The View from Bolton Street

Theme: Return of the Light

Location: Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217

Show Dates: December 20, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, December 20, 2024, in the context of and following a worship service celebrating the Longest Night, 7:00 pm

Dear Parish Family,

In the gospel text for this weekend, Jesus goes all in on the prophetic voice: “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” [Mark 13:5-8]

This is a dynamic world. Everything changes, and when it does, it can be disorienting and scary. Nevertheless, to be dynamic is to be alive. This means that we are ALWAYS living in a time of uncertainty. So what are we to do with that? My approach is to plunge into that “cloud of unknowing” with gusto. It doesn’t take away the uncertainty, but it does allow me to approach new things with my own agency rather than being passively swept up in them.

This is why Jesus’ prophetic voice is so important. The “end” is always near, because so is rebirth! It’s not trivial to be able to distinguish between an end and a beginning, but we must be able to see both to enter into the new thing: the birthpangs. One of my favorite scriptural texts is Isaiah 43:19: Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? If we are too absorbed with the end of something, we won’t recognize the new thing.

Without a doubt there are times through which we will not want to pass in our lives, and that is exactly when we most need to summon our courage and think with clarity. That is when you must (as Jesus warned Peter, James, John and Andrew) Beware that no one leads you astray.

There are many people who call themselves Christians these days. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. That is why we must never forget what love looks like—we cannot afford to forget about chesed when there are so many people claiming to be Jesus followers and yet act nothing like it. Look for the justice and the love. If you don’t see it, it’s because it isn’t there. That’s how you will avoid being led astray.

Our church is a place of tremendous potential. It is not because of who we have been, but because of who we can be. We need each other, and the city needs us to step up and reveal what the true love of God looks like. That’s how we keep each other from being led astray by pretenders who are nothing like the people Jesus has asked us to be.

This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

In love and hope,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

Many of the clergy and wardens of parishes met with Bishop Carrie Wednesday to talk about how we were all doing in the wake of the election results. The bishop urged us to remember that while many people are distraught over the outcome, others are celebrating, and that our churches are likely to have both types of people in them. And while I am committed to trying to seek and serve the Christ in all people, I am aware that the people who are celebrating the election results are not the people who are feel under threat of further erosion of civil rights in our country.

So for those of you who may feeling joy, please try to understand that some people are afraid and uncertain. For those of you who are experiencing that fear, I see you. Our job as a Christian community is to be a welcome and safe space for people no matter what they are presently experiencing, knowing that it is a holy obligation to seek and serve Christ in ALL people. 

I don’t always succeed at that, but I am dedicated to trying because if faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, as we read in Hebrews 11:1, then my faith should be placed in the conviction that continued steps toward a more just and beloved community will ultimately lead to the reality of that vision.

I leave you with a few lines from a prayer by one of my heroes—the Jesuit scientist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:

From Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

I am most decidedly impatient. And yet I do trust in the slow work of God. We are all that slow work of God. And that’s why I believe that we can really be that beloved community where no one has to be afraid.

In resolute hope,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Parish Family,

On All Saints Day, I am thinking about what Mary said to Jesus when she went to “where Jesus was” and told him that Lazarus had died. While the text says that she knelt at Jesus' feet respectfully, we are also told she leveled what must have been a crushing accusation at a man who loved her brother Lazarus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Many of us respond to the death of a loved one in a cascade of what ifs and accusations.

If he’d only gone to the doctor sooner.

Why did she keep eating junk food?

How could a whole healthcare team not watch him more carefully?

I was taught that this (John 11:32-44) is a story about eternal life. Certainly that is a worthwhile interpretation. However this time reading through the text, I saw something different based upon my own emotions after losing a beloved friend. I felt compassion for Mary, who, while speaking to Jesus with faith, also was a bit accusatory along the lines of Where were you when I needed you? Sometimes people cry out at God in their grief. In this story, Jesus grieved as well. John says Jesus began to weep. His faith was firm, however. Some of the people who had gathered said of Jesus, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? To my ear, that sounds an awful lot like “What have you done for me lately, God?” I wonder why we so often need more proof that God is reliably with us? Jesus grieved for his friend and for those around him who were also mourning.

This story, affirms for me once again, that God is with me when I grieve. That Jesus shed tears for his friend tells me that he experienced the full range of human emotion, and why wouldn’t he. Through grief and through fear, remembering that God is present to me in those times is key to moving through them.

In a life fully lived, there will be grief and fear. And there will also be joy and hope because there is love. I would not be willing to give up that joy and hope to avoid the grief and fear. Life is a “both/and” enterprise. Remember— God is with us and we do not need to be alone. It also comes with the responsibility to be as present to one another as we can. Be ready for the moments when God is sending you to be by someone else’s side in their own grief and fear.

 When we begin a prayer with “God be with you,” we are not saying “May God be with you,” but rather “God is with you” [now and always].

 In peace and love,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Friends, 

Today I am thinking of the psalm for Sunday, 34:1-8. And one verse in particular has captured my  imagination-- verse 4: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror.” 

There are so many ways in which God has delivered me from terror when I lacked courage. The irony  of this seemingly simple recipe for deliverance from fear is that when we are in a state of terror and  anxiety, it can seem that there is no help to be found, so we might talk ourselves out of asking. In my  life, I have often had a difficult time asking for help from others because I am not confident I will  receive it. I still struggle with that. That was true for many years in my relationship with God: I did not  ask because I had already decided that I would not receive. Somehow I hadn't noticed that the Holy  Spirit already had my back and was helping me get through whatever it was that had gripped me with  fear. I had not been brave enough to intentionally seek help from God, but somehow I still received it.  In retrospect, it is staggering how God has led me through my life, and I feel such gratitude for that.  

Prayer is mysterious. Whether or not I have had confidence that God can and will deliver me out of  terror, I have come to realize that the act of seeking God is part of that deliverance. In the simplest of  prayers-- Help!-- I feel the shift. My heartrate slows, my thoughts become clearer, and my spirit  becomes calm. I can't even articulate what has happened; I only know that it has. 

There is a Unitarian Universalist minister named Christine Robinson sho has a wonderful blog called  Psalms for a New World. You can find it here: https://doubterpsalms.blogspot.com. Robinson  articulates her own interpretation of the psalms, never arguing that she is translating them, but rather  interpreting them for the context of her own life. That is difficult to do because these sacred songs were composed within the framework of a different cultural context. Here is her reflection on Psalm 34: 

How exactly do I do this? 

By opening my heart in gratitude and praise  

 for all the gifts of life. 

By focusing on the astounding intricacy of the world. 

By attending to the still small voices of healing and renewal 

 which save me in times of trouble. 

And by loving life and honoring that gift,  

 speaking truth, doing good, seeking peace. 

When I serve the highest I know 

I serve whatever God there is. 

The joy of this, no matter what my troubles, will keep me whole. 

How does Robinson seek God? “By opening [her] heart in gratitude and praise.” It works for Robinson, it worked for Job, and it works for me. Maybe it will work for you as well.  

In peace and love, 

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Friends, 

Wow, I love the psalm reading for this Sunday (104:1-9, 25, 37b). I share Zoom Compline one night a  month with some members of a contemplative order to which I am committed: The Society of  Ordained Scientists. We were looking at the psalm together after Compline last night, and one of the  people on the Zoom said, “How funny that they snatched a Hallelujah and stuffed that snippet in at the  end of the selection!” I knew right away why that “snatched” Hallelujah felt so perfect at the end of the  text selection. It was because of some of the experiences I have had when nature overwhelms me with  awe. 

The first time I went to Antarctica, I was so excited that I was practically jumping up and down in the  C-130 transport plane. For those of you who have not been in the military or had other reasons to be in  such a plane, it's one where the “seats” are nylon webbing along the fuselage. They don't make you  keep your seat harness on during the 7.5 hour flight from Christchurch, New Zealand, but you have to  wear the government issued cold weather gear, including neoprene boots and a heavy parka. I'm telling  you these details to illustrate how hard it actually is to jump up and down in that get up. 

Nevertheless, I was bouncing along the aisles looking out different viewports as the icy continent came  into view-- it was so beautiful, and it was a life's dream to be there in person. When we landed, I exited  the plane onto the icepack that serves as a runway, and I really did start jumping up and down-- here I  was at the bottom of the world! Everything was mystically wonderful, and I actually did yell out,  “Hallelujah! I'm finally here!”  

Sometimes the things that God has made take my breath away-- not just nature, but also beautiful  music and other art, amazing people... “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have  made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”  

In spite of the challenges that spring up in my life or in anyone else's, there is much to remind us that  God is there-- the God of excellent greatness-- the God who is wrapped with light as with a cloak. 

That same God who methodically made everything that exists has made us as well, and from that I  must infer that there is amazing complexity and creativity within us because we are made in the image  of God. Of course we're not perfect, but to focus on broken-ness as a way of characterizing ourselves  may be sabotaging our ability to confidently solve some of the problems that confront all people to  some degree or another. We are made to solve problems-- we don't need to be perfect to do so. We just  need to be curious and to be stubborn.  

As the psalmist said: O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the  earth is full of your creatures.You see? We are made in wisdom-- there's not telling what we can do if  we fix our hearts on our divine creator and our agency on being the stewards of all that God has  commanded us to respect and protect. 

In God's love, 

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Hello Friends! 

I want to talk about our time of transition. There are four basic parts to any transition in church  leadership. I want to give you an update about where we are and where we are headed. 

The first step is to process your time under the leader who has departed and address any problems that  presently exist. There will generally be a mix of feelings, and sometimes there are things left undone  that must be addressed and issues that have been deferred and now demand attention. This must take  place while the transitional leadership (me in this case) establishes relationships with all of you so we  can build the trust to enter into the next steps in the evolution of Memorial. How long it takes to  address the various things left undone and to process the last few years is complicated because  Memorial is in a situation of strained finances, and we have to discover why and develop a sound  approach to fixing it. Some of our operational processes must also be amended to be consistent with the business practices of The Episcopal Church. There are some operational areas that lack any formal  process and documentation, and we must develop that to ensure that future leadership has everything  that is needed to be successful. I will work as hard as I can to move swiftly, but I am still in the process  of discovering things, and I think this could take a few months to fully understand the state of the  church-- maybe as long as three months, though I am hoping two. How long it will take to fix the  finances and establish or fix broken processes is much harder to estimate because that is dependent  upon some variables I cannot control. I will need your help! 

The second step is much more fun. It is where we dream and discuss and imagine the Memorial of the  future-- say five years down the road. Who do you want to be? What kind of qualities do you desire in  a leader? What are some of the things you love most about your church? It is during this step that we  develop a parish profile that will be published on the Office for Transition Ministry web site and will  ultimately attract good applicants to lead Memorial. We will hold a couple of community meetings and  we will develop a parish wide survey, and then a committee will develop the profile. This will take a  few months-- it is the data gathering part and hearing one another that determine the length of the step,  and this will set up the actual search for success. 

The third step will be the search process for a permanent rector. The beginning of this step can  overlap with the second step if we have separate committees. The search committee should represent  the diverse perspectives of our community, and they will develop the criteria for the person who will be called to serve Memorial. A call notice will be carefully drafted; a job listing posted on the Office of  Transition Ministry website of The Episcopal Church and on other key places where clergy look for  work. Before the job listing is even posted, the search committee will determine the criterial for passing an application through to an interview, and they will develop metrics for the “short list” of candidates  who will be invited to a second interview. The final step of the search process will be recommending a  candidate to the vestry, who will then vote “yes” or “no.” Sometimes a parish search committee will  recommend the top two candidates to a vestry, and the vestry will make the decision, however how we  undergo this process will be determined by you. The length of this step could be a few months-- 5 or 6,  depending upon how many applicants you receive. 

The fourth step is forming a transition committee to welcome the new rector by providing the  resources necessary to get up to speed and be successful in their transition. This could include advice  on housing, schools if they have children, recommendations on various services, e.g., car mechanics,  grocery stores, etc. and information about this awesome community. This committee can be formed at  any time, as long as you are ready to greet your new rector on day one and go from there. It may only  take a few meetings and some homework to prepare for the rector's arrival. This work can be  accomplished in six weeks or less. 

This annotated outline is not exhaustive, but it should allow you to have a better feel for the process. 

Where we are in our transition work will be communicated to you clearly and regularly. You will not  be given details about various appplicants because those types of personnel details will be made held  confidentially by the search committee. But you will know where we are in the transition process. 

We have work to go in this awesome community. Some of the work will be fun, and some of it may be  difficult, but I promise to be as transparent as is possible and to keep our nominal parish life, our  ministries and our worship moving and vibrant while we engage in our process of transition.  

God is with us always. Pray for one another; spend time with one another; and listen for the voice of  the Holy Spirit, When God's people determine to do God's work of doing justice and living humbly in  love, amazing things can happen. 

In Christ's love, 

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Meeting Location: 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21216 - Church Steps

Join Us for Unity and Love:

St. Francis Animal Blessings Day is not just an event for pet owners but a gathering that unites our entire community. It's a chance to get to know our neighbors, celebrate the diversity of our animal companions, and embrace the values of compassion and empathy that St. Francis exemplified.

Dear Friends,

This Saturday we will bless the animal members of our families. And I’m guessing you already know that it is they who bless us with their love, their quirky ways and their loyalty. God is so creative in the diversity and abundance of life on this Earth. It is nearly impossible to find a place on the surface of our planet that is devoid of life, and all of this life is connected into one system we call the biosphere.

We share the water and the air, the nutrients and the wastes—all of it fits together, and we are tied to this system because were designed to live within it and to adapt as the environment changes. What a gift!

There is a lot to be learned from living with appreciation for the animals and plants; the sun, moon and stars; the beautiful crystals that comprise the rocks and minerals; and the lakes, rivers and seas. They all have stories to tell if we have ears to listen, and Francis of Assisi had the ears to listen. He knew that everything was connected and understood that God wanted us to appreciate the wonders of creation as a sign of the abundance of God’s love to supply our needs.

In my home, we have two cats and two dogs who live in the house with us. They remind us to keep to the priorities: love, companionship, food and water. It’s good to be them, and it’s even better to be us, because I think the humans have the better end of the deal. We get to live with beings who have no guile who just want to be a part of the family. I pray that one day I will be worthy of that.

So come on over to the church on Saturday afternoon from 2pm until we run out of beings in search of blessings. I want to meet the other species in your life and offer them blessings! And if your favorite non-human is a plant, feel free to bring your green friends along as well. Memorial is an equal opportunity font of blessings!

In Christ’s love,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Join us on Saturday, October 5, 2024, for the annual Festival on the Hill, a cherished Bolton Hill tradition since 1955. What began as a small church bazaar organized by Memorial Episcopal Church has grown into a vibrant community festival. In 1969, Rev. Barney Farnham introduced the idea of sharing proceeds with the community, a tradition that continues today under the leadership of the Bolton Hill Community Association.

Festival on the Hill - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

St. Francis Blessing of the Animals - 2:00 p.m.

Dear Friends,

People watch each other and make decisions about whether they would like to be in active relationship with those they watch or not. Unfortunately, various mass media can distort the perception people have of both individuals and of groups, and this has often been true with respect to the portrayal of Christians. Not that we sometimes don’t deserve that characterization, so it’s important that we continually work to examine ourselves and see where we might become a higher fidelity representation of Jesus on Earth.

For the last couple of weeks, the epistle readings have come from the pastoral letter of James in which we learn from his instructions to the young church in Jerusalem how to get along with one another. James was very explicit in the text from last week (3:13-4, 7-8a) about how to avoid conflict in the church. He said, “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” The lectionary text ends with, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he [sic] will draw near to you.”

This week, we read another passage from James (5:13-20) in which we are entreated to draw near to God again—in prayer. James reminds the church (which had consisted primarily of Jews who had come to accept Jesus as the Messiah) of Elijah. The power of Elijah’s prayer, enough to control the weather, was remarkable, though “Elijah was a human being like us”[.]
I have been pondering the possibility that we all might have significantly more power that we know we have because we have been marked as Christ’s own forever and are committed to being the adopted children of God! Why would we not call upon the power of prayer all of the time? I wonder if the power of prayer lies not in the things for which we petition God, but in the way God transforms us when we draw near to our divine parent.

I want to be that person transformed. It’s not only because I want to grow deeper in my relationship with God and God’s people, but also because people are watching us and making decisions about who Christians are and whether or not they want anything to do with us. I am baptized and marked as Christ’s own forever, and I want to be worthy of bearing that mark. We each have control over exactly one person’s behavior and to accept that control, draw near to God, and [God] will draw near to you.”

In Christ’s love,

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Dear Friends, 

I have wisdom on my mind today. I pray for it daily. And even though I habitually do so,  sometimes I am still confused about what is wise and what is foolish. In situations where I don't  feel confident about the best approach to solving a problem, I seek counsel from others. We bat  around ideas and scribble on scrap paper, and in what often feels like a miracle, an idea will  emerge from one of the group-- sometimes, even from me-- something I might not have thought  of on my own. It's like a vibrant rainbow of inspiration has formed over us.  

The act of brainstorming is like the act of playing music together; the emergence of the group's  wisdom can be that harmonious and a pleasure to experience. At the same time, I recognize that  sometimes, what emerges from a group trying to make a decision is something known as “group  think.” That is what happens when people stop contributing their own unique wisdom and  instead think about how they will be perceived for whatever they say they think or say. The  whole group can lose the opportunity for group wisdom to reveal something that only happens  when each member of the group contributes their own unique wisdom. 

When we worry about our own self or our position within a group, that can be a source of  conflict, because as James says, “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come  from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and  do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you  engage in disputes and conflicts.” [James 4:1-3] 

There is such beauty in true wisdom, both as individuals and as a community. We need that  community wisdom as much as we need our own personal wisdom because that is how we learn  to appreciate what we can be when we set about seeking the counsel of the community-- it is how we live in peace and how we discern right from wrong. 

James paints a picture for us of the true wisdom-- the wisdom of God: “the wisdom from above is  first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of  partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make  peace.” [James 3:17-18] 

Imagine coming to the community with that wisdom-- the wisdom from above. Imagine who we  can be and how much good we can do in the world if we seek that “pure, then peaceable and  gentle” wisdom? 

That is my prayer today for our church community-- that we will have that wisdom from above to be God's hands and feet in our church and in our local community.  

With faith and love, 

Pan +

The View from Bolton Street

Hello Friends,

I am looking at the news reports about the fires blazing just over the crest of a hill a couple of hundred yards from my former home in southern California. In October of 2004, there was a wildfire that forced evacuations in my neighborhood. I can never forget the sting of the acidic smoke making it hard to breathe, with the dreaded Santa Ana winds forcing into my face... Last night, a beloved friend posted on social media a video of billowing smoke and flames shooting up into the sky from her back yard. Her words were, “This is no joke time.”

With this backstory in mind, when I read the epistle text of St James this morning, these words grabbed my attention:

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

{James 3:5-10].

Having borne witness not only to the devastation of wildfires, but also the devastation of rumor, inuendo and false narrative, I feel James’ words viscerally.

I’m convinced that we can all embrace the last verse of Psalm 19 (v4): Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

May we always think before we speak and avoid the devastation of a carelessly spoken andinflammatory word.

In faith and love,

Pan +