves. The Bible instructs us to avoid being influenced by forces that harm. In the first century, people of the Jewish and Christian faith were told not to bring idols from the Romanized world into their home. Teachings of that era instructed the faithful to be careful of the words we use when talking about ourselves and others. Words, in our Abrahamic faith, are to lift up, to find common ground, to express the truth and to worship God. In the 21st century, we should be wary of the negativity we bring into our homes and senses through the media. We are asked to ponder if our words are used for breaking down or for building up.
At first read, the Book of Leviticus (third book of the Bible) seems to be full of archaic purity laws. But a closer read shows Leviticus is helping us to be protectors and healers. This week I read a Levitical teaching about metzora (Hebrew) which is loosely translated as “skin disease”. Two lengthy chapters are dedicated to a hyper-focused detail about the spectrum of dermal infections and the priestly role as healer. Someone with metzora must be cut off from interactions with others until a priest declares the disease to have passed. There is a similar Hebrew word to metzora; it is motzi shem ra – the act of gossip. Metzora is about outer body decay. Motzi shem ra is about spreading decay of the community through gossip, assumptions, lies.
In the Biblical era, Temple priests were a reliable source to declare who was free from skin disease. In the Gospel, Jesus healed some men of metzora and they were required to go to a priest to be declared clean. But what about motzi shem ra? Gossip infects and travels quicker than infection skins diseases and can cause rapid decay of the body of the community. Jesus uses some of the harshest language possible to tell people not to speak poorly of others – to avoid motzi shem ra – and instead to use words wisely to build up the community. Case in point, the trial Jesus was subjected to (that led to his crucifixion) was full of motzi shem ra. The early Church lived into being protectors and healers by avoiding the spread of gossip. Instead, they used words to build up and heal.
The good news is we have eradicated metzora, for the most part, in North America. The bad news? Motzi shem ra still exists. If we are to live into our role as protectors and healers, Jesus reminds us that it starts with the words we use – not to break down but to build up. We need to protect what we take in to know what is true and what is motzi shem ra. And, like our spiritual ancestors, we need to remember to use words to heal and mend ourselves, our homes, and our communities. While media content of the 21st century continues to use more profanity and violent images, we are to do our best to heal and protect ourselves and our community.
- Fr. Dave
To Forgive or To Retain
On the first night of Easter Sunday, Jesus stood among his disciples, said, “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathed the Holy Spirit on them and then said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I find it interesting that what the apostles remembered about that night was as follows: peace; sent; forgive. I’d like to talk with you about that last part – the forgive part.
Over the centuries, the institutional Church has interpreted this to mean that the Church can forgive sins, and the Church can retain sins. I respectfully disagree – with the retaining part. A seminary professor of ethics gave a detailed explanation of who should be absolved of their sins and who should be withheld. His teaching was correct in the sense that sometimes people seek out a priest not to confess but to get permission. The professor was advising us on being able to tell the difference. But, as noted above, I disagree that the institutional Church can decide to retain sins. Why? God does the forgiving. If God wants to forgive (even Hitler) that’s up to God’s grace and love. Also, humans tend to do things that give them, or the institution, power – including deciding who is worthy of forgiveness and who is not. That was not Jesus’s point.
“So I send you” is the key to this passage. Like a parent sending a child to High School, the child can decide what to do and the parent, for the most part, has to watch. Jesus sent the disciples out and said that if you forgive others they are forgiven. But you also have the choice to not forgive. The disciples went out and started living a life of forgiveness. The first people they forgave were the very people who sent Jesus to the cross. They did this out of a sense of forgiveness that Jesus gave them (like the prayer forgive as we have been forgiven). Bear in mind, however, they could have chosen not to forgive but to retain and blame and exclude.
Think of it this way: a comedian said, “Honesty is the best policy; but it’s not the only policy.” The best way to live is to forgive. But it’s not the only way to live. Jesus sends us out too, with the Breath of God and the Holy Spirit, with the hope that we forgive as we have been forgiven. But it’s not the only policy.
- Fr. Dave
Over the centuries, the institutional Church has interpreted this to mean that the Church can forgive sins, and the Church can retain sins. I respectfully disagree – with the retaining part. A seminary professor of ethics gave a detailed explanation of who should be absolved of their sins and who should be withheld. His teaching was correct in the sense that sometimes people seek out a priest not to confess but to get permission. The professor was advising us on being able to tell the difference. But, as noted above, I disagree that the institutional Church can decide to retain sins. Why? God does the forgiving. If God wants to forgive (even Hitler) that’s up to God’s grace and love. Also, humans tend to do things that give them, or the institution, power – including deciding who is worthy of forgiveness and who is not. That was not Jesus’s point.
“So I send you” is the key to this passage. Like a parent sending a child to High School, the child can decide what to do and the parent, for the most part, has to watch. Jesus sent the disciples out and said that if you forgive others they are forgiven. But you also have the choice to not forgive. The disciples went out and started living a life of forgiveness. The first people they forgave were the very people who sent Jesus to the cross. They did this out of a sense of forgiveness that Jesus gave them (like the prayer forgive as we have been forgiven). Bear in mind, however, they could have chosen not to forgive but to retain and blame and exclude.
Think of it this way: a comedian said, “Honesty is the best policy; but it’s not the only policy.” The best way to live is to forgive. But it’s not the only way to live. Jesus sends us out too, with the Breath of God and the Holy Spirit, with the hope that we forgive as we have been forgiven. But it’s not the only policy.
- Fr. Dave
If you would like to listen to Fr. Dave read his Reflection, click the link below:
To Forgive or To Retain
Holy Spirit Time
Amazing things happened from Good Friday to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning. The followers of Jesus were there as spectators.
But, on the second Sunday of Easter, the disciples became witnesses.
Then believers.
Then apostles.
They shared the news with everyone.
Their lives were never the same.
We are recipients of their witness. Nearly 2,000 years later, we are witnesses of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of our church. And our lives were never the same.
This week, we had seven people confirmed and received into the Episcopal Church. It was not a chance encounter, or a random or spontaneous act, or a trendy thing to do. These people studied together, had dialogue and discussion, did homework, met with me many times and, to the great pleasure of this priest, became a loving and supportive group. We were spectators on Wednesday when they individually stood in front of Bishop Scharf, made a profession of faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and received the laying on of hands from the bishop.
The Holy Spirit was palatable at the confirmation service. One of the first signs (or marks) of the Holy Spirit is joy, then peace, then unity, and then a myriad of other actions that are uniquely felt by each individual. For me, my hands tingle when the Spirit is present. Sometimes I see light differently. More often than not, time stands still. When the Holy Spirit is present, the present time is the only time. Confirmands are reporting that time came to a stop when they came forward for the laying on of hands by the bishop.
After the event, one of our confirmands got into her car and saw the hands on the analog clock on her dashboard spinning around quickly. She pointed out the phenomenon to her husband. They watched it happen for about ten seconds; then it stopped. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit saying, “It’s about time you became an Episcopalian” or maybe it was just time catching up.
The Holy Spirit urged the apostles to venture out as witnesses of Jesus. The same Spirit urged the seven individuals to confirmation. We are witnesses of the public confirmation of following Jesus as Lord and Savior. What started nearly 2000 years ago is still going strong today. It is the same Lord and the same Spirit as of old. The Spirit is with us and is in us. It shows again that time is not relevant to the Holy Spirit.
I am a witness of that too.
- Fr. Dave
But, on the second Sunday of Easter, the disciples became witnesses.
Then believers.
Then apostles.
They shared the news with everyone.
Their lives were never the same.
We are recipients of their witness. Nearly 2,000 years later, we are witnesses of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of our church. And our lives were never the same.
This week, we had seven people confirmed and received into the Episcopal Church. It was not a chance encounter, or a random or spontaneous act, or a trendy thing to do. These people studied together, had dialogue and discussion, did homework, met with me many times and, to the great pleasure of this priest, became a loving and supportive group. We were spectators on Wednesday when they individually stood in front of Bishop Scharf, made a profession of faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and received the laying on of hands from the bishop.
The Holy Spirit was palatable at the confirmation service. One of the first signs (or marks) of the Holy Spirit is joy, then peace, then unity, and then a myriad of other actions that are uniquely felt by each individual. For me, my hands tingle when the Spirit is present. Sometimes I see light differently. More often than not, time stands still. When the Holy Spirit is present, the present time is the only time. Confirmands are reporting that time came to a stop when they came forward for the laying on of hands by the bishop.
After the event, one of our confirmands got into her car and saw the hands on the analog clock on her dashboard spinning around quickly. She pointed out the phenomenon to her husband. They watched it happen for about ten seconds; then it stopped. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit saying, “It’s about time you became an Episcopalian” or maybe it was just time catching up.
The Holy Spirit urged the apostles to venture out as witnesses of Jesus. The same Spirit urged the seven individuals to confirmation. We are witnesses of the public confirmation of following Jesus as Lord and Savior. What started nearly 2000 years ago is still going strong today. It is the same Lord and the same Spirit as of old. The Spirit is with us and is in us. It shows again that time is not relevant to the Holy Spirit.
I am a witness of that too.
- Fr. Dave
Death
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said this: According to most studies, the number one fear most people have is public speaking. Number two is death. This means to the average person, if you’re at a funeral, you'd rather be resting in the casket than giving the eulogy.
According to a poem, written by John Donne, Holy Sonnet 10:
Death be not proud; it is a passing thing.
Death is enslaved by fate, chance, kings and desperate men.
Death dwells in poison, war and sickness.
Yet, one short sleep past and we wake eternally where death is no more.
Death, it seems, is the only thing that will die.
Maybe that’s why the average person would rather be in the casket than give a eulogy.
Death is known as radical equality for everyone. No one escapes it. Not even Jesus. Yet, death is something no one really wants to talk about.
English has a large number of euphemisms for death that help us avoid talking directly about it. The comedy sketch group Monty Python is known for their Dead Parrot Sketch where a pet store owner is confronted by a customer who was sold a dead parrot. Here are the euphemisms the customer used to describe how dead the parrot is: rests in peace, bereft of life, pushing up daisies, kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain, joined the invisible choir, it is an ex-parrot.
I am a priest. You can talk about death with me, no euphemisms needed. This time of year (Easter) I frequently get asked about death and eternal life. There are a couple of things we know about death – no one escapes it, no one comes back from it, and no one phones or texts from heaven to tell us about it. It’s inevitable and final; and yet, it remains a mystery. Jesus is the only one who has come back from it and he said very little about what is on the other side. Instead, he focused on giving us peace on this side of the curtain.
Oddly enough, John Donne’s poem about death was published two years after he died. I believe in the theology of what he wrote – one short sleep and we awake eternally. I also believe there is good reason why we do not hear about eternal life on this side. Honestly, if we knew what joy and rest awaited us, I think humanity would have died off a long time ago. We as a species are not particularly good at delayed gratification.
Jesus’s first words to the disciples when he came back from death are this:
“Peace be with you.”
No matter what level of fear you have about death, or public speaking, I pray that the same peace Jesus gave to his disciples, is also present with you today.
- Fr. Dave
According to a poem, written by John Donne, Holy Sonnet 10:
Death be not proud; it is a passing thing.
Death is enslaved by fate, chance, kings and desperate men.
Death dwells in poison, war and sickness.
Yet, one short sleep past and we wake eternally where death is no more.
Death, it seems, is the only thing that will die.
Maybe that’s why the average person would rather be in the casket than give a eulogy.
Death is known as radical equality for everyone. No one escapes it. Not even Jesus. Yet, death is something no one really wants to talk about.
English has a large number of euphemisms for death that help us avoid talking directly about it. The comedy sketch group Monty Python is known for their Dead Parrot Sketch where a pet store owner is confronted by a customer who was sold a dead parrot. Here are the euphemisms the customer used to describe how dead the parrot is: rests in peace, bereft of life, pushing up daisies, kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain, joined the invisible choir, it is an ex-parrot.
I am a priest. You can talk about death with me, no euphemisms needed. This time of year (Easter) I frequently get asked about death and eternal life. There are a couple of things we know about death – no one escapes it, no one comes back from it, and no one phones or texts from heaven to tell us about it. It’s inevitable and final; and yet, it remains a mystery. Jesus is the only one who has come back from it and he said very little about what is on the other side. Instead, he focused on giving us peace on this side of the curtain.
Oddly enough, John Donne’s poem about death was published two years after he died. I believe in the theology of what he wrote – one short sleep and we awake eternally. I also believe there is good reason why we do not hear about eternal life on this side. Honestly, if we knew what joy and rest awaited us, I think humanity would have died off a long time ago. We as a species are not particularly good at delayed gratification.
Jesus’s first words to the disciples when he came back from death are this:
“Peace be with you.”
No matter what level of fear you have about death, or public speaking, I pray that the same peace Jesus gave to his disciples, is also present with you today.
- Fr. Dave
Risen!
I made a card for people to take home as a reminder of Easter Sunday 2025. It has a blooming amaryllis – complete with the dark brown bulb, the green stalk, and the red and while blossoming flower. The message on Easter is that some of the hardest times in life produce the most transforming, rewarding, and uplifting experiences. The hard times are represented in the bulb of the amaryllis and Easter lily. The bulb is unattractive and hides underground. When the time is right, the bulb sends a shoot upward and makes a beautiful flower that everyone can see.
Often we suffer in silence.
Most people are unaware, or could care less, about what is troubling you.
But God cares.
In creation, God takes something ugly, like the bulb, and makes something wonderful, like the lily. If God cares that much about a bulb and flower, imagine how much more God cares about you!
In the past five years, we have suffered through Covid, polarizing political cycles, and, for us on Longboat, the worst hurricane season in recorded history. Yet, we are still here.
We have deepened our faith.
We are living examples of hope and neighborly love.
In the end, it all comes down to faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.
God is the source of all love because God is love.
No matter what bulbs you have hidden deep in the earth of your disappointments and doubts, God is creating new life in you.
You are risen. Amen and alleluia!
- Fr. Dave
Often we suffer in silence.
Most people are unaware, or could care less, about what is troubling you.
But God cares.
In creation, God takes something ugly, like the bulb, and makes something wonderful, like the lily. If God cares that much about a bulb and flower, imagine how much more God cares about you!
In the past five years, we have suffered through Covid, polarizing political cycles, and, for us on Longboat, the worst hurricane season in recorded history. Yet, we are still here.
We have deepened our faith.
We are living examples of hope and neighborly love.
In the end, it all comes down to faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love.
God is the source of all love because God is love.
No matter what bulbs you have hidden deep in the earth of your disappointments and doubts, God is creating new life in you.
You are risen. Amen and alleluia!
- Fr. Dave
The Formula
Shortly after I was hired as an insurance underwriter, my company purchased another insurance company that was 80% of its size. At times it felt more like a merger than an acquisition. Within a year, we were no longer generating an underwriting profit. The CEO met with the underwriting staff and managers. He asked us three questions:
1) What was our underwriting formula, from 1923, that made us become the 8th largest insurance company in the U.S?
2) Are we still following that formula?
3) Can we share the formula with our independent agents?
We answered number one easily. Number two – are we following the formula – was harder because we had moved away from it. We recognized it, adjusted, and within six quarters were creating an underwriting profit again.
At our March Vestry (governing board) meeting, I said it had been five years since the start of Covid and it had been five months since Hurricane Milton impacted our island. These two events are major events in the life of our parish. I asked the Vestry two questions:
Are we following the formula we’ve had since 1978? Can we share the formula?
It was a discernment question to make sure that the Rector (me), our leadership team and the congregation are on the right path.
The formula of All Angels is threefold:
fellowship, meaningful worship, helping others.
Fellowship is a part of everything we do – it happens before, during, and after worship, at every education event, every meeting, choir practice, and, of course, at our numerous fellowship events. Fellowship happens in person and online. We care for one another, and it shows. We worship together. It is at the center of our common prayer and faith life. And, we help others. The outward sign of this is our Outreach ministry; but, like fellowship, we help one another through the ups and downs of life.
Let me ask you a question: can we share our formula?
The Atlantic recently published an article titled The Anti-Social Century. Starting in the late 1990s, Americans became increasingly isolated. Covid amplified what had already been happening. Barna research’s latest report indicated that 1 out of 5 Americans who do not attend church have no community. America used to be full of civic groups, associations, clubs and bowling leagues. As those have declined, church has become one of the main centers for community. And yet, there is a growing population who has no community whatsoever.
Sharing our formula of fellowship, meaningful worship and helping others can help those who have a community find deeper spiritual meaning in their lives. And, for the 20% who have no community, if we share what we do, we will be the light for them that shines in the darkness of isolation and loneliness.
- Fr. Dave
1) What was our underwriting formula, from 1923, that made us become the 8th largest insurance company in the U.S?
2) Are we still following that formula?
3) Can we share the formula with our independent agents?
We answered number one easily. Number two – are we following the formula – was harder because we had moved away from it. We recognized it, adjusted, and within six quarters were creating an underwriting profit again.
At our March Vestry (governing board) meeting, I said it had been five years since the start of Covid and it had been five months since Hurricane Milton impacted our island. These two events are major events in the life of our parish. I asked the Vestry two questions:
Are we following the formula we’ve had since 1978? Can we share the formula?
It was a discernment question to make sure that the Rector (me), our leadership team and the congregation are on the right path.
The formula of All Angels is threefold:
fellowship, meaningful worship, helping others.
Fellowship is a part of everything we do – it happens before, during, and after worship, at every education event, every meeting, choir practice, and, of course, at our numerous fellowship events. Fellowship happens in person and online. We care for one another, and it shows. We worship together. It is at the center of our common prayer and faith life. And, we help others. The outward sign of this is our Outreach ministry; but, like fellowship, we help one another through the ups and downs of life.
Let me ask you a question: can we share our formula?
The Atlantic recently published an article titled The Anti-Social Century. Starting in the late 1990s, Americans became increasingly isolated. Covid amplified what had already been happening. Barna research’s latest report indicated that 1 out of 5 Americans who do not attend church have no community. America used to be full of civic groups, associations, clubs and bowling leagues. As those have declined, church has become one of the main centers for community. And yet, there is a growing population who has no community whatsoever.
Sharing our formula of fellowship, meaningful worship and helping others can help those who have a community find deeper spiritual meaning in their lives. And, for the 20% who have no community, if we share what we do, we will be the light for them that shines in the darkness of isolation and loneliness.
- Fr. Dave
CAMP
One of the challenges of Episcopal camps is how to take the spiritual mountain top experience of camp and incorporate it into daily life. It’s also the challenge of churches like All Angels, who have meaningful Sunday worship experiences, to incorporate faith throughout the other six days of the week. Here is one way to do it. The process is called C.A.M.P.
C – Choose a Bible passage
A – Ask questions
M – Make it personal
P – Pray daily
Choose a Bible passage. From this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, I chose the following passage:
[The son came to his senses and said to himself] I will get up and go to my father.
Ask questions: What did it take for the son to get up? Did he procrastinate? How much emotional pain did he endure before he decided to “get up”?
Make it personal: What does it take for me to get up and go do something? Where in life do I procrastinate? What am I afraid of?
Pray: God of compassion, the more I procrastinate, the more you show your divine patience. Give me strength to get up and return to you. Save me from the temptations that lead me away from you. Draw me back by the constancy of your love so that I may take my place in your household and share my spiritual inheritance with others. Amen.
Following the C.A.M.P. model, you would reflect on the make-it-personal and then say the prayer daily until next Sunday.
Here's one more. The psalm that has stood out to me this week is 32 verse 5.
Choose a passage: When I confessed my transgressions to the Lord
The Lord forgave me the guilt of my sin.
Ask questions: Why is it that guilt feels like a weight?
Make it personal: Where do I feel that weight of guilt? Am I ready to give it to the Lord?
Pray daily: Lord, I give to you this day the weight of my guilt.
Thank you for lifting my burden.
Thank you for your forgiveness and love. Amen.
And now it’s your turn. If you’d like to continue the worship experience of All Angels throughout your week, you are invited to C.A.M.P.
- Fr. Dave
C – Choose a Bible passage
A – Ask questions
M – Make it personal
P – Pray daily
Choose a Bible passage. From this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, I chose the following passage:
[The son came to his senses and said to himself] I will get up and go to my father.
Ask questions: What did it take for the son to get up? Did he procrastinate? How much emotional pain did he endure before he decided to “get up”?
Make it personal: What does it take for me to get up and go do something? Where in life do I procrastinate? What am I afraid of?
Pray: God of compassion, the more I procrastinate, the more you show your divine patience. Give me strength to get up and return to you. Save me from the temptations that lead me away from you. Draw me back by the constancy of your love so that I may take my place in your household and share my spiritual inheritance with others. Amen.
Following the C.A.M.P. model, you would reflect on the make-it-personal and then say the prayer daily until next Sunday.
Here's one more. The psalm that has stood out to me this week is 32 verse 5.
Choose a passage: When I confessed my transgressions to the Lord
The Lord forgave me the guilt of my sin.
Ask questions: Why is it that guilt feels like a weight?
Make it personal: Where do I feel that weight of guilt? Am I ready to give it to the Lord?
Pray daily: Lord, I give to you this day the weight of my guilt.
Thank you for lifting my burden.
Thank you for your forgiveness and love. Amen.
And now it’s your turn. If you’d like to continue the worship experience of All Angels throughout your week, you are invited to C.A.M.P.
- Fr. Dave
Believing Things Not Seen
We tackled the topic of faith during our confirmation class this past Sunday. The class read eight different Bible passages about faith. Each one regarded faith as believing without seeing. If we saw something we no longer would need faith because we’ve seen it. Likewise, with hope, one doesn’t hope for something that one has – we hope for things not received. An example of this is my 15-year-old hopes to have a PlayStation 5 someday (he currently has a PS 4). He does not hope for a PS 4 because, as already mentioned, he has one. He is hoping for something that he does not yet have.
When we were learning Russian, there was a newspaper called Pravda which means “truth”. We had learned a phrase which basically means “trust… with proof.” There is no faith involved in that scenario. If anything, faith is the exact opposite.
The first Bible lesson this past Sunday was God’s promise to Abraham that he would have an heir. Abraham (called Abram at the time) was past the age of childbearing years and so was his wife Sarah (called Sarai at the time). God told Abraham to go outside at night and count the stars if he could. Each star represented his offspring. Abraham did and he believed the Lord. Originally written in Hebrew, the construction of the sentence indicates that Abraham already believed the Lord (or did so as the Lord was speaking) before he went outside to look at the stars. God recognized Abraham’s faith and counted it as “righteousness”. In other words, Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, believed without seeing and what he believed was beyond the realm of common sense. God then regarded him as righteous (rewarded him) because of his faith.
In business, and many things in life, it’s a good idea to trust with proof. But, for a life of faith, we have to do the opposite – we need to believe in things not seen. Abraham didn’t ask God for proof that he would have a child; he simply listened to God, looked at the stars, and believed. Moses didn’t think he’d be able to lead his people out of captivity in Egypt, but, without proof, he believed God and then acted. Saint Mary was told by an angel that she would give birth to the messiah. She believed without proof and said, “Let it be with me according to your word.” When (Saint) Joseph was engaged, but not yet married to Mary, he discovered she was pregnant. In a dream, God asked Joseph to go through with the marriage because the child she is carrying is the Messiah. Without any proof, Joseph also believed God. They were all rewarded because of their belief in things not seen.
What do you believe in that you do not see?
I believe the tomb of Jesus is empty. I believe God reanimated and resurrected him. I also believe that when I die, God will also raise me up because of my belief in Christ. There is no proof of this but count me as one of the many who believe without seeing. God rewards my belief with an abundant sense of peace and hope.
- Fr. Dave
When we were learning Russian, there was a newspaper called Pravda which means “truth”. We had learned a phrase which basically means “trust… with proof.” There is no faith involved in that scenario. If anything, faith is the exact opposite.
The first Bible lesson this past Sunday was God’s promise to Abraham that he would have an heir. Abraham (called Abram at the time) was past the age of childbearing years and so was his wife Sarah (called Sarai at the time). God told Abraham to go outside at night and count the stars if he could. Each star represented his offspring. Abraham did and he believed the Lord. Originally written in Hebrew, the construction of the sentence indicates that Abraham already believed the Lord (or did so as the Lord was speaking) before he went outside to look at the stars. God recognized Abraham’s faith and counted it as “righteousness”. In other words, Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, believed without seeing and what he believed was beyond the realm of common sense. God then regarded him as righteous (rewarded him) because of his faith.
In business, and many things in life, it’s a good idea to trust with proof. But, for a life of faith, we have to do the opposite – we need to believe in things not seen. Abraham didn’t ask God for proof that he would have a child; he simply listened to God, looked at the stars, and believed. Moses didn’t think he’d be able to lead his people out of captivity in Egypt, but, without proof, he believed God and then acted. Saint Mary was told by an angel that she would give birth to the messiah. She believed without proof and said, “Let it be with me according to your word.” When (Saint) Joseph was engaged, but not yet married to Mary, he discovered she was pregnant. In a dream, God asked Joseph to go through with the marriage because the child she is carrying is the Messiah. Without any proof, Joseph also believed God. They were all rewarded because of their belief in things not seen.
What do you believe in that you do not see?
I believe the tomb of Jesus is empty. I believe God reanimated and resurrected him. I also believe that when I die, God will also raise me up because of my belief in Christ. There is no proof of this but count me as one of the many who believe without seeing. God rewards my belief with an abundant sense of peace and hope.
- Fr. Dave
Reflection, Lament and Jesus
Rejection stinks. It hurts. When I experience rejection, I question my own abilities and sometimes wonder who I am. Jesus felt rejection too. He felt it deeply. He was rejected by his community. He was rejected by his family, his friends, and even his best friend, Peter.
If you have felt the pain of rejection, Jesus knows what it feels like.
Lament is an expression of deep pain, often resulting from rejection. Sorrow, grief and regret are expressions of it. The Bible is full of lament. Two thirds of the psalms are laments. Every major person in the Bible experienced deep lament – Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses and Jonah. Jesus experienced lament, deeply.
When Jesus felt rejected, he would take time, by himself, in prayer and contemplation. He knew (or remembered) he was not alone.
Jesus shared his lament with God and with others.
When Jesus lamented, he focused on others – particularly those in need – and kept their health (and salvation) his primary concern. He found faith in who he was and his reason for living.
He also forgave those who rejected him. It didn’t matter to him if they accepted his forgiveness, he did it anyway (and he may have done it for himself to unburden the pain of sorrow and grief).
How do you handle rejection?
When I felt rejection while working in sales, I would remind myself of who I am and the reason why I am working. I learned from closing sales and from rejection. It seems that life is a balance between the two.
How do you handle lament?
Following Jesus’s example (and Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and Moses), I try to surrender my grief and sorrow to God. Lamenting to God reminds me to focus on those less fortunate than myself. It helps me to think outside of myself and to try to lift someone else’s burden.
Here is a prayer for those who are dealing with rejection and lament.
God is good. God is good to me. God is good at being God. (repeat three times)
God, to you I surrender my desire to prove my worth.
I surrender my need to understand why bad things happen.
I surrender my fears of others walking away and taking their love with them.
I surrender my anger, unforgiveness and my stubborn ways that hold me back from love.
I lay all of this before you Lord. Consume my lament with your holy fire. Turn it into ashes.
From now on, I invite you to walk with me as an unburdened child of God, with my soul safely held by you, and my heart free and ready to be the one you have lovingly created and restored.
Amen.
- Fr. Dave
If you have felt the pain of rejection, Jesus knows what it feels like.
Lament is an expression of deep pain, often resulting from rejection. Sorrow, grief and regret are expressions of it. The Bible is full of lament. Two thirds of the psalms are laments. Every major person in the Bible experienced deep lament – Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses and Jonah. Jesus experienced lament, deeply.
When Jesus felt rejected, he would take time, by himself, in prayer and contemplation. He knew (or remembered) he was not alone.
Jesus shared his lament with God and with others.
When Jesus lamented, he focused on others – particularly those in need – and kept their health (and salvation) his primary concern. He found faith in who he was and his reason for living.
He also forgave those who rejected him. It didn’t matter to him if they accepted his forgiveness, he did it anyway (and he may have done it for himself to unburden the pain of sorrow and grief).
How do you handle rejection?
When I felt rejection while working in sales, I would remind myself of who I am and the reason why I am working. I learned from closing sales and from rejection. It seems that life is a balance between the two.
How do you handle lament?
Following Jesus’s example (and Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and Moses), I try to surrender my grief and sorrow to God. Lamenting to God reminds me to focus on those less fortunate than myself. It helps me to think outside of myself and to try to lift someone else’s burden.
Here is a prayer for those who are dealing with rejection and lament.
God is good. God is good to me. God is good at being God. (repeat three times)
God, to you I surrender my desire to prove my worth.
I surrender my need to understand why bad things happen.
I surrender my fears of others walking away and taking their love with them.
I surrender my anger, unforgiveness and my stubborn ways that hold me back from love.
I lay all of this before you Lord. Consume my lament with your holy fire. Turn it into ashes.
From now on, I invite you to walk with me as an unburdened child of God, with my soul safely held by you, and my heart free and ready to be the one you have lovingly created and restored.
Amen.
- Fr. Dave
Seek First
Oh, hey Lent, I didn’t see you standing there.
Lent snuck up on me (again) this year. The season of Lent is a 40-day period before Easter when followers of Christ have taken time to reflect and meditate on God’s holy word, to examine their lives in regard to living the Good News of God’s abundant and overflowing grace, and, for some, to give up chocolate.
Next week, I am a part of a small team (with the bishop) that is leading a day-long clergy retreat. This is our theme: Seek First.
Clergy get pulled in many different directions – especially in Lent – so we are taking the time to remind ourselves of Jesus’s words:
Do not worry! Who among you can add a single moment to your life by worrying?
Instead, seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and everything you need shall be added to you. So, stop worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow can worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble on its own. Instead, seek first God’s Kingdom.
Here is a Lenten question for you: what are you seeking?
For me, I’d like to say that I am seeking first God’s Kingdom. But, self-reflection would say differently. Since mid-summer last year, I’ve been dealing with things that are right in front of my nose – storms, recovery, ageing, and worry. The Holy Spirit reminds me that Jesus said to stop worrying and then said, “seek God’s Kingdom”. His wisdom tells me I have to set aside worry before I can seek the Kingdom of God.
I know in my heart I need to set aside worry; but my brain tells me that worry has kept my people alive for a very long time. If not for worry, we would have died off long ago in the winters that grip northern England. Jesus knows this. Yet, he also knows how we are designed to live. Although worry kept my ancestors alive, worry certainly has a downside on both physical and mental health – a shortening of one (physical) and inhibiting joy on the other (mental). And let’s be frank, worrying is also a waste of time because it doesn’t solve problems.
Jesus knows this too.
I have found that when I intentionally seek God’s Kingdom, I stop worrying. I also have found that the assistance I need gets added to me when I seek God first. In seminary, my study group was stressing out about a final exam coming up. One of the professors, an Episcopal priest, walked by our table and said, “You look stressed. Are you taking time to pray?” My friend shot back, “We don’t have time to pray, look at everything we have to study for!” The professor smiled and said, “Try seeking God first in prayer and the rest of this will get added to you.” And he was right. We did well on our exam, and we had a good night’s sleep because we decided to pray and seek God first.
- Fr. Dave
Lent snuck up on me (again) this year. The season of Lent is a 40-day period before Easter when followers of Christ have taken time to reflect and meditate on God’s holy word, to examine their lives in regard to living the Good News of God’s abundant and overflowing grace, and, for some, to give up chocolate.
Next week, I am a part of a small team (with the bishop) that is leading a day-long clergy retreat. This is our theme: Seek First.
Clergy get pulled in many different directions – especially in Lent – so we are taking the time to remind ourselves of Jesus’s words:
Do not worry! Who among you can add a single moment to your life by worrying?
Instead, seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and everything you need shall be added to you. So, stop worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow can worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble on its own. Instead, seek first God’s Kingdom.
Here is a Lenten question for you: what are you seeking?
For me, I’d like to say that I am seeking first God’s Kingdom. But, self-reflection would say differently. Since mid-summer last year, I’ve been dealing with things that are right in front of my nose – storms, recovery, ageing, and worry. The Holy Spirit reminds me that Jesus said to stop worrying and then said, “seek God’s Kingdom”. His wisdom tells me I have to set aside worry before I can seek the Kingdom of God.
I know in my heart I need to set aside worry; but my brain tells me that worry has kept my people alive for a very long time. If not for worry, we would have died off long ago in the winters that grip northern England. Jesus knows this. Yet, he also knows how we are designed to live. Although worry kept my ancestors alive, worry certainly has a downside on both physical and mental health – a shortening of one (physical) and inhibiting joy on the other (mental). And let’s be frank, worrying is also a waste of time because it doesn’t solve problems.
Jesus knows this too.
I have found that when I intentionally seek God’s Kingdom, I stop worrying. I also have found that the assistance I need gets added to me when I seek God first. In seminary, my study group was stressing out about a final exam coming up. One of the professors, an Episcopal priest, walked by our table and said, “You look stressed. Are you taking time to pray?” My friend shot back, “We don’t have time to pray, look at everything we have to study for!” The professor smiled and said, “Try seeking God first in prayer and the rest of this will get added to you.” And he was right. We did well on our exam, and we had a good night’s sleep because we decided to pray and seek God first.
- Fr. Dave
Knowing Prayer
What do you know for sure?
There is a difference between knowing prayer and knowing about prayer. Prayer-in-practice is knowing prayer. The other – knowing about prayer – is religion. Although I have formal education in religion, what I know for sure is prayer. Religion has historicity and is theoretical. Prayer, to me, is life; present, right now.
Think about it this way: knowing how someone breathes is science; knowing your breath is something different – it is life giving, centering, and breath is with us all the time whether we are conscious of it or not. Jewish spirituality has the concept that every breath is a prayer. It comes from the story in Genesis when God’s breath entered Adam and he became alive (or conscious). That breath – from God to Adam – is present with you right now, as you breathe whether you are conscious of it or not.
Prayer is breath. Prayer is gratitude. Prayer is also for when you have nothing left but a prayer’s chance. It’s a first resort; it’s a last resort. It’s for every stage in-between.
Speaking of last resort, as a chaplain, I was called into a hospital room with an agitated veteran who had very little chance of surviving the next few days. When I walked into the room, he pointedly asked me if I believe in God and in prayer. I said that I do. He said he does not believe at all. I smiled and asked why he called for a chaplain. He said, “I need someone who believes to pray for me because I do not believe.” I sat down on the chair next to his hospital bed, gathered my thoughts, and asked, “What do you want me to pray for?” He said, “Peace.” I asked, “What kind of peace?” He told me about how he had been in personal turmoil since the mid-1970s. Although he was successful in business, he could never be at peace. He always had to be doing something and have the radio or a television on; and he could never stay in a romantic relationship for very long. With his outstretched hand, he took my hand, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “I need peace, and I need someone who believes to pray for me because I cannot find peace on my own.”
I asked him to lay back, close his eyes and remember the earliest memory he could think of. His breathing started to slow down as he searched his memory. I saw the corners of his eyes smile. I asked, “What are you thinking of?” He said quietly, “I’m with my dad. We are fishing.” I then prayed out loud for God our Father to do as Jesus promised – to bring us peace, not as the world gives but as God the Father of Jesus gives. His whole body relaxed into the hospital bed. Without opening his eyes, he whispered, “Thank you.”
I believe his prayer was heard.
- Fr. Dave
There is a difference between knowing prayer and knowing about prayer. Prayer-in-practice is knowing prayer. The other – knowing about prayer – is religion. Although I have formal education in religion, what I know for sure is prayer. Religion has historicity and is theoretical. Prayer, to me, is life; present, right now.
Think about it this way: knowing how someone breathes is science; knowing your breath is something different – it is life giving, centering, and breath is with us all the time whether we are conscious of it or not. Jewish spirituality has the concept that every breath is a prayer. It comes from the story in Genesis when God’s breath entered Adam and he became alive (or conscious). That breath – from God to Adam – is present with you right now, as you breathe whether you are conscious of it or not.
Prayer is breath. Prayer is gratitude. Prayer is also for when you have nothing left but a prayer’s chance. It’s a first resort; it’s a last resort. It’s for every stage in-between.
Speaking of last resort, as a chaplain, I was called into a hospital room with an agitated veteran who had very little chance of surviving the next few days. When I walked into the room, he pointedly asked me if I believe in God and in prayer. I said that I do. He said he does not believe at all. I smiled and asked why he called for a chaplain. He said, “I need someone who believes to pray for me because I do not believe.” I sat down on the chair next to his hospital bed, gathered my thoughts, and asked, “What do you want me to pray for?” He said, “Peace.” I asked, “What kind of peace?” He told me about how he had been in personal turmoil since the mid-1970s. Although he was successful in business, he could never be at peace. He always had to be doing something and have the radio or a television on; and he could never stay in a romantic relationship for very long. With his outstretched hand, he took my hand, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “I need peace, and I need someone who believes to pray for me because I cannot find peace on my own.”
I asked him to lay back, close his eyes and remember the earliest memory he could think of. His breathing started to slow down as he searched his memory. I saw the corners of his eyes smile. I asked, “What are you thinking of?” He said quietly, “I’m with my dad. We are fishing.” I then prayed out loud for God our Father to do as Jesus promised – to bring us peace, not as the world gives but as God the Father of Jesus gives. His whole body relaxed into the hospital bed. Without opening his eyes, he whispered, “Thank you.”
I believe his prayer was heard.
- Fr. Dave
Epistemology Welcomes You
What do you know for sure? What do you know deep in the core of your being?
Epistemology is the study of knowing what we know. For instance, there is evidence that shows if a mother elephant had visited a watering hole, but never showed her offspring, they will still know where it is. Some believe it is genetic memory passed from one to another, but no one really knows for sure how it works. There is evidence of genetic memory in most (if not all) species from monarch butterflies to chickens and even bacteria.
So what do you know for sure?
I asked that question to a discussion group. One person answered with this: we know what we experience. It reminded me of the Anglican three-legged stool of God’s revelation to humankind – one leg is the book of Scripture, the second leg is the book of nature, and the third leg of God’s revelation is found in the book of reason. I would argue there is a fourth leg and it is the book of experience. My dad was a biology teacher. He believed studying science in a textbook (using reason) can only take a student so far; at some point, you must go experience nature.
Since I’ve argued for a fourth leg, I’d like to add a fifth leg to the Anglican stool of God’s revelation which is this: witness. We know what we know from others’ testimony or witness of what they have experienced. Back to the mother elephant, she witnessed a water source; her offspring did not, yet they know where that source is based on the mother’s witness.
I am in the sacred order of priests in the 21st century. In the first century, (Saint) Peter walked with Jesus and experienced life with him. Jesus laid his hands on Peter’s head and commissioned him to serve God. Peter laid his hands on the individual heads of the apostles; they laid their hands on others from generation to generation. Eventually, those hands landed on me. Most of my faith life is based on witness and experience from others. It’s how I know what I believe.
I wonder what have others experienced and shared with you? What have you experienced? What do you plan to pass along to others?
Once (formerly doubting) Thomas saw Jesus’s pierced hands, he believed. Jesus said: Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. The not-seen-yet-believe group is you and me. Our believing is based on what others have seen and testify to. And blessed are we. If I may expand on the Savior’s words, blessed are you who pass along what you have seen and experienced for that is how others know what they know. It’s our epistemological Christian genetic memory and you are a part of it.
- Fr. Dave
Epistemology is the study of knowing what we know. For instance, there is evidence that shows if a mother elephant had visited a watering hole, but never showed her offspring, they will still know where it is. Some believe it is genetic memory passed from one to another, but no one really knows for sure how it works. There is evidence of genetic memory in most (if not all) species from monarch butterflies to chickens and even bacteria.
So what do you know for sure?
I asked that question to a discussion group. One person answered with this: we know what we experience. It reminded me of the Anglican three-legged stool of God’s revelation to humankind – one leg is the book of Scripture, the second leg is the book of nature, and the third leg of God’s revelation is found in the book of reason. I would argue there is a fourth leg and it is the book of experience. My dad was a biology teacher. He believed studying science in a textbook (using reason) can only take a student so far; at some point, you must go experience nature.
Since I’ve argued for a fourth leg, I’d like to add a fifth leg to the Anglican stool of God’s revelation which is this: witness. We know what we know from others’ testimony or witness of what they have experienced. Back to the mother elephant, she witnessed a water source; her offspring did not, yet they know where that source is based on the mother’s witness.
I am in the sacred order of priests in the 21st century. In the first century, (Saint) Peter walked with Jesus and experienced life with him. Jesus laid his hands on Peter’s head and commissioned him to serve God. Peter laid his hands on the individual heads of the apostles; they laid their hands on others from generation to generation. Eventually, those hands landed on me. Most of my faith life is based on witness and experience from others. It’s how I know what I believe.
I wonder what have others experienced and shared with you? What have you experienced? What do you plan to pass along to others?
Once (formerly doubting) Thomas saw Jesus’s pierced hands, he believed. Jesus said: Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. The not-seen-yet-believe group is you and me. Our believing is based on what others have seen and testify to. And blessed are we. If I may expand on the Savior’s words, blessed are you who pass along what you have seen and experienced for that is how others know what they know. It’s our epistemological Christian genetic memory and you are a part of it.
- Fr. Dave
Self-Inquiry Prayer
How do you know what you know?
I pray, a lot. I believe that God hears prayers; all of them – from devoted believers to unbelievers; the joyful and those who mourn, the faint and overborne, sin-sick and sorrow-worn – God hears all prayers.
I believe this without proof.
I believe there are three major categories of prayer: thanks, help, wow.
What I’ve been experiencing, however, is a fourth category that I call self-inquiry prayer.
Deep inside me there are two voices: one is self-serving, self-protecting, and acts for the well-being of myself. The other voice is empathetic, caring, and acts for the well-being of others. They are in a tug-of-war for my attention. God is the moderator between these two voices. The Moderator listens to my private, quiet internal voice and makes inquiries about what is not being said. This self-inquiry prayer is how the Moderator helps me discern. In other words, the Moderator helps me know what I know.
I knew when it was time for me to get a driver’s license and where to go to college. I believe self-inquiry prayer will show me when it is time to give it up. My dad knew when it was time to begin oncology treatment and when it was time to discontinue it.
This is how I experience self-inquiry prayer: It begins in a place where I will not be interrupted (which nowadays is sitting in traffic on my way home). I recite internally a passage of Scripture like, “For everything there is a season and a time under heaven.” Or, “With God, all things are possible.” I then hold in my mind a question and allow the self-inquiry process – the tug-of-war – to take place. From that wrestling match, my mind will wander off on a tangent. From my experience, that tangent is when the Moderator is speaking and it’s time for both sides of my mind to listen and explore.
There is no proof that God hears our prayers. But I do know the push and pull of my inner thoughts; I imagine you experience that too. If I offer those thoughts in prayer, I find that I already know the answer. One thing I have come to know is that there is a time and season for everything under heaven and that, with God-the-Moderator, all things are possible.
- Fr. Dave
I pray, a lot. I believe that God hears prayers; all of them – from devoted believers to unbelievers; the joyful and those who mourn, the faint and overborne, sin-sick and sorrow-worn – God hears all prayers.
I believe this without proof.
I believe there are three major categories of prayer: thanks, help, wow.
What I’ve been experiencing, however, is a fourth category that I call self-inquiry prayer.
Deep inside me there are two voices: one is self-serving, self-protecting, and acts for the well-being of myself. The other voice is empathetic, caring, and acts for the well-being of others. They are in a tug-of-war for my attention. God is the moderator between these two voices. The Moderator listens to my private, quiet internal voice and makes inquiries about what is not being said. This self-inquiry prayer is how the Moderator helps me discern. In other words, the Moderator helps me know what I know.
I knew when it was time for me to get a driver’s license and where to go to college. I believe self-inquiry prayer will show me when it is time to give it up. My dad knew when it was time to begin oncology treatment and when it was time to discontinue it.
This is how I experience self-inquiry prayer: It begins in a place where I will not be interrupted (which nowadays is sitting in traffic on my way home). I recite internally a passage of Scripture like, “For everything there is a season and a time under heaven.” Or, “With God, all things are possible.” I then hold in my mind a question and allow the self-inquiry process – the tug-of-war – to take place. From that wrestling match, my mind will wander off on a tangent. From my experience, that tangent is when the Moderator is speaking and it’s time for both sides of my mind to listen and explore.
There is no proof that God hears our prayers. But I do know the push and pull of my inner thoughts; I imagine you experience that too. If I offer those thoughts in prayer, I find that I already know the answer. One thing I have come to know is that there is a time and season for everything under heaven and that, with God-the-Moderator, all things are possible.
- Fr. Dave
Rector’s Report Annual Meeting 2025
This is our mission: To bring the Living Christ to those inside and outside the Church. Here are some of the ways we have accomplished it over the past twelve months.
To Bring. At All Angels, we bring Christ. We bring Christ with our prayer list. We bring Christ when we invite people to church. Every flower arrangement brings Christ in beauty. We bring Christ in hymnody and song. We bring Christ when we listen with a compassionate ear. We bring Christ when we go in peace to love and serve the Lord. We bring Christ when we sell used art to help those in need. We bring Christ when we maintain our beautiful campus for people in our community to find a place of rest. Our discussion groups and educational offerings bring the unity and wisdom of Christ. We bring Christ when we remember all those for whom we love but see no longer.
The Living Christ. The images we have of Christ in the church are that of the living Christ. The stained-glass window shows Christ walking in nature. The icons of Christ are that of teacher and guide. Our worship services illuminate our ancient faith that is relevant to our lives. We also bring our questions, our doubts and our fears to Christ at our church. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, you will be welcome and find a living faith in Christ at All Angels.
To Those Inside. The centerpiece of bringing Christ is our in-person worship and fellowship. There is a feeling inside of the church that is joy, peace and unity. Our music program is focused on being an uplifting presence. We have warm and friendly ushers, excellent lay readers, and we offer the sacrament of Holy Communion every Sunday for those inside. Fellowship is one of our strengths; and it is especially important in this time of isolation and loneliness. Fellowship starts inside of the church – our seats have been arranged so that we can greet one another in peace. For those inside, we had a wonderful Christmas Tea and concert, a Spring Fling with tasty barbeque, our Annual Meeting, a harp concert, the dining club and many more fellowship events that are at the heart of our parish life.
And Outside. This is our number one area of growth at All Angels. It all started with adapting to Covid requirements. Nowadays, we offer a high-quality a/v production that brings the specialness of what we do inside the church to those outside. We bring a message of love and peace to those who are familiar with the Episcopal Church, to those new in the Christian faith and to those who struggle with faith. We hosted our Comfort Station (again) for all those whose lives were disrupted by storms. Our parish is home to the Rotary of Longboat Key; we hold almost monthly meetings for various community groups on the island; and we hosted a community event called Finding Our Strength Together After a Loss. We hosted the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service (on very short notice) where we welcomed over 300 people to sing and pray together in one voice giving thanks. All Angels is host to the monthly Interfaith Ministerial meeting where all the island religious leaders support one another in fellowship and prayer. And, because of our outreach programs, we brought dignity and peace to those who struggle to attend school, those who fear eviction, and those who struggle with food insecurity. All of this is done because we bring the Living Christ to those outside.
The Church. That’s us – you and me, we, all of us – we are the Church, the living and active, relevant, helpful and supportive, loving, forgiving, prayerful and rejoicing Body of Christ.
Thank you for inviting and supporting me and my family in our shared life, ministry and mission of bringing the Living Christ to those inside and outside the church.
- Fr. Dave
- Fr. Dave
To Be Seen
A VA chaplain I worked with, named David, went to Vietnam in 1969. He returned home without sight. His disability led him to see his call to ordination. Speaking in his thoughtful Alabama drawl, he said, “It was hard for me, a blind man, to be ordained. I can’t see the altar, the Bible, or even if my clothes match. But the hardest part was how others judged me for being blind. They’d say, ‘If Jesus wanted you to be a priest, why hasn’t he restored your vision.’ I’d tell them this: I can see a lot more as a blind man, spiritually speaking, than you can with your eyesight.” David can sense the presence of angels and the Spirit. After a while, he could identify us chaplains by the “sight” of our guardian angels.
American culture sees illness and disability as a biological problem to be solved. Unfortunately, this belief has pervaded organized religion. But that’s not how Jesus saw healing. To him and his community, healing was first and foremost about restoring relationships. Occasionally, the restoring of relationships would include a biological phenomenon (miracle).
Take for example the paralytic man whose friends broke open the ceiling of a house in which Jesus was teaching. They lowered the man down so he could be seen. Jesus smiled, and said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven!” Many people back then did not have the dignity and respect to look at, or talk to, a disabled person. But Jesus did. Sin, in this case, was a fracturing of relationships. Jesus restored/healed him because he saw him – and so did everyone else. Yet today, whether consciously or not, many have taken that passage to mean it is a sin to be disabled (and to remain in that so-called condition).
Rabbi Kushner, author of the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, wrote that when his young son died from progeria (a degenerative disease), many thought that the rabbi was not suited to be a religious leader because God did not heal his son. Kushner instead believed that God provides solace to those who have illness and those who suffer. God sees us even when bad things happen and, because we are seen, God will help us through bad times. Seeing is God’s healing and restorative act which brings love, community and belonging.
We all have spiritual gifts. We have impairments too. David’s was more obvious than others, but we all have them. Jesus doesn’t see us as our impairments. He asked this question numerous times: What can I do for you? One day, he said it to two men who were blind. People laughed – wasn’t it obvious what they wanted? No, not to Jesus. He sees us for who we are; not for what we are unequipped to do.
Eyesight, hearing, taste, and all sorts of other abilities tend to diminish over one’s lifetime. It’s accelerated because of overuse or disuse, injury and disease. Yet, that’s not how God sees us. We are seen as God’s children. All of us. For my friend David, who has the ability to see into God’s kingdom on earth, he has been restored and healed to those who originally thought poorly of him. They now see him for who he is. May we all take a moment to look at each other in the same way.
- Fr. Dave
American culture sees illness and disability as a biological problem to be solved. Unfortunately, this belief has pervaded organized religion. But that’s not how Jesus saw healing. To him and his community, healing was first and foremost about restoring relationships. Occasionally, the restoring of relationships would include a biological phenomenon (miracle).
Take for example the paralytic man whose friends broke open the ceiling of a house in which Jesus was teaching. They lowered the man down so he could be seen. Jesus smiled, and said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven!” Many people back then did not have the dignity and respect to look at, or talk to, a disabled person. But Jesus did. Sin, in this case, was a fracturing of relationships. Jesus restored/healed him because he saw him – and so did everyone else. Yet today, whether consciously or not, many have taken that passage to mean it is a sin to be disabled (and to remain in that so-called condition).
Rabbi Kushner, author of the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, wrote that when his young son died from progeria (a degenerative disease), many thought that the rabbi was not suited to be a religious leader because God did not heal his son. Kushner instead believed that God provides solace to those who have illness and those who suffer. God sees us even when bad things happen and, because we are seen, God will help us through bad times. Seeing is God’s healing and restorative act which brings love, community and belonging.
We all have spiritual gifts. We have impairments too. David’s was more obvious than others, but we all have them. Jesus doesn’t see us as our impairments. He asked this question numerous times: What can I do for you? One day, he said it to two men who were blind. People laughed – wasn’t it obvious what they wanted? No, not to Jesus. He sees us for who we are; not for what we are unequipped to do.
Eyesight, hearing, taste, and all sorts of other abilities tend to diminish over one’s lifetime. It’s accelerated because of overuse or disuse, injury and disease. Yet, that’s not how God sees us. We are seen as God’s children. All of us. For my friend David, who has the ability to see into God’s kingdom on earth, he has been restored and healed to those who originally thought poorly of him. They now see him for who he is. May we all take a moment to look at each other in the same way.
- Fr. Dave
The Wisdom of Uncertainty
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
My dad would say the only certainty in life is uncertainty. He then would ask me how I am dealing with life’s uncertainty? There are days I’d just assume to live under a rock. Life seems more certain there. The problem with certainty is that it causes me to be closed off to new ideas and experiences. The other problem is that certainty is an illusion because life remains, at its core, uncertain.
The Bible addresses uncertainty. Many of the people of the Bible lived in uncertain times and had moments where they too wanted to live under a rock. Gideon, a simple farmer, was uncertain of his gifts and ability. Moses too. Elijah ran when faced with uncertainty. Sarah laughed. Thomas doubted. Peter denied. And yet, something happened.
Our brains prefer predictability and order because uncertainty is registered as a gap in knowledge which equals potential danger. This gap causes anxiety because our brains have come to believe that hypervigilance keeps us from death. What Gideon, Moses, Elijah, Sarah, Thomas and Peter experienced is perfectly normal. But again, something extraordinary happened within them.
Gideon dealt with uncertainty by repeatedly asking God for reassurance (which he received). Moses expressed his doubts to God through prayer (and then felt centered). When Elijah thought he was alone, God opened him to see the Lord working in many people all around him. Sarah held fast onto her faith and then the unexpected happened. Peter relied on the stability of God within him and his friends. Thomas was uncertain but he still showed up (and then it all made sense to him). Every person in the Bible who lived with uncertainty found God working within them. They then expressed great courage.
How are you dealing with uncertainty today?
King David, who also dealt with a lot of uncertainty (some of which he himself caused), is believed to have written Psalm 23 which begins, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Verse four is what I repeat when my brain starts to express fear and hypervigilance. “Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil because you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The valley of the shadow of death is how my brain experiences uncertainty. David did not fear because God is with him. When I'm uncertain, I am reminded that God is with me too.
God knows the valley you are in. God is with you. Right now. Inside of you and all around you. As God worked inside Gideon, Moses, Sarah, Thomas and Peter, so too God is with you.
Life is uncertain. But dealing with uncertainty leads to openness, curiosity, wonder and wisdom. Fear drives us under a rock and makes us closed off. Uncertainty, however, is a way that God and life can open us to new possibilities, experiences and, of course, wisdom.
- Fr. Dave
My dad would say the only certainty in life is uncertainty. He then would ask me how I am dealing with life’s uncertainty? There are days I’d just assume to live under a rock. Life seems more certain there. The problem with certainty is that it causes me to be closed off to new ideas and experiences. The other problem is that certainty is an illusion because life remains, at its core, uncertain.
The Bible addresses uncertainty. Many of the people of the Bible lived in uncertain times and had moments where they too wanted to live under a rock. Gideon, a simple farmer, was uncertain of his gifts and ability. Moses too. Elijah ran when faced with uncertainty. Sarah laughed. Thomas doubted. Peter denied. And yet, something happened.
Our brains prefer predictability and order because uncertainty is registered as a gap in knowledge which equals potential danger. This gap causes anxiety because our brains have come to believe that hypervigilance keeps us from death. What Gideon, Moses, Elijah, Sarah, Thomas and Peter experienced is perfectly normal. But again, something extraordinary happened within them.
Gideon dealt with uncertainty by repeatedly asking God for reassurance (which he received). Moses expressed his doubts to God through prayer (and then felt centered). When Elijah thought he was alone, God opened him to see the Lord working in many people all around him. Sarah held fast onto her faith and then the unexpected happened. Peter relied on the stability of God within him and his friends. Thomas was uncertain but he still showed up (and then it all made sense to him). Every person in the Bible who lived with uncertainty found God working within them. They then expressed great courage.
How are you dealing with uncertainty today?
King David, who also dealt with a lot of uncertainty (some of which he himself caused), is believed to have written Psalm 23 which begins, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Verse four is what I repeat when my brain starts to express fear and hypervigilance. “Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil because you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The valley of the shadow of death is how my brain experiences uncertainty. David did not fear because God is with him. When I'm uncertain, I am reminded that God is with me too.
God knows the valley you are in. God is with you. Right now. Inside of you and all around you. As God worked inside Gideon, Moses, Sarah, Thomas and Peter, so too God is with you.
Life is uncertain. But dealing with uncertainty leads to openness, curiosity, wonder and wisdom. Fear drives us under a rock and makes us closed off. Uncertainty, however, is a way that God and life can open us to new possibilities, experiences and, of course, wisdom.
- Fr. Dave
Generosity
There are wounds that only compassion can heal.
When I was in 6th grade, while horsing around with my brother, I broke two front teeth. The worst part about it (besides the pain) was having to spend time with my dentist, Dr. Parrish (real name). He had two assistants: one kind, one mean. The mean one would tell me not to cry. The kind one would hold my hand and tell me everything is going to be okay. The mean one spent very little time with me, the kind one spent as much time as possible. Imagine which one helped me heal.
Biblically speaking, compassion is a form of love made visible during times of suffering. The Greek word for compassion literally means inward parts – like one’s gut. In Hebrew, compassion is the word for “womb” – like the way a mother feels for her child.
At the V.A. hospital, I learned that some wounds can only be healed by compassion and that the core of compassion is generosity – the opening and sharing of one's inner self. My chaplain boss told us every week that we are responsible for the inner healing process. She would then ask if we were being generous with our compassion (sharing God from our inside).
Time is a precious commodity, so is compassion; both heal the weary soul.
When I think about the people of All Angels, I think of generosity of spirit and compassion. We are generous with our time for each other, for those in need, and for those who have not yet found their spiritual home. It is our form of love to our community. All Angels is well-known for our generosity of hospitality that we show at community events, like the Thanksgiving Service, the New To You Art Sale, pet blessings, Blue Christmas, Coffee Hour, and before (and during) each worship service. We are moved, inwardly, to welcome and help people and it shows (and it heals).
This Sunday is the beginning of our four-week pledge drive when we ask one another to make a financial gesture of compassion to the church. There are some wounds in our community that compassion, through All Angels, can heal. And we are able to respond because of financial generosity. The church is the people; and the people need a church and campus (and a pastor/priest, and music, and administration, and insurance, and electricity). Thank you for your support of our shared ministry.
My desk is full of thank-you cards from people who have received the generosity of compassion from All Angels. The wounds that we heal are not visible ones like fixing roofs and fences; yet they are equally important. With your generosity, we will continue to heal wounds out of our compassion.
- Fr. Dave
When I was in 6th grade, while horsing around with my brother, I broke two front teeth. The worst part about it (besides the pain) was having to spend time with my dentist, Dr. Parrish (real name). He had two assistants: one kind, one mean. The mean one would tell me not to cry. The kind one would hold my hand and tell me everything is going to be okay. The mean one spent very little time with me, the kind one spent as much time as possible. Imagine which one helped me heal.
Biblically speaking, compassion is a form of love made visible during times of suffering. The Greek word for compassion literally means inward parts – like one’s gut. In Hebrew, compassion is the word for “womb” – like the way a mother feels for her child.
At the V.A. hospital, I learned that some wounds can only be healed by compassion and that the core of compassion is generosity – the opening and sharing of one's inner self. My chaplain boss told us every week that we are responsible for the inner healing process. She would then ask if we were being generous with our compassion (sharing God from our inside).
Time is a precious commodity, so is compassion; both heal the weary soul.
When I think about the people of All Angels, I think of generosity of spirit and compassion. We are generous with our time for each other, for those in need, and for those who have not yet found their spiritual home. It is our form of love to our community. All Angels is well-known for our generosity of hospitality that we show at community events, like the Thanksgiving Service, the New To You Art Sale, pet blessings, Blue Christmas, Coffee Hour, and before (and during) each worship service. We are moved, inwardly, to welcome and help people and it shows (and it heals).
This Sunday is the beginning of our four-week pledge drive when we ask one another to make a financial gesture of compassion to the church. There are some wounds in our community that compassion, through All Angels, can heal. And we are able to respond because of financial generosity. The church is the people; and the people need a church and campus (and a pastor/priest, and music, and administration, and insurance, and electricity). Thank you for your support of our shared ministry.
My desk is full of thank-you cards from people who have received the generosity of compassion from All Angels. The wounds that we heal are not visible ones like fixing roofs and fences; yet they are equally important. With your generosity, we will continue to heal wounds out of our compassion.
- Fr. Dave
The Gratitude List
Psychologists have determined that the most depressing day (of the most depressing month) is January 24th. We have gone from the Most Wonderful Time of the Year to one of the most depressing. If you want to try a simple exercise to help stabilize your thought process, and bring you happiness, I am inviting you to join me in writing a gratitude list.
Based on Arthur Brooks’ research (he’s a professor at Harvard and has been studying the science of happiness), here is a proven way to increase your happiness. Today, right now, write down five things you are most grateful for in your life. Make it visible so you can see it during the day. Then tonight, before you go to sleep, look at your list and for just five minutes think about those things. Do this for a week. Then, next week, update your list and repeat.
Students of Brooks have done this as a controlled social science experiment. It has been proven to work in increasing one’s happiness. In many cases, the subjects saw a dramatic increase in their mood.
Are you wondering what to write? Here are some words that have made it onto gratitude lists: sunshine, air to breathe, hamburgers, pets, spouses, children, grandchildren, a home, a bed, a car, church, music, technology, the ability to turn off technology, coffee, books, learning, friends.
What are you grateful for?
Let’s look at the gratitude list with this three-step process:
write it (note five things),
see it (place it somewhere it’s visible),
make it sacred (look at it at night and think about it).
When you write it, see it, and make it sacred, you will most likely feel joy and happiness. With this practice, maybe January will not be depressing but become the most wonderful time of the year.
- Fr. Dave
Based on Arthur Brooks’ research (he’s a professor at Harvard and has been studying the science of happiness), here is a proven way to increase your happiness. Today, right now, write down five things you are most grateful for in your life. Make it visible so you can see it during the day. Then tonight, before you go to sleep, look at your list and for just five minutes think about those things. Do this for a week. Then, next week, update your list and repeat.
Students of Brooks have done this as a controlled social science experiment. It has been proven to work in increasing one’s happiness. In many cases, the subjects saw a dramatic increase in their mood.
Are you wondering what to write? Here are some words that have made it onto gratitude lists: sunshine, air to breathe, hamburgers, pets, spouses, children, grandchildren, a home, a bed, a car, church, music, technology, the ability to turn off technology, coffee, books, learning, friends.
What are you grateful for?
Let’s look at the gratitude list with this three-step process:
write it (note five things),
see it (place it somewhere it’s visible),
make it sacred (look at it at night and think about it).
When you write it, see it, and make it sacred, you will most likely feel joy and happiness. With this practice, maybe January will not be depressing but become the most wonderful time of the year.
- Fr. Dave
Perfect Holiday (adapted from Christmas Eve sermon 2024)
We tend to search for the “perfect thing” – a perfect world, perfect attendance, the perfect game (in baseball), the perfect match to make the perfect couple which makes for the perfect wedding (which you’ll need to bring the perfect gift). In grade school, I had a teacher who insisted we draw a perfect circle (mine were always happy oblong shapes).
Let me ask you a question: did you have the perfect holiday this year?
Some say our search for perfection comes from a latent fear of failure or criticism. While that may be true, I also think searching for perfection may have to do with an incorrect translation of a passage from Matthew’s Gospel: Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew, quoting Jesus, wrote it originally in Greek. The Greek word, teleios (perfect) has no direct translation in English. From all that I have researched, teleios is best translated as complete or whole. We could read that passage like this:
be complete as your Father in Heaven is whole.
Instead of searching for the perfect Christmas, let me ask you this:
What makes the holiday season whole and complete for you?
I used to think that Joseph was stressed out and embarrassed of what we depict in every manger scene – a barn, animals, and a wrapped-up baby in a trough – but then I went through the ’24 hurricane season. (While not the perfect storm) I rejoice that we are able to have a Christmas Eve service in our church. It’s not perfect, the campus and the island are not perfect, but we’re doing the best with what we have been given. Because of the hurricanes, I think about Joseph differently now – he did the best he could with what he had been given. What really mattered was that Mary was safe and whole, the baby was born safely, and Joseph and the angels were there to witness the miracle. It wasn’t a “perfect” nursery, but it was complete. I now think Joseph was relieved and whole.
The same goes for Mary. I don’t think she was embarrassed or ashamed of what Joseph could (or could not) provide. She too saw he was doing the best with what he had. In my mind’s eye, I see Mary telling Joseph, “It’s okay Joe; at least we’re not stranded outside, or stuck on the road from Nazareth. It’s the best we can do with what we have.” Tidings of joy and peace fell across the new family, the region, and across time to us today. It is whole and complete.
For this New Year, I wonder what makes you whole and complete?
My prayer for you and your family in 2025 is that you have wholeness with tidings of joy from God and that you experience peace and completeness with what you have been given.
- Fr. Dave
Let me ask you a question: did you have the perfect holiday this year?
Some say our search for perfection comes from a latent fear of failure or criticism. While that may be true, I also think searching for perfection may have to do with an incorrect translation of a passage from Matthew’s Gospel: Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew, quoting Jesus, wrote it originally in Greek. The Greek word, teleios (perfect) has no direct translation in English. From all that I have researched, teleios is best translated as complete or whole. We could read that passage like this:
be complete as your Father in Heaven is whole.
Instead of searching for the perfect Christmas, let me ask you this:
What makes the holiday season whole and complete for you?
I used to think that Joseph was stressed out and embarrassed of what we depict in every manger scene – a barn, animals, and a wrapped-up baby in a trough – but then I went through the ’24 hurricane season. (While not the perfect storm) I rejoice that we are able to have a Christmas Eve service in our church. It’s not perfect, the campus and the island are not perfect, but we’re doing the best with what we have been given. Because of the hurricanes, I think about Joseph differently now – he did the best he could with what he had been given. What really mattered was that Mary was safe and whole, the baby was born safely, and Joseph and the angels were there to witness the miracle. It wasn’t a “perfect” nursery, but it was complete. I now think Joseph was relieved and whole.
The same goes for Mary. I don’t think she was embarrassed or ashamed of what Joseph could (or could not) provide. She too saw he was doing the best with what he had. In my mind’s eye, I see Mary telling Joseph, “It’s okay Joe; at least we’re not stranded outside, or stuck on the road from Nazareth. It’s the best we can do with what we have.” Tidings of joy and peace fell across the new family, the region, and across time to us today. It is whole and complete.
For this New Year, I wonder what makes you whole and complete?
My prayer for you and your family in 2025 is that you have wholeness with tidings of joy from God and that you experience peace and completeness with what you have been given.
- Fr. Dave
Have Seen Light
The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. – Isaiah 9:2
Growing up in Washington State, Christmas was the beginning of sledding and skiing season. One day, during Christmas break, I was sledding down my favorite hill when suddenly, my eyes couldn’t focus. Called “snow blindness” it’s an overwhelming ocular sensation when the brain gives up on trying to focus because everything around is so bright and white.
Scared, I called for my dad. He told me to keep my eyes closed, to breathe deeply, and to lay down on my sled. He pulled me home with my snow-covered wool cap covering my sensitive eyes. We sat in the dark garage until I could focus on things in the dim light.
Like my dad who helped me to see again by sitting with me in the dark, I help people who are walking in the darkness of grief, loneliness and fear (especially post-hurricane season) to see light in themselves, from God, and in the sacraments of the Church. I believe the prophet Isaiah who declared that “those who have walked in darkness will see a great light” because I have seen it myself and I have walked with people in the darkness who also have seen the light.
Throughout this Christmas season and into 2025, let us help those who are dark-walking so that they too will declare they have seen a great light.
- Fr. Dave
Growing up in Washington State, Christmas was the beginning of sledding and skiing season. One day, during Christmas break, I was sledding down my favorite hill when suddenly, my eyes couldn’t focus. Called “snow blindness” it’s an overwhelming ocular sensation when the brain gives up on trying to focus because everything around is so bright and white.
Scared, I called for my dad. He told me to keep my eyes closed, to breathe deeply, and to lay down on my sled. He pulled me home with my snow-covered wool cap covering my sensitive eyes. We sat in the dark garage until I could focus on things in the dim light.
Like my dad who helped me to see again by sitting with me in the dark, I help people who are walking in the darkness of grief, loneliness and fear (especially post-hurricane season) to see light in themselves, from God, and in the sacraments of the Church. I believe the prophet Isaiah who declared that “those who have walked in darkness will see a great light” because I have seen it myself and I have walked with people in the darkness who also have seen the light.
Throughout this Christmas season and into 2025, let us help those who are dark-walking so that they too will declare they have seen a great light.
- Fr. Dave
Resilience of the Poinsettia
A tradition at All Angels is to decorate our beautiful church with poinsettias. This photo, taken in December 2021, shows light flooding in from the stained-glass window and reflecting on the “scarlet cloth” of the poinsettia. In this special time of year, the mid-afternoon light shines on the Advent Candle wreath which makes the poinsettias take on a heavenly glow every sunny afternoon at All Angels.
During the first year of the pandemic, many felt joy when they saw the seasonal red-leaved plants in the church (although most saw them online instead of in person). Everything seemed to have changed because of Covid; it was a joy to see that this tradition remained the same. The resilient plant is a symbol of the nativity and of joy. Our poinsettia tradition has weathered the gas shortages in our island church history and, as mentioned, the poinsettias were present during the loneliest time of the global pandemic.
But then came the 2024 hurricane season.
The three-headed monster of Debi, Helene and Milton swamped, flooded, and blew over the crop for poinsettias. Our primary supplier literally had their farm swamped. Another supplier had wind damage and harvested a fraction of what they normally produce. The Flower Guild was concerned that we may not have poinsettias this year.
During the first year of the pandemic, many felt joy when they saw the seasonal red-leaved plants in the church (although most saw them online instead of in person). Everything seemed to have changed because of Covid; it was a joy to see that this tradition remained the same. The resilient plant is a symbol of the nativity and of joy. Our poinsettia tradition has weathered the gas shortages in our island church history and, as mentioned, the poinsettias were present during the loneliest time of the global pandemic.
But then came the 2024 hurricane season.
The three-headed monster of Debi, Helene and Milton swamped, flooded, and blew over the crop for poinsettias. Our primary supplier literally had their farm swamped. Another supplier had wind damage and harvested a fraction of what they normally produce. The Flower Guild was concerned that we may not have poinsettias this year.
I am proud (and relieved) to say that we will again have poinsettias in the church for Christmas. This photo is of our display for 2024. What I have discovered is that, like the resilient white and red-leaved plant, our flower guild is also resilient and persistent. They made phone calls, drove around, and eventually found poinsettias. It took several car-load deliveries, but they did what our primary supplier could not.
If you are thinking that I am making too much out of this plant, let me remind you that the Bible mandates us to worship God with this phrase: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 96) Art, beauty, holiness and Church history are intertwined. The 19th century Oxford Movement in England sought to highlight beauty in the worship practice of Anglicans. John and Charles Wesley pursued beauty within hymnody and encouraged the creation of stained-glass windows for beauty and to teach people about the faith. Beauty is fundamental to our worship and in experiencing joy within God’s creation. From this priest’s point of view, poinsettias are a vital part of bringing beauty to our worship because poinsettias tie our present with the past, during the most wonderful time of year. And, based on the year that we’ve had, when the beauty of this barrier island has suffered, I am thankful for the persistence and resilience of our Flower Guild that they once again brought beauty, and normality and history, to our worship space this Christmas season.
- Rev. Dave
If you are thinking that I am making too much out of this plant, let me remind you that the Bible mandates us to worship God with this phrase: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 96) Art, beauty, holiness and Church history are intertwined. The 19th century Oxford Movement in England sought to highlight beauty in the worship practice of Anglicans. John and Charles Wesley pursued beauty within hymnody and encouraged the creation of stained-glass windows for beauty and to teach people about the faith. Beauty is fundamental to our worship and in experiencing joy within God’s creation. From this priest’s point of view, poinsettias are a vital part of bringing beauty to our worship because poinsettias tie our present with the past, during the most wonderful time of year. And, based on the year that we’ve had, when the beauty of this barrier island has suffered, I am thankful for the persistence and resilience of our Flower Guild that they once again brought beauty, and normality and history, to our worship space this Christmas season.
- Rev. Dave
The Waiting
There is an aspect of Advent that I have not highlighted with you. It is the aspect of waiting. I don’t like waiting. I imagine that no one likes to wait. Case in point, yesterday, at the Christmas Concert performed by Elijah’s school, there was a six-year-old sitting in front of me. He couldn’t wait for the “boring” performance to end. His parents kept insisting that he had to wait. I looked at him, lying down across three chairs in the auditorium, staring at the ceiling, and I thought, yeah, I get it; waiting is no fun.
You know what us humans are good at? We’re good at moving ahead. We are skilled at planning what’s next. Those activities energize us. It gives us something to work towards and look forward to. On the flip side, no one ever jumped out of bed because their day was going to be full of waiting. We’re good at fixing what’s wrong – or, at least diagnosing the problem. With expertise, we cram more into one day that one person could possibly do. Humans love to utter phrases like, “The hurricane was two months ago, why isn’t all this cleaned up yet?!”
But what if the “fix” in life is learning how to wait. (I know, let the booing begin)
Have you ever had a sleepless night where you were just waiting for the sun to rise? For a child to be born? For the pain to end? To wait to catch your breath? Have you ever waited for a wound to heal, or a bone to set, or for stitches to be taken out? I don’t think there’s anything harder in the world than waiting.
Scripture tells us the following: “Wait for the Lord.” (Ps 27:14) “The Lord is good to those who wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:25) “Blessed are those who wait.” (Isaiah 30:18) “My soul waits for the Lord – more than the watchmen for the morning. (Ps 130:5) “I wait for your salvation.” (Genesis 49:18)
The most repeated phrase of the Bible is be not afraid. Number two? You guessed it – wait. For each of the passages above, those who waited had the following happen to them: the Lord was good to them, they were strengthened, their heart found courage, they ran and did not become weary, they received justice, they received peace in God’s word, the Lord became their shield and help, their hearts became glad, they received hope, and became still. In other words, the blessings for those who wait are courage, strength, justice, peace, glad-filled-hearts, and hope. For as much as I don’t like waiting, I need all of the above.
If you find yourself in a time when you must wait, here is an anonymous prayer for you.
Look upon us gentle, Lord; waiting is not our specialty.
So many other things are, like moving ahead, fixing what’s wrong, planning what’s next, diagnosing the problem, cramming more into a day than one person can possibly do.
But waiting….
When we are waiting for sun to rise, when we are waiting for a wound to heal; Lord, nothing in all the world is harder than waiting.
In your mercy, Lord, wait with us.
Be our very present help in waiting. Heal our frenzy. Calm our fears. Comfort those who at this very minute are waiting with anxious breath. Transform our restless time into your time.
While we wait and pray, bring us hope, surrounded by your presence, even in the darkness.
Especially in the darkness, gentle Lord. Amen.
- Rev. Dave
You know what us humans are good at? We’re good at moving ahead. We are skilled at planning what’s next. Those activities energize us. It gives us something to work towards and look forward to. On the flip side, no one ever jumped out of bed because their day was going to be full of waiting. We’re good at fixing what’s wrong – or, at least diagnosing the problem. With expertise, we cram more into one day that one person could possibly do. Humans love to utter phrases like, “The hurricane was two months ago, why isn’t all this cleaned up yet?!”
But what if the “fix” in life is learning how to wait. (I know, let the booing begin)
Have you ever had a sleepless night where you were just waiting for the sun to rise? For a child to be born? For the pain to end? To wait to catch your breath? Have you ever waited for a wound to heal, or a bone to set, or for stitches to be taken out? I don’t think there’s anything harder in the world than waiting.
Scripture tells us the following: “Wait for the Lord.” (Ps 27:14) “The Lord is good to those who wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:25) “Blessed are those who wait.” (Isaiah 30:18) “My soul waits for the Lord – more than the watchmen for the morning. (Ps 130:5) “I wait for your salvation.” (Genesis 49:18)
The most repeated phrase of the Bible is be not afraid. Number two? You guessed it – wait. For each of the passages above, those who waited had the following happen to them: the Lord was good to them, they were strengthened, their heart found courage, they ran and did not become weary, they received justice, they received peace in God’s word, the Lord became their shield and help, their hearts became glad, they received hope, and became still. In other words, the blessings for those who wait are courage, strength, justice, peace, glad-filled-hearts, and hope. For as much as I don’t like waiting, I need all of the above.
If you find yourself in a time when you must wait, here is an anonymous prayer for you.
Look upon us gentle, Lord; waiting is not our specialty.
So many other things are, like moving ahead, fixing what’s wrong, planning what’s next, diagnosing the problem, cramming more into a day than one person can possibly do.
But waiting….
When we are waiting for sun to rise, when we are waiting for a wound to heal; Lord, nothing in all the world is harder than waiting.
In your mercy, Lord, wait with us.
Be our very present help in waiting. Heal our frenzy. Calm our fears. Comfort those who at this very minute are waiting with anxious breath. Transform our restless time into your time.
While we wait and pray, bring us hope, surrounded by your presence, even in the darkness.
Especially in the darkness, gentle Lord. Amen.
- Rev. Dave
Hey, Advent
Here are some questions I get at the beginning of the season of Advent (four weeks before Christmas): Where are all the Christmas carols? Where is the Christmas tree? What’s with these dark, and kind of scary, Bible lessons during the Christmas season??
These are good questions. After all, Christmas decorations have been in the stores before Halloween so why not in the church? There was a time before consumerism took over Christmas that we had a good run-up to the holiday. It makes me wonder that with the ever-expanding Christmas season start time, what is the role of Advent in the Church?
The word "Advent" means arrival and signifies an event or a person. Although our travel schedules might make us think Advent is about the arrival of friends and family, it’s actually about the arrival of Jesus. There are two ways to look at this arrival. Advent is preparation for the birth of Jesus – that’s the happy and joyful Christmas side – the other “arrival” is the second coming of Jesus (which can be the scary side).
It can be said that we have romanticized Jesus’s actual birth – being born in a barn, or cave, or basement where the animals are kept, could not have been easy. Called the incarnation, it is the birth of God in Christ that sets us free and unites us with God and one another (hard to romanticize that too much, in my opinion). But what about the second arrival?
Jesus, part II, is a mystery. In the vacuum of information, and over a period of nearly two thousand years, culture and the Church have given it some thought. One of my favorite Advent-themed bumper stickers says this: Jesus is coming, look busy! I guess looking and acting busy is one thing we do well in Advent. I have not read the popular (fiction) book series called Left Behind; but I have read the theological work behind the series. The authors believed that people should have a dramatic interpretation of what might happen should Jesus return today. They believed that the first sign is that “the believers” will be magically transported up into the clouds. What happens after that is for those left behind. … and it’s not pleasant. It should be noted that I sincerely believe that when Jesus does return, it won’t look like that at all.
Most theologians think the Apostle Paul believed Jesus was going to arrive during his lifetime. He urged his readers in Corinth not to get married because Jesus is arriving soon. Many scholars think Peter and the rest of the Apostles believed Jesus was returning in their lifetimes too. The only one who may have had a different point of view would be John thanks to his revelation.
So what about Jesus’s arrival. When is that going to happen? I appreciate that question because it involves faith. Doubt asks “if” it’s going to happen. In faith we ask “when” it’s going to be. To be concise, I’ll answer with the three most important words in ministry: I don’t know. The disciples asked Jesus the same question – when will it be? Jesus responded that he also did not know but only God in heaven knows. The prophet Daniel prophesied about the Messiah around 500 years before the birth of Jesus. An earlier prophet, Isaiah, prophesied the often-read passages about the Messiah – his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace – about 750 years before the manger scene in Bethlehem. Other Bible experts say the Hebrew people had been waiting for four thousand years. Irrespective of those timelines, Jesus’s resurrection happened around the year 32 – we are less than eight years from the 2,000-year anniversary. Any way you look at it, that’s a long time to wait.
If you are wondering why Advent is dark, and not so Christmassy, it is because we’ve been waiting for Jesus’ arrival for quite a long time. No one knows when he’s returning. Will it be a time of joy? Of terror? I’d like to tell you that it depends on how well you’ve prepared for it (it’ll be joyful for the prepared and terror for the unprepared). But, we’re talking about Jesus. The Prince of Peace. The Wonderful Counsellor. The Everlasting Father. I think it’ll be a time of joy. So, let’s prepare with joyful expectation for the Arriving Joy. And maybe we should not be so hard on ourselves and each other. Instead, let’s celebrate Advent with peace and tidings of joy for the whole world.
- Rev. Dave
These are good questions. After all, Christmas decorations have been in the stores before Halloween so why not in the church? There was a time before consumerism took over Christmas that we had a good run-up to the holiday. It makes me wonder that with the ever-expanding Christmas season start time, what is the role of Advent in the Church?
The word "Advent" means arrival and signifies an event or a person. Although our travel schedules might make us think Advent is about the arrival of friends and family, it’s actually about the arrival of Jesus. There are two ways to look at this arrival. Advent is preparation for the birth of Jesus – that’s the happy and joyful Christmas side – the other “arrival” is the second coming of Jesus (which can be the scary side).
It can be said that we have romanticized Jesus’s actual birth – being born in a barn, or cave, or basement where the animals are kept, could not have been easy. Called the incarnation, it is the birth of God in Christ that sets us free and unites us with God and one another (hard to romanticize that too much, in my opinion). But what about the second arrival?
Jesus, part II, is a mystery. In the vacuum of information, and over a period of nearly two thousand years, culture and the Church have given it some thought. One of my favorite Advent-themed bumper stickers says this: Jesus is coming, look busy! I guess looking and acting busy is one thing we do well in Advent. I have not read the popular (fiction) book series called Left Behind; but I have read the theological work behind the series. The authors believed that people should have a dramatic interpretation of what might happen should Jesus return today. They believed that the first sign is that “the believers” will be magically transported up into the clouds. What happens after that is for those left behind. … and it’s not pleasant. It should be noted that I sincerely believe that when Jesus does return, it won’t look like that at all.
Most theologians think the Apostle Paul believed Jesus was going to arrive during his lifetime. He urged his readers in Corinth not to get married because Jesus is arriving soon. Many scholars think Peter and the rest of the Apostles believed Jesus was returning in their lifetimes too. The only one who may have had a different point of view would be John thanks to his revelation.
So what about Jesus’s arrival. When is that going to happen? I appreciate that question because it involves faith. Doubt asks “if” it’s going to happen. In faith we ask “when” it’s going to be. To be concise, I’ll answer with the three most important words in ministry: I don’t know. The disciples asked Jesus the same question – when will it be? Jesus responded that he also did not know but only God in heaven knows. The prophet Daniel prophesied about the Messiah around 500 years before the birth of Jesus. An earlier prophet, Isaiah, prophesied the often-read passages about the Messiah – his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace – about 750 years before the manger scene in Bethlehem. Other Bible experts say the Hebrew people had been waiting for four thousand years. Irrespective of those timelines, Jesus’s resurrection happened around the year 32 – we are less than eight years from the 2,000-year anniversary. Any way you look at it, that’s a long time to wait.
If you are wondering why Advent is dark, and not so Christmassy, it is because we’ve been waiting for Jesus’ arrival for quite a long time. No one knows when he’s returning. Will it be a time of joy? Of terror? I’d like to tell you that it depends on how well you’ve prepared for it (it’ll be joyful for the prepared and terror for the unprepared). But, we’re talking about Jesus. The Prince of Peace. The Wonderful Counsellor. The Everlasting Father. I think it’ll be a time of joy. So, let’s prepare with joyful expectation for the Arriving Joy. And maybe we should not be so hard on ourselves and each other. Instead, let’s celebrate Advent with peace and tidings of joy for the whole world.
- Rev. Dave
Season of Shoulds
We have entered the Hallmark Channel Holiday season. Prepare yourself to see perfectly prepared turkey meals, wonderfully decorated homes, and beautiful, well dressed people who look refreshed and happy to celebrate the season. There is something in my brain that makes me believe that is how I should look. Maybe it’s in your brain too. The rational side of my brain says a couple of things: first, it’s Hollywood magic, with script writers, lighting, sound and the ability to make many retakes until it’s perfect; second, it is unachievable in real life (because it’s not real life). Nevertheless, the should side of my brain says otherwise. My solution to this season of shoulds is to avoid watching “perfect” Christmases and instead focus on my favorites which are anything but perfect – Home Alone, Elf, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Unfortunately, avoidance isn’t working so well this year because the televised sporting events I watch are showing Thanksgiving and Christmas-esque commercials. They somehow take an entire 90-minute holiday movie and compress it into thirty seconds which has the same, if not stronger, power of the “should” that leaves me thinking that should be me.
I have exchanged emails with Dr. Erica Clark, a Tampa-area psychologist who focuses her practice on helping people recover from a loss (whether it is grief, or back-to-back hurricanes). She wrote in an article that the holidays are a time of year when “expectations are high and are not reachable.” She calls it the “tyranny of shoulds” – everything should be joyful; people should be happy; no one should be sad. But that is anything but reality.
Driving around our community after the storms, I saw wet boxes left on the curb labeled, “Christmas” or “Holiday”. When we frantically prepare for a storm, it is often the boxes in the garage on the floor that are overlooked. Some of those boxes hold ornaments and decorations that hold precious memories. One storm and they are gone. For some of our folks, their dining room table that would hold the Thanksgiving turkey is gone too. (And for some, their house is gone.)
The tyranny of the shoulds can take hold this time of year like this: I should have saved one box of decorations. I’m alive, I should be filled with joy, but why do I feel sad?
Remember that this is also the season that holds the longest night of the year which I think is both literal and figurative.
Although the Season of Should tries to give us unrealistic expectations, we do not have to surrender ourselves, our joy and our sanity, to them. Dr. Clark suggests that we can do one simple step to avoid a case of the shoulds. Ask yourself this question:
What are your top priorities for the holiday season?
Not what are your top 100 priorities, instead what are your top five priorities.
Just because you did something last season (or because your grandmother always did this or that) you do not have to do it this year.
The suggestion is that by being more selective of what you do, and how you celebrate this year, you might enjoy the season more. Being selective and doing less allows for spaces of joy, reflection and peace to enter, without all the shoulds.
- Fr. Dave
Unfortunately, avoidance isn’t working so well this year because the televised sporting events I watch are showing Thanksgiving and Christmas-esque commercials. They somehow take an entire 90-minute holiday movie and compress it into thirty seconds which has the same, if not stronger, power of the “should” that leaves me thinking that should be me.
I have exchanged emails with Dr. Erica Clark, a Tampa-area psychologist who focuses her practice on helping people recover from a loss (whether it is grief, or back-to-back hurricanes). She wrote in an article that the holidays are a time of year when “expectations are high and are not reachable.” She calls it the “tyranny of shoulds” – everything should be joyful; people should be happy; no one should be sad. But that is anything but reality.
Driving around our community after the storms, I saw wet boxes left on the curb labeled, “Christmas” or “Holiday”. When we frantically prepare for a storm, it is often the boxes in the garage on the floor that are overlooked. Some of those boxes hold ornaments and decorations that hold precious memories. One storm and they are gone. For some of our folks, their dining room table that would hold the Thanksgiving turkey is gone too. (And for some, their house is gone.)
The tyranny of the shoulds can take hold this time of year like this: I should have saved one box of decorations. I’m alive, I should be filled with joy, but why do I feel sad?
Remember that this is also the season that holds the longest night of the year which I think is both literal and figurative.
Although the Season of Should tries to give us unrealistic expectations, we do not have to surrender ourselves, our joy and our sanity, to them. Dr. Clark suggests that we can do one simple step to avoid a case of the shoulds. Ask yourself this question:
What are your top priorities for the holiday season?
Not what are your top 100 priorities, instead what are your top five priorities.
Just because you did something last season (or because your grandmother always did this or that) you do not have to do it this year.
The suggestion is that by being more selective of what you do, and how you celebrate this year, you might enjoy the season more. Being selective and doing less allows for spaces of joy, reflection and peace to enter, without all the shoulds.
- Fr. Dave
The Very
Some of you have noticed the bulletin now lists me as The Very Rev. David Marshall. Yes, there is a change, albeit subtle, but it comes with a change in the honorific in front of my name.
What does The Very mean? Our diocese has seven districts that we call deaneries. Each deanery has a dean. The Bishop has asked me to serve as Dean of the Manasota Deanery which consists of fourteen churches in the counties of Manatee and Sarasota. Deans get the honorific of “Very” in front of reverend to make us stand out a bit. A Bishop has the honorific of The Right Reverend and The Most Reverend is for the Presiding Bishop (also called Archbishop).
What does the Dean of the Deanery do? Every month, the bishop has a meeting with the seven deans. The primary purpose is for communication – from the Office of the Bishop to the deaneries to the parishes. And, from the parishes and deanery to the bishop. In other words, the deans can give feedback to the bishop with anonymity. We are also there to pray for and support the bishop. Lastly, the deans can foster a sense of collaboration with other deans.
It’s an honor to serve as a dean – it comes with a little additional work and no additional pay; but, an honor, nonetheless, it is. I have had a couple of really good deans who have helped me. One in particular, shortly after I was ordained, would help us with sermon topics and ideas.
At the same time I was asked to serve as dean, the bishop took me up on my idea of starting a Clergy Wellness Team in the diocese to assist him with the planning of clergy retreats and conferences. My two friends, Alex and Michelle and I are now that team. Our central focus is clergy mental health. We are working on ways to build trust and collaboration with our fellow clergy. After all, we – the clergy – are really the only ones to know and to understand what we are all going through. Yet, the system for us to chat with each other has yet to be created. … but it’s coming.
One of the scariest times in ministry for me is when we went into Covid lockdown protocol. Bishop Smith declared that up to ten people are allowed in the church at one time for worship services. For a church like ours, we would have had to offer ten services on Sunday to stay within our guidelines. Obviously, that was not going to happen. We needed to have a different plan. To help with that plan, I created my own deanery for collaboration and support from clergy friends who were scattered throughout the diocese. I invited them out on my boat – it was outdoors so it was relatively safe to meet without spreading the virus. From those conversations, along with support from the Vestry (that was willing to try, and fail, at new things), an outstanding core of staff and volunteers, and because of generous financial support from the congregation, All Angels came through the lockdown stronger than we were before. But, it all started with a deanery group that I could share my fears with and dream about what the future could hold.
As dean of the Manasota Deanery, my big audacious goal for our clergy is to become like my clergy-boat-support group. I’d like to create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration. Who knows what ideas the Spirit will show us for our parishes, but now is the time for us to start dreaming and collaborating.
- The Very Rev. David Marshall
What does The Very mean? Our diocese has seven districts that we call deaneries. Each deanery has a dean. The Bishop has asked me to serve as Dean of the Manasota Deanery which consists of fourteen churches in the counties of Manatee and Sarasota. Deans get the honorific of “Very” in front of reverend to make us stand out a bit. A Bishop has the honorific of The Right Reverend and The Most Reverend is for the Presiding Bishop (also called Archbishop).
What does the Dean of the Deanery do? Every month, the bishop has a meeting with the seven deans. The primary purpose is for communication – from the Office of the Bishop to the deaneries to the parishes. And, from the parishes and deanery to the bishop. In other words, the deans can give feedback to the bishop with anonymity. We are also there to pray for and support the bishop. Lastly, the deans can foster a sense of collaboration with other deans.
It’s an honor to serve as a dean – it comes with a little additional work and no additional pay; but, an honor, nonetheless, it is. I have had a couple of really good deans who have helped me. One in particular, shortly after I was ordained, would help us with sermon topics and ideas.
At the same time I was asked to serve as dean, the bishop took me up on my idea of starting a Clergy Wellness Team in the diocese to assist him with the planning of clergy retreats and conferences. My two friends, Alex and Michelle and I are now that team. Our central focus is clergy mental health. We are working on ways to build trust and collaboration with our fellow clergy. After all, we – the clergy – are really the only ones to know and to understand what we are all going through. Yet, the system for us to chat with each other has yet to be created. … but it’s coming.
One of the scariest times in ministry for me is when we went into Covid lockdown protocol. Bishop Smith declared that up to ten people are allowed in the church at one time for worship services. For a church like ours, we would have had to offer ten services on Sunday to stay within our guidelines. Obviously, that was not going to happen. We needed to have a different plan. To help with that plan, I created my own deanery for collaboration and support from clergy friends who were scattered throughout the diocese. I invited them out on my boat – it was outdoors so it was relatively safe to meet without spreading the virus. From those conversations, along with support from the Vestry (that was willing to try, and fail, at new things), an outstanding core of staff and volunteers, and because of generous financial support from the congregation, All Angels came through the lockdown stronger than we were before. But, it all started with a deanery group that I could share my fears with and dream about what the future could hold.
As dean of the Manasota Deanery, my big audacious goal for our clergy is to become like my clergy-boat-support group. I’d like to create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration. Who knows what ideas the Spirit will show us for our parishes, but now is the time for us to start dreaming and collaborating.
- The Very Rev. David Marshall
Rejoicing and Weeping
MEMORANDUM
FROM: The Apostle Paul
TO: The Church in Rome
RE: How to live in community (based on Romans 12:14-21)
Bless people who harass you (and don’t curse them under your breath).
Rejoice with those who rejoice; share tears with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another; consider everyone as equal
(please don’t think you are better than anyone else).
Seek after those with no social status and befriend them
(and don’t think you are smarter than them).
Show respect for what everyone else believes is good
(and please don’t plan getting even with others because it’s evil for evil; let God take care of getting even).
Feed your enemy and if they are thirsty, give them something to drink
(you can imagine heaping burning charcoal on their heads but don’t do it).
When you do these things, you will not be overcome by evil, rather, you will overcome evil with good.
Lastly, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
Here ends the memorandum.
Paul wrote the letter to the Romans around the year 0057. It was a contentious time in the most important city in the empire. People of faith were not getting along. They were allowing societal and political whims of the day to affect how they had fellowship with one another. In the closing section (above) of the longest letter he ever wrote, Paul gives us difficult precepts — rejoice when they rejoice; weep when they weep. Bless those who harass you. Give food and drink to your enemies. Seek out those who have no status – not to make you feel smarter but instead to show we are all one. And, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
Reading his letter today, I wonder if I am allowing social and political whims affect the way I see my neighbors and friends? Am I weeping with those who are weeping? Am I rejoicing with those who are rejoicing? Am I doing my best to live at peace with all people?
Scripture doesn’t tell us to do things that come easily; instead, Scripture tells us to do things that are difficult. We are told to do things we could never imagine, like giving water to a thirsty enemy. God loves all of us – including those we disagree with – because God is love. We are all precious in God’s eyes which is probably why we are told to feed our enemies.
It takes time and energy to live at peace with one another, but we are commanded to do it the best we can. There are some in our community who are weeping and fearful; we are called to provide them with reassurance and comfort. There are some in our community who are rejoicing; we are called to rejoice with them. With the love and strength that comes from God, we are called to show respect for the dignity of every human being whether we agree with them or not.
- Fr. Dave
FROM: The Apostle Paul
TO: The Church in Rome
RE: How to live in community (based on Romans 12:14-21)
Bless people who harass you (and don’t curse them under your breath).
Rejoice with those who rejoice; share tears with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another; consider everyone as equal
(please don’t think you are better than anyone else).
Seek after those with no social status and befriend them
(and don’t think you are smarter than them).
Show respect for what everyone else believes is good
(and please don’t plan getting even with others because it’s evil for evil; let God take care of getting even).
Feed your enemy and if they are thirsty, give them something to drink
(you can imagine heaping burning charcoal on their heads but don’t do it).
When you do these things, you will not be overcome by evil, rather, you will overcome evil with good.
Lastly, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
Here ends the memorandum.
Paul wrote the letter to the Romans around the year 0057. It was a contentious time in the most important city in the empire. People of faith were not getting along. They were allowing societal and political whims of the day to affect how they had fellowship with one another. In the closing section (above) of the longest letter he ever wrote, Paul gives us difficult precepts — rejoice when they rejoice; weep when they weep. Bless those who harass you. Give food and drink to your enemies. Seek out those who have no status – not to make you feel smarter but instead to show we are all one. And, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.
Reading his letter today, I wonder if I am allowing social and political whims affect the way I see my neighbors and friends? Am I weeping with those who are weeping? Am I rejoicing with those who are rejoicing? Am I doing my best to live at peace with all people?
Scripture doesn’t tell us to do things that come easily; instead, Scripture tells us to do things that are difficult. We are told to do things we could never imagine, like giving water to a thirsty enemy. God loves all of us – including those we disagree with – because God is love. We are all precious in God’s eyes which is probably why we are told to feed our enemies.
It takes time and energy to live at peace with one another, but we are commanded to do it the best we can. There are some in our community who are weeping and fearful; we are called to provide them with reassurance and comfort. There are some in our community who are rejoicing; we are called to rejoice with them. With the love and strength that comes from God, we are called to show respect for the dignity of every human being whether we agree with them or not.
- Fr. Dave
Stories
Remember college? At the start of the fall semester, we asked each other this question: How was your summer? My summers were spent working, either as a camp counselor or for the National Park Service. They were awesome summers and I didn’t want to see them end (despite the excitement of a new year at college).
Speaking of summer camp, my parents were in the habit of listening to their sons talk about their summer camp experiences. They were both teachers – middle school and high school – so they knew the standard teenaged, one-word response to questions, like, “How was camp?” The reply, “Good.” But there will be a time when the teen will open up. The best thing to do, according to my parent’s behavior, is to sit and listen. Most likely, the stories will show up when you are doing something else. The key, however, is to listen to the stories when they come.
Let me ask you a question: how was your summer?
We have many parishioners who are returning to Longboat and our surrounding communities. Some are returning early to check on things; others will be delayed, but thanks be to God, they are returning. One returner from Minnesota, John Holtzermann (who gave me permission to write about him), said this, “Everyone who made it through the summer has a story to tell.” Yes, John, we certainly do.
In the summer of 2005, I was trained as a chaplain for the VA’s National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park, California. I can summarize the three-week program in four words: listen to their stories. Or, better yet, just listen, listen, listen, listen. Listen without judgement. Listen without haste. Listen without telling them that you’ve heard it all before. Listen without comparative judgement – oh, you think that’s bad, you should hear what so-and-so had to go through. Instead, listen with compassion. Listen with mercy. Listen with peace. It is both in the speaking and in the hearing that light can enter the soul to heal.
How was your summer?
There is a local guy named Capt. Dave. He had an interesting summer with quite a story to tell. The morning of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, his fishing boat sank off the coast of St. John’s Pass (St. Petersburg). He rode out 95 mph winds and 27-foot waves in a five-foot cooler. His life jacket had a beacon on it that the Coast Guard used to find him the following day – 20 miles offshore of Longboat. I don’t know if he was a man of faith prior to that incident; he is now. It is reported that he called the Coast Guard from his sinking vessel. They said the wind is too strong for them to go get him. He asked what to do. They said to activate his life jacket beacon, hold onto something big to keep his head above the sea, and pray that he sees the morning come.
How are we going to get through this season of rebuilding and restoration? I think we’ll do it the same way – to activate our beacon (let people know we are here), hold onto something big (like our church and faith tradition), and to pray.
For those who will be arriving soon, I ask one more thing: please be prepared to listen. Those of us who survived this summer need to tell our stories. With you listening, light will enter our weary souls which will help us to be beacons, to be someone for others to hold onto, and to be voices praying for hope, peace and restoration.
- Fr. Dave
Speaking of summer camp, my parents were in the habit of listening to their sons talk about their summer camp experiences. They were both teachers – middle school and high school – so they knew the standard teenaged, one-word response to questions, like, “How was camp?” The reply, “Good.” But there will be a time when the teen will open up. The best thing to do, according to my parent’s behavior, is to sit and listen. Most likely, the stories will show up when you are doing something else. The key, however, is to listen to the stories when they come.
Let me ask you a question: how was your summer?
We have many parishioners who are returning to Longboat and our surrounding communities. Some are returning early to check on things; others will be delayed, but thanks be to God, they are returning. One returner from Minnesota, John Holtzermann (who gave me permission to write about him), said this, “Everyone who made it through the summer has a story to tell.” Yes, John, we certainly do.
In the summer of 2005, I was trained as a chaplain for the VA’s National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park, California. I can summarize the three-week program in four words: listen to their stories. Or, better yet, just listen, listen, listen, listen. Listen without judgement. Listen without haste. Listen without telling them that you’ve heard it all before. Listen without comparative judgement – oh, you think that’s bad, you should hear what so-and-so had to go through. Instead, listen with compassion. Listen with mercy. Listen with peace. It is both in the speaking and in the hearing that light can enter the soul to heal.
How was your summer?
There is a local guy named Capt. Dave. He had an interesting summer with quite a story to tell. The morning of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, his fishing boat sank off the coast of St. John’s Pass (St. Petersburg). He rode out 95 mph winds and 27-foot waves in a five-foot cooler. His life jacket had a beacon on it that the Coast Guard used to find him the following day – 20 miles offshore of Longboat. I don’t know if he was a man of faith prior to that incident; he is now. It is reported that he called the Coast Guard from his sinking vessel. They said the wind is too strong for them to go get him. He asked what to do. They said to activate his life jacket beacon, hold onto something big to keep his head above the sea, and pray that he sees the morning come.
How are we going to get through this season of rebuilding and restoration? I think we’ll do it the same way – to activate our beacon (let people know we are here), hold onto something big (like our church and faith tradition), and to pray.
For those who will be arriving soon, I ask one more thing: please be prepared to listen. Those of us who survived this summer need to tell our stories. With you listening, light will enter our weary souls which will help us to be beacons, to be someone for others to hold onto, and to be voices praying for hope, peace and restoration.
- Fr. Dave
Gratitude and Thankfulness
On Sunday, a parishioner asked me this question: is there a difference between gratitude and thankfulness? To answer his question, let’s look at each one individually and see if they are the same. First up, gratitude. According to an article published by the Harvard Medical School Journal, gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what one receives, whether tangible or intangible, as he or she acknowledges the goodness in his or her life. An article in Psychology Today says gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what an individual has and not what an individual wants.
Thankfulness on the other hand is a response to an event or an experience. For instance, I am grateful to live in a wonderful community; I am thankful that my neighbor moved my garbage can on a rainy day. Thanks is something that we give (which is why it’s called thanksgiving). Gratitude is an attitude and an emotion. It is an emotional response to a series of occurrences that have made a difference in your life. It’s a nice thing to have a neighbor move your garbage can; but it doesn’t necessarily change your life. Having friendly neighbors that you talk with and that you trust over a period of years can change your life and that builds gratitude for one’s community.
Which one comes first, gratitude or thankfulness? I believe thankfulness (simple acts of giving thanks) is born out of gratitude (an emotion and state of mind). This is not a chicken/egg thing. Someone who practices thankfulness does it from the emotion of gratitude.
There are many synonymous traits to gratitude and thankfulness. One commonality of the two is that they make you, and someone else, feel good. Being grateful and giving thanks are free and don’t take much time. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, they both share this simple key: gratitude and thankfulness take practice.
One way to practice gratitude is through reflection. As an example, the other day, I was reflecting on watching sunsets from the deck of the sailboat I grew up with. The more I thought about it (or reflected on the experience) the more I felt my self-esteem rising. I felt gratitude for the way I was raised, for my parents, and for the time they took to take me out on the boat – it was a life changing series of experiences. I don’t remember ever thanking them for taking me out sailing each time but now, decades later, it makes me feel good to reflect on it.
I was taught that in Spanish, when someone says, “Gracias,” the proper response is, “De nada.” I looked up that phrase and discovered it literally means, “of nothing.” That is not what it means when said, but it made me think about the one of the hardest gratitude practices – active listening and receiving of a compliment. When someone pays you a compliment, don’t blow it off (it’s nothing) but listen to the compliment, receive it and say something like this: Thank you, when you say that, I feel grateful for our friendship. I know someone who receives compliments very well. When she gets her hair cut, I give her a compliment. Every time, she looks at me, smiles, and says, “Oh, you are such a dear for noticing; you made my day.” She is really good at practicing grateful listening and expressing her gratitude.
One other way to practice gratitude is to savor positive experiences. My wife and I intentionally take our time to savor eating sushi together. We’ve had servers ask us if we liked our meal because we were not gobbling it up. The answer is this: yes, we are thankful for this meal, so we are eating it slowly and enjoying every bite. A quick side note for sushi, I’ve noticed that with a steak, it needs to be consumed while it’s still hot off the grill, otherwise the taste changes. Same with French fries and hamburgers. But sushi basically tastes the same from the first bite to the last. So, like with sushi, take your time with life’s experiences; enjoy them, savor them, reflect on them and share them with others. And when you do, you’ll grow in gratitude and thankfulness too.
- Fr. Dave
Thankfulness on the other hand is a response to an event or an experience. For instance, I am grateful to live in a wonderful community; I am thankful that my neighbor moved my garbage can on a rainy day. Thanks is something that we give (which is why it’s called thanksgiving). Gratitude is an attitude and an emotion. It is an emotional response to a series of occurrences that have made a difference in your life. It’s a nice thing to have a neighbor move your garbage can; but it doesn’t necessarily change your life. Having friendly neighbors that you talk with and that you trust over a period of years can change your life and that builds gratitude for one’s community.
Which one comes first, gratitude or thankfulness? I believe thankfulness (simple acts of giving thanks) is born out of gratitude (an emotion and state of mind). This is not a chicken/egg thing. Someone who practices thankfulness does it from the emotion of gratitude.
There are many synonymous traits to gratitude and thankfulness. One commonality of the two is that they make you, and someone else, feel good. Being grateful and giving thanks are free and don’t take much time. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, they both share this simple key: gratitude and thankfulness take practice.
One way to practice gratitude is through reflection. As an example, the other day, I was reflecting on watching sunsets from the deck of the sailboat I grew up with. The more I thought about it (or reflected on the experience) the more I felt my self-esteem rising. I felt gratitude for the way I was raised, for my parents, and for the time they took to take me out on the boat – it was a life changing series of experiences. I don’t remember ever thanking them for taking me out sailing each time but now, decades later, it makes me feel good to reflect on it.
I was taught that in Spanish, when someone says, “Gracias,” the proper response is, “De nada.” I looked up that phrase and discovered it literally means, “of nothing.” That is not what it means when said, but it made me think about the one of the hardest gratitude practices – active listening and receiving of a compliment. When someone pays you a compliment, don’t blow it off (it’s nothing) but listen to the compliment, receive it and say something like this: Thank you, when you say that, I feel grateful for our friendship. I know someone who receives compliments very well. When she gets her hair cut, I give her a compliment. Every time, she looks at me, smiles, and says, “Oh, you are such a dear for noticing; you made my day.” She is really good at practicing grateful listening and expressing her gratitude.
One other way to practice gratitude is to savor positive experiences. My wife and I intentionally take our time to savor eating sushi together. We’ve had servers ask us if we liked our meal because we were not gobbling it up. The answer is this: yes, we are thankful for this meal, so we are eating it slowly and enjoying every bite. A quick side note for sushi, I’ve noticed that with a steak, it needs to be consumed while it’s still hot off the grill, otherwise the taste changes. Same with French fries and hamburgers. But sushi basically tastes the same from the first bite to the last. So, like with sushi, take your time with life’s experiences; enjoy them, savor them, reflect on them and share them with others. And when you do, you’ll grow in gratitude and thankfulness too.
- Fr. Dave
Hurricane Fatigue
Disaster fatigue is real.
NOAA and FEMA have identified disaster fatigue as a state where exposure to a disaster affects your health, emotions and well-being. Even if you did not live through a disaster, watching it on the news, and seeing it on the faces of those you love can also bring about disaster fatigue. According to FEMA, “One symptom is finding it hard to make decisions when so many decisions must be made.” Other emotional symptoms are as follows: anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, guilt, feeling heroic (like you can do anything) or lethargic (like you can do nothing) both of which are not true. And then, the most common symptom, fatigue.
After a significant natural disaster event, many people who are no longer running on adrenaline will crash, both physically and emotionally (and maybe even spiritually). The crash often doesn't happen right away. Sometimes it happens weeks after the event. If you feel this way you are not alone. It is normal. I felt the crash today and called my friend Alex Andujar. I did so while laying on my back staring up at the ceiling of my office. The good news is that the crash feeling, like the adrenaline rush, will pass. Just a twenty-minute conversation and I was back to being me.
If the crash-feeling doesn't go away after a period of time, there is help. There is a support line that connects individuals and families with peers who have made it through previous disasters. The support line is 888-850-SWFL. The American Red Cross has an assistance center that is available at 833-492-0094.
News channel 10 Tampa Bay offers these tips to combat disaster fatigue:
I appreciate 10 Tampa Bay’s list, especially the part about turning off the news. Here’s one more tip that I learned from my bishop in San Diego. He said this: keep your feet under you. He meant it as a metaphor for balance of life but there is a practical element to it too. Today (Wednesday), my feet feel like I have hiked ten miles with a 30lb pack. Keeping my feet under me means that I need to be intentional about taking time off my feet. To help, I am wearing running shoes right now, and not my normal dress shoes, to support my insole. These feet carry the way of peace, and so do yours. Remember to keep your feet under you.
Another aspect of keeping one’s feet under them has to do with the mind. Keep your mind over your feet. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself (or too far behind either). At four in the morning, my mind likes to go out beyond my feet to tackle problems of the world. I must intentionally remember to keep my mind over my feet – to handle what can be, and needs to be, done in the next twenty minutes (not over the next twenty years). My brain asked me this morning: what about hurricanes in the Gulf over the next ten years; what are you going to do?!? I honestly thought, at the time, I could answer that question. I got up, looked at the backyard and marveled at the fence that Elijah and I repaired. I realized I don’t need to worry about future hurricanes right now. I took some deep breaths and went back to bed. The next thing I remember was my alarm going off at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym.
Speaking of exercise, in order to build muscle, one must work (fatigue) the muscle and cause metabolic fatigue. The body, through nourishment, hydration and rest, will strengthen its muscles. As each day passes, I am feeling more resilient about hurricanes, but not because I am wrapping myself in a ball of anxiety or trying to hide or ignore my symptoms of fatigue. Rather, by taking time to rest, keeping my feet under me, praying and giving thanks, and talking to others, I am gaining emotional and mental strength.
- Fr. Dave
NOAA and FEMA have identified disaster fatigue as a state where exposure to a disaster affects your health, emotions and well-being. Even if you did not live through a disaster, watching it on the news, and seeing it on the faces of those you love can also bring about disaster fatigue. According to FEMA, “One symptom is finding it hard to make decisions when so many decisions must be made.” Other emotional symptoms are as follows: anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, guilt, feeling heroic (like you can do anything) or lethargic (like you can do nothing) both of which are not true. And then, the most common symptom, fatigue.
After a significant natural disaster event, many people who are no longer running on adrenaline will crash, both physically and emotionally (and maybe even spiritually). The crash often doesn't happen right away. Sometimes it happens weeks after the event. If you feel this way you are not alone. It is normal. I felt the crash today and called my friend Alex Andujar. I did so while laying on my back staring up at the ceiling of my office. The good news is that the crash feeling, like the adrenaline rush, will pass. Just a twenty-minute conversation and I was back to being me.
If the crash-feeling doesn't go away after a period of time, there is help. There is a support line that connects individuals and families with peers who have made it through previous disasters. The support line is 888-850-SWFL. The American Red Cross has an assistance center that is available at 833-492-0094.
News channel 10 Tampa Bay offers these tips to combat disaster fatigue:
- talk with others; move your body – take a light walk, or stretch or meditate;
- take deep breaths;
- listen to music (turn off the news, turn off the phone, and take a moment to listen to relaxing music);
- remember your coping skills – think back to when you handled past traumatic events and use those skills now.
I appreciate 10 Tampa Bay’s list, especially the part about turning off the news. Here’s one more tip that I learned from my bishop in San Diego. He said this: keep your feet under you. He meant it as a metaphor for balance of life but there is a practical element to it too. Today (Wednesday), my feet feel like I have hiked ten miles with a 30lb pack. Keeping my feet under me means that I need to be intentional about taking time off my feet. To help, I am wearing running shoes right now, and not my normal dress shoes, to support my insole. These feet carry the way of peace, and so do yours. Remember to keep your feet under you.
Another aspect of keeping one’s feet under them has to do with the mind. Keep your mind over your feet. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself (or too far behind either). At four in the morning, my mind likes to go out beyond my feet to tackle problems of the world. I must intentionally remember to keep my mind over my feet – to handle what can be, and needs to be, done in the next twenty minutes (not over the next twenty years). My brain asked me this morning: what about hurricanes in the Gulf over the next ten years; what are you going to do?!? I honestly thought, at the time, I could answer that question. I got up, looked at the backyard and marveled at the fence that Elijah and I repaired. I realized I don’t need to worry about future hurricanes right now. I took some deep breaths and went back to bed. The next thing I remember was my alarm going off at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym.
Speaking of exercise, in order to build muscle, one must work (fatigue) the muscle and cause metabolic fatigue. The body, through nourishment, hydration and rest, will strengthen its muscles. As each day passes, I am feeling more resilient about hurricanes, but not because I am wrapping myself in a ball of anxiety or trying to hide or ignore my symptoms of fatigue. Rather, by taking time to rest, keeping my feet under me, praying and giving thanks, and talking to others, I am gaining emotional and mental strength.
- Fr. Dave
Milton
Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us and the years in which we suffered adversity. Show your servants your works and your splendor to their children. May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
Psalm 90:15-17
The first major earthquake I experienced was while living in Los Angeles. It hit around two in the morning and then had many aftershocks. I didn’t sleep well that night. When I got to work, I realized that no one else slept well either. The town (of 3 million people) that is normally a little on edge, and tired and frazzled, seemed even more so that day.
Unlike L.A., Longboat and the surrounding communities are normally not on edge or frazzled. We’re a friendly sort of bunch. While the community was starting to remediate damage from Helene, we had to get ready for Milton. The stress was like having early morning earthquakes every day for a week. Everyone seemed a little on edge and nervous – but in a friendly, Florida sort of way. I saw many near-miss accidents on our roadways from people either being inpatient or oblivious. Yet, as the lines at gas stations grew longer, Floridians were doing their best to be polite and help each other out. I even saw three people pushing a stranger’s car to one of the pumps (because the car had run out of gas while waiting in line).
A clergy friend of mine posted on Facebook that she has worked for 11 days straight and is actually looking forward to sitting down to wait for Milton to arrive. I know that feeling. My feet are tired. My brain is tired too. And, I can’t imagine the city staff at Longboat have had any rest for the past two weeks either.
Now post-Milton, I was allowed on the island this morning (Friday) to inspect the campus at All Angels. The officer on duty at the check point happened to be an officer I have spoken to many times. When he saw me, he said, “Good morning Father, glad you are here.” I told him I’m very appreciative for all that he and his entire department does. He gave me a weary smile and pointed me through the check point.
You may have already read this but it is well worth saying again – All Angels came through Milton very well. There is no damage to the buildings. Our landscaping is a different situation but it’s something that can be cleaned up. We have, yet again, come through a storm with flying colors. We are in the unique position to serve our island community and beyond. Once we get power, water and sewer back, we will resume our Comfort Station. Although we will not be as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we would like, we will continue to offer community support, to be a place of peace, of rest, and a center where anyone from our community can gather and connect.
This is also a unique opportunity for those who return to Longboat for the winter and spring to refresh and support those who have made it through the series of storms. I always look forward to in-season; especially so this year.
The psalm for Sunday is a plea to God about saving help after a calamity. Known as the “prayer for the return of favor”, the middle portion of Psalm 90, acknowledges the hard times we have been through – when it feels like God is far away – and the hopeful anticipation that God will work through us to do his will on earth. Attributed to Moses, this psalm is believed to be 3400 years old. Yet, we certainly identify with the weariness of those who have been through a storm and that God always works through us to restore us and help others. It ends with these words that remind me of the mission and ministry of All Angels: May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
- Fr. Dave
Psalm 90:15-17
The first major earthquake I experienced was while living in Los Angeles. It hit around two in the morning and then had many aftershocks. I didn’t sleep well that night. When I got to work, I realized that no one else slept well either. The town (of 3 million people) that is normally a little on edge, and tired and frazzled, seemed even more so that day.
Unlike L.A., Longboat and the surrounding communities are normally not on edge or frazzled. We’re a friendly sort of bunch. While the community was starting to remediate damage from Helene, we had to get ready for Milton. The stress was like having early morning earthquakes every day for a week. Everyone seemed a little on edge and nervous – but in a friendly, Florida sort of way. I saw many near-miss accidents on our roadways from people either being inpatient or oblivious. Yet, as the lines at gas stations grew longer, Floridians were doing their best to be polite and help each other out. I even saw three people pushing a stranger’s car to one of the pumps (because the car had run out of gas while waiting in line).
A clergy friend of mine posted on Facebook that she has worked for 11 days straight and is actually looking forward to sitting down to wait for Milton to arrive. I know that feeling. My feet are tired. My brain is tired too. And, I can’t imagine the city staff at Longboat have had any rest for the past two weeks either.
Now post-Milton, I was allowed on the island this morning (Friday) to inspect the campus at All Angels. The officer on duty at the check point happened to be an officer I have spoken to many times. When he saw me, he said, “Good morning Father, glad you are here.” I told him I’m very appreciative for all that he and his entire department does. He gave me a weary smile and pointed me through the check point.
You may have already read this but it is well worth saying again – All Angels came through Milton very well. There is no damage to the buildings. Our landscaping is a different situation but it’s something that can be cleaned up. We have, yet again, come through a storm with flying colors. We are in the unique position to serve our island community and beyond. Once we get power, water and sewer back, we will resume our Comfort Station. Although we will not be as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we would like, we will continue to offer community support, to be a place of peace, of rest, and a center where anyone from our community can gather and connect.
This is also a unique opportunity for those who return to Longboat for the winter and spring to refresh and support those who have made it through the series of storms. I always look forward to in-season; especially so this year.
The psalm for Sunday is a plea to God about saving help after a calamity. Known as the “prayer for the return of favor”, the middle portion of Psalm 90, acknowledges the hard times we have been through – when it feels like God is far away – and the hopeful anticipation that God will work through us to do his will on earth. Attributed to Moses, this psalm is believed to be 3400 years old. Yet, we certainly identify with the weariness of those who have been through a storm and that God always works through us to restore us and help others. It ends with these words that remind me of the mission and ministry of All Angels: May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
- Fr. Dave
God Goes With You
“I have commanded you: Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
After Hurricane Helene, I sent daily (or twice-daily) emails to the leadership team apprising them of what I knew about our parishioners and All Angels’ campus. This Reflection is based on one that I sent at 11 a.m. Saturday. The email began with the Scripture passage above. It’s not my normal pattern; to lead with a passage of Scripture; but I thought it was important to frame what I was about to say with courage. Here’s the message:
Longboat Key remains closed. There is a significant problem with water and sewer. All residents are to stay home so they can fix the problem as soon as they can (additional people on the island will slow down their efforts).
Tomorrow's service will be Morning Prayer on Zoom with a simulcast on YouTube. I would like to have an interactive service for those who want to participate. Elijah and Ethan are our Zoom hosts and will handle that side of it. Mackenzie is our scheduled lector so she will take the readings. I'll trade off on the prayers with David Stasney.
The above Bible lesson is from Joshua. He had significant reasons to be afraid and concerned; but, he went through each challenge knowing the Lord is with him. The Lord is with us. It takes courage to stay at home and trust others. It takes courage to pray and to trust in the Lord. And, when the time comes, it will take courage to lead and serve the people of Longboat and our surrounding areas. Whatever we do, and wherever we are, the Lord is with us.
Amen and alleluia.
If anything, I was reminding myself that sometimes courage is to stay still and to trust others and God. My heart wanted to travel to the campus, but I had faith that all was okay.
Sunday’s Zoom only service is one I will remember and cherish. It was vitally important for me to see one another, to hear from each other, and especially to have a place where we could tell our stories and listen to others. Most importantly, it was a place of love, acceptance, and support. God certainly was, and is, with us. The quote from Joshua above is meaningful for me today with the last three words – wherever you go. My son Elijah was the Zoom host. He did that from Ethan’s old room in our house. Christi was in the living room. Mackenzie – our lector – and Ethan (our respondent) were in their home in Lithia. My friend, Deacon Tom, proclaimed the Gospel from Westchester, PA. David Stasney led us in prayer from his home in Bradenton. My mom woke up at 6:45 Seattle time to be with us. The service had people participating from both coasts, the Midwest, Texas, Canada and the UK.
Joshua received his message from God in roughly the year 1406 BCE. It was 14 centuries before the birth of Christ and 34 centuries before Hurricane Helene. God-is-with-you wherever you go is both about time and location. It is past, present and future. It is from Seattle to London and certainly beyond. With God, who travels with us through both time and space, through good times and bad, through calm days and hurricanes; with God-with-us, what reason do we have to be afraid? Be courageous, therefore, God is with you.
- Fr. Dave
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
After Hurricane Helene, I sent daily (or twice-daily) emails to the leadership team apprising them of what I knew about our parishioners and All Angels’ campus. This Reflection is based on one that I sent at 11 a.m. Saturday. The email began with the Scripture passage above. It’s not my normal pattern; to lead with a passage of Scripture; but I thought it was important to frame what I was about to say with courage. Here’s the message:
Longboat Key remains closed. There is a significant problem with water and sewer. All residents are to stay home so they can fix the problem as soon as they can (additional people on the island will slow down their efforts).
Tomorrow's service will be Morning Prayer on Zoom with a simulcast on YouTube. I would like to have an interactive service for those who want to participate. Elijah and Ethan are our Zoom hosts and will handle that side of it. Mackenzie is our scheduled lector so she will take the readings. I'll trade off on the prayers with David Stasney.
The above Bible lesson is from Joshua. He had significant reasons to be afraid and concerned; but, he went through each challenge knowing the Lord is with him. The Lord is with us. It takes courage to stay at home and trust others. It takes courage to pray and to trust in the Lord. And, when the time comes, it will take courage to lead and serve the people of Longboat and our surrounding areas. Whatever we do, and wherever we are, the Lord is with us.
Amen and alleluia.
If anything, I was reminding myself that sometimes courage is to stay still and to trust others and God. My heart wanted to travel to the campus, but I had faith that all was okay.
Sunday’s Zoom only service is one I will remember and cherish. It was vitally important for me to see one another, to hear from each other, and especially to have a place where we could tell our stories and listen to others. Most importantly, it was a place of love, acceptance, and support. God certainly was, and is, with us. The quote from Joshua above is meaningful for me today with the last three words – wherever you go. My son Elijah was the Zoom host. He did that from Ethan’s old room in our house. Christi was in the living room. Mackenzie – our lector – and Ethan (our respondent) were in their home in Lithia. My friend, Deacon Tom, proclaimed the Gospel from Westchester, PA. David Stasney led us in prayer from his home in Bradenton. My mom woke up at 6:45 Seattle time to be with us. The service had people participating from both coasts, the Midwest, Texas, Canada and the UK.
Joshua received his message from God in roughly the year 1406 BCE. It was 14 centuries before the birth of Christ and 34 centuries before Hurricane Helene. God-is-with-you wherever you go is both about time and location. It is past, present and future. It is from Seattle to London and certainly beyond. With God, who travels with us through both time and space, through good times and bad, through calm days and hurricanes; with God-with-us, what reason do we have to be afraid? Be courageous, therefore, God is with you.
- Fr. Dave
Hopeful-mindedness
At a recent business networking meeting, the group’s treasurer, and member of All Angels, (and commercial real estate expert) Joe Martini, used his time to share an article with the group to help them in their business. It was my Reflection from last week! (Inner Voice) It is a mind-blowing experience to hear someone else read words that I put together. Since it meant something to him, and to the other business leaders in the group, I’d like to take that Reflection a little further.
Mindfulness is a practice that involves being aware of the present moment, without judgment, and observing your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Practicing mindfulness reduces anxiety, improves concentration, makes you kinder, a better friend and family member, and helps in becoming wise. Prolonged stress, however, is kryptonite to mindfulness. Stress blocks our ability to remain centered and calm without judgement. Logically speaking, mindfulness could also be kryptonite to prolonged stress; but unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
Since mindfulness cannot effectively combat stress, what can? Simply put, hope. Future-oriented thinking (hope) is kryptonite to stress. Author, and professor of management at North Carolina State University, Tom Zagenczyk, recently published his findings about hope and its ability to overcome stress. He, and others working on this project, determined that these three factors are a direct result of hope over time: resiliency, reduced tension and distress. Individuals experiencing periods of prolonged stress – unemployment, overemployment, poor health, family issues – were helped by focusing not on their present moment but on a better future.
The core process of mindfulness is not the same core process as hope. Mindfulness practices make one acutely aware of their circumstances; of the here-and-now. Stress is very much about the here-and-now, and the present moment is an unpleasant moment. Stress can take over thought processes and turn it negatively toward doom. Stress increases the heart rate and makes one turn inwardly which exacerbates the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Future-oriented thinking does something entirely different. It incorporates the ability to imagine a future that could be different, it invents and examines new possibilities, and helps us build an action plan to that better future. In other words, it gives us hope. According to Scripture, hope leads to joy, boldness, faith and love. Hope leads us to comfort and to encourage one another.
Co-author Sharon Sheridan wrote, “Being mindful can be tremendously valuable — there are certainly advantages to living in the moment. But it’s important to maintain a hopeful outlook particularly during periods of prolonged stress. People should be hopeful and hold on to the idea that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” Co-author, Emily Ferrise, wrote, “There is real value for organizations to incorporate hope and forward thinking into their corporate culture.”
You might wonder what this has to do with faith, spirituality and the Church. If you are feeling prolonged stress, you may want to consider the hope provided by Morning Prayer. It is an ancient tradition that starts with this psalm:
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. (43:3)
This is the future-oriented hopefulness that prayer and Scripture provide for us. Another phrase that is said in Morning Prayer is this:
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The future-oriented view is that God’s glory has been, is and always will be – no matter what stress or concern we have. Morning Prayer is concluded with this prayer: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in the world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
For as long as the Church has been keeping records, the faithful have prayed those prayers to start the day. And, for longer than the Church has kept records, humans have undergone prolonged periods of stress – from work, or health, or family, or frankly, all the above. Thankfully, we have access to the kryptonite of stress;
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,
and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
- Fr. Dave
Mindfulness is a practice that involves being aware of the present moment, without judgment, and observing your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Practicing mindfulness reduces anxiety, improves concentration, makes you kinder, a better friend and family member, and helps in becoming wise. Prolonged stress, however, is kryptonite to mindfulness. Stress blocks our ability to remain centered and calm without judgement. Logically speaking, mindfulness could also be kryptonite to prolonged stress; but unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
Since mindfulness cannot effectively combat stress, what can? Simply put, hope. Future-oriented thinking (hope) is kryptonite to stress. Author, and professor of management at North Carolina State University, Tom Zagenczyk, recently published his findings about hope and its ability to overcome stress. He, and others working on this project, determined that these three factors are a direct result of hope over time: resiliency, reduced tension and distress. Individuals experiencing periods of prolonged stress – unemployment, overemployment, poor health, family issues – were helped by focusing not on their present moment but on a better future.
The core process of mindfulness is not the same core process as hope. Mindfulness practices make one acutely aware of their circumstances; of the here-and-now. Stress is very much about the here-and-now, and the present moment is an unpleasant moment. Stress can take over thought processes and turn it negatively toward doom. Stress increases the heart rate and makes one turn inwardly which exacerbates the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Future-oriented thinking does something entirely different. It incorporates the ability to imagine a future that could be different, it invents and examines new possibilities, and helps us build an action plan to that better future. In other words, it gives us hope. According to Scripture, hope leads to joy, boldness, faith and love. Hope leads us to comfort and to encourage one another.
Co-author Sharon Sheridan wrote, “Being mindful can be tremendously valuable — there are certainly advantages to living in the moment. But it’s important to maintain a hopeful outlook particularly during periods of prolonged stress. People should be hopeful and hold on to the idea that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” Co-author, Emily Ferrise, wrote, “There is real value for organizations to incorporate hope and forward thinking into their corporate culture.”
You might wonder what this has to do with faith, spirituality and the Church. If you are feeling prolonged stress, you may want to consider the hope provided by Morning Prayer. It is an ancient tradition that starts with this psalm:
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. (43:3)
This is the future-oriented hopefulness that prayer and Scripture provide for us. Another phrase that is said in Morning Prayer is this:
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
The future-oriented view is that God’s glory has been, is and always will be – no matter what stress or concern we have. Morning Prayer is concluded with this prayer: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in the world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
For as long as the Church has been keeping records, the faithful have prayed those prayers to start the day. And, for longer than the Church has kept records, humans have undergone prolonged periods of stress – from work, or health, or family, or frankly, all the above. Thankfully, we have access to the kryptonite of stress;
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,
and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
- Fr. Dave
Inner Voice
Most people have an inner voice. Some call it an internal monologue, verbal thinking, and (my favorite) stream of consciousness. Experts claim the inner voice is the result of brain mechanisms that cause a person to hear themselves talk in their head without actually speaking. It also works for memorization and self-motivation.
The discussion groups this past week covered a topic called “mindfulness” which is a practice that involves being aware of the present moment, without judgment, and observing your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. One key to mindfulness is attention. There are many things that distract us; mindfulness is the opposite of that – it asks that we pay attention, or focus, on the very present moment, right now, this second, and observe our thoughts, feelings and surroundings. You can do this when you first wake up, or are waiting at a doctor’s office, or a red light, sitting on the beach, while walking your dog, or in line at a grocery store. Unlike meditation where you close your eyes and focus on clearing one’s head, mindfulness asks that we stay fully aware and to simply check in on how we are feeling and what we are thinking at the present moment.
Mindfulness is frankly nothing new. The Church, over the centuries, has been steering people to pay attention to their inner voice, their stream of consciousness, through prayer and ritual. Thankfully, in our fast paced, hectic world, we have our Christian ethics and practices to make us more mindful which can steer our stream of consciousness into favorableness with ourselves and into closer connection with God.
The first encounter we have in the morning can shape our attitude for the day. Our ancient Christian practice is to give thanks to God when we first wake up – whether you feel like giving thanks or not. Some saints have taught that we are to name (to bring to mind in our stream of consciousness) five blessings or thanksgivings before we get up. Then using our inner voice, give thanks to God for those blessings.
Halfway through the day, the Christian practice is to stop and give thanks. But there is more to it than that. Our tradition from the Church of England has this noonday prayer: Gracious heavenly Father, we beseech thee to send thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, to direct and rule us in accordance with thy will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into thy truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Asking the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts is a means of discernment, like doing a check-in – how are we feeling and thinking right now? We then ask the Holy Spirit to “direct and rule us” according to God’s will (not our own), to comfort us, to defend us from error, and to lead us into God’s truth. This prayer, using 21st century mindfulness language, asks us to take a moment around noon to check in with God and our inner voice. It’s a way of taking a moment to reflect on the morning that has passed, and to see, without judgement, whether we are on the right course for a good remainder of our day.
Our Christian tradition is to end the day with prayers of thanksgiving and to ask for protection through the night. You can pray this with whatever words you choose; our tradition offers the following: Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. Repeating this prayer while you are waiting for sleep to come is another practice to help us be mindful of the moment and to sleep in peace.
We can pray out loud or we can use our inner voice. Either way, God hears us. The important part, of course, is to do it. When we pray, we take a moment to check in with ourselves, to recognize where we are, and to share it with God. By following the ancient practices of gratitude, especially in the morning, a noontime check-in with the Holy Spirit, and an evening prayer for guidance/watching with Christ/sleeping in peace, we are following our tradition that has/can/will take us through whatever hecticness this world brings to us.
- Fr. Dave
The discussion groups this past week covered a topic called “mindfulness” which is a practice that involves being aware of the present moment, without judgment, and observing your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. One key to mindfulness is attention. There are many things that distract us; mindfulness is the opposite of that – it asks that we pay attention, or focus, on the very present moment, right now, this second, and observe our thoughts, feelings and surroundings. You can do this when you first wake up, or are waiting at a doctor’s office, or a red light, sitting on the beach, while walking your dog, or in line at a grocery store. Unlike meditation where you close your eyes and focus on clearing one’s head, mindfulness asks that we stay fully aware and to simply check in on how we are feeling and what we are thinking at the present moment.
Mindfulness is frankly nothing new. The Church, over the centuries, has been steering people to pay attention to their inner voice, their stream of consciousness, through prayer and ritual. Thankfully, in our fast paced, hectic world, we have our Christian ethics and practices to make us more mindful which can steer our stream of consciousness into favorableness with ourselves and into closer connection with God.
The first encounter we have in the morning can shape our attitude for the day. Our ancient Christian practice is to give thanks to God when we first wake up – whether you feel like giving thanks or not. Some saints have taught that we are to name (to bring to mind in our stream of consciousness) five blessings or thanksgivings before we get up. Then using our inner voice, give thanks to God for those blessings.
Halfway through the day, the Christian practice is to stop and give thanks. But there is more to it than that. Our tradition from the Church of England has this noonday prayer: Gracious heavenly Father, we beseech thee to send thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, to direct and rule us in accordance with thy will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into thy truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Asking the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts is a means of discernment, like doing a check-in – how are we feeling and thinking right now? We then ask the Holy Spirit to “direct and rule us” according to God’s will (not our own), to comfort us, to defend us from error, and to lead us into God’s truth. This prayer, using 21st century mindfulness language, asks us to take a moment around noon to check in with God and our inner voice. It’s a way of taking a moment to reflect on the morning that has passed, and to see, without judgement, whether we are on the right course for a good remainder of our day.
Our Christian tradition is to end the day with prayers of thanksgiving and to ask for protection through the night. You can pray this with whatever words you choose; our tradition offers the following: Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. Repeating this prayer while you are waiting for sleep to come is another practice to help us be mindful of the moment and to sleep in peace.
We can pray out loud or we can use our inner voice. Either way, God hears us. The important part, of course, is to do it. When we pray, we take a moment to check in with ourselves, to recognize where we are, and to share it with God. By following the ancient practices of gratitude, especially in the morning, a noontime check-in with the Holy Spirit, and an evening prayer for guidance/watching with Christ/sleeping in peace, we are following our tradition that has/can/will take us through whatever hecticness this world brings to us.
- Fr. Dave