Feast of John the Baptist

Dear Friends

On this Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, I just had to share this cartoon, which appeared when I turned to the page for today. Imagine my surprise and delight at this PBI (possible blog illustration). Not only is the quote timely---“Sometimes life takes sudden turns without using its turn signal”--- (does anything come to mind from earlier this year?)---but the U-turn Snoopy is making is exactly what John’s shouting “REPENT” means. About face! Turn around! You’re going the WRONG WAY!

I wonder if the creators of this calendar knew how appropriate this cartoon was for 2020 and, for different reasons, June 24^th. Or maybe it was the Holy Spirit?

In any case, may God help us recognize, personally and as a society, what course corrections we need to make. It would be a shame to miss whatever there is to learn from the living of these days, even as we ask God for wisdom and courage and patience to get through them and get back to some sense of “normal”. (I miss watching the Dodgers!)

May we be willing to expect and be surprised by new blessings being born, even during these days of anxiety and anger, heartache and hopelessness, sadness and suffering.

Finally, note that John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” If there was ever a time to look towards Jesus, it is now.

John

 

Sunny side up....for now

Dear Friends

On this first full day of summer after the summer solstice, Kathleen and I have just finished breakfast, having had fried eggs, (sunny side up), washed down with Sunny-D orange juice, all the while singing that old favorite, “Here comes the sun.” And because it is Sunday, we had sundaes for dessert, because life is short so why wait because you never know what the future holds.

Speaking of “you never know what the future holds”, we are now planning and expecting to have dinner tonight, subject to change. It’s really up in the air, a half hour to half hour decision. It depends on what stage Monterey County will be in at that point and what we are able/allowed to do at that time. We’ll have to look at and study the numbers. What we will have for dinner, if we do have dinner, is unknown at this time, depending on what is available at the grocery store.

And yet, in the meantime, we are going ahead and planning and hoping to drive to the grocery store (our weekly “date drive”) assuming nothing changes between now and dinnertime, while understanding things might change and so we are prepared to come up with alternate plans, subject to change, unless we are in the stage by tonight that allows us to go out to dinner without a mask, although we might still have reservations, being over 65, although we are unaware of any underlying conditions, but how would be know since they are underlying and therefore out of sight, out of mind, which you may be thinking I am right now, but I'm not unless you ask Kathleen.

Certainly we wish things were not so uncertain, but one thing is for certain; we will find a way to have dinner, unless we decide to skip it and wait for breakfast on Monday, assuming we get through the night and the sun comes up on the second full day of summer.

Happy Father’s Day too!

John

Sick and Angry

Dear Friends

The picture above is a "photo op" Kathleen and I had with our Presiding Bishop in January, the day before our new bishop's consecration. It makes me proud and thankful that he is speaking for so many of us at this time with such grace and love, intelligence and compassion and courage.

This evening, there was a "photo op" at a church next to the White House and the circumstances around it---reading that speech, protesters being pushed away to make room just for him, and holding a bible as a prop for a campaign ad?---made me sick and angry. I am not sure why it has affected me so much, but I know I am not alone. The person in question is raising the temperature. If things get worse over the next days and weeks, he is partially responsible, though of course he will blame everyone else.  

Bishop Curry is one of the many voices responding to what we had to witness. His message is below. I share it in case you missed it.

Lord have mercy upon us. Help me focus on love.

John 

This evening, the President of the United States stood in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, lifted up a bible, and had pictures of himself taken. In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes. This was done in a time of deep hurt and pain in our country, and his action did nothing to help us or to heal us.

The bible teaches us that “God is love.” Jesus of Nazareth taught, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The prophet Micah taught that the Lord requires us to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.”

The bible the President held up and the church that he stood in front of represent the values of love, of justice, of compassion, and of a way to heal our hurts.

We need our President, and all who hold office, to be moral leaders who help us to be a people and nation living these values. For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
 
The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Dear Friends

Do you remember that Mazda commercial which included the jingle echo that went “Zoom, Zoom Zoom”?

Here is my schedule this week for my “half time”* interim position: Count the zooms! (*not complaining…just busier than before the pandemic, like many). It is sprinkled with a few pastoral calls and e-mails each day to stay connected with members, including a birthday calls

S      8:15   Washington National Cathedral (Bishop Curry preacher)

        9:30    St. Dunstan’s, Carmel Valley  (Canon Saville preacher)

      10:30    Zoom Coffee Half Hour (last week it went an hour- much fun)

M   11:00    Zoom small group meeting with Bishop on topic of Eucharist                       and on line worship; sermon, newsletter prep

T      9:00   Taping for following Sunday worship 

      12:00    Zoom Liturgy Planning Mtg.    

W    9:00    Zoom Rotary Mtg.

        8:00    Zoom Morning Prayer (Martyrs of Uganda)

      10:00    Zoom Staff Mtg.

        1:00    Zoom Diocesan Clergy Mtg. with Bishop

        2:00    Zoom Deanery Clergy Re-Entry Planning Mtg.

T     9:00    Weekly Phone Call Meeting with Sr. Warden

     10:00     Weekly Phone Call Meeting with Associate Priest

       2:00     Zoom Mtg. with St. Dunstan’s Re-Entry Team

F     Day Off

S     Day Off  (But this week, 2 pm Zoom Parish 2021 Planning Mtg.)                               

    

      I can only imagine the new classes and curriculum coming to on line seminaries when it comes to the on-line church we are becoming and will continue to be. And the question should not be “When are we coming back to church?” but “When are we coming back to the future church?" which is already happening now.

John

P.S. Kathleen keeps busy too and it’s not just sewing…cutting my hair, cooking three meals a day for the last two months, keeping a diary, light gardening, household cleaning and light repairs, grocery shopping, walking, taking pictures of flowers…!