A call for Acolytes

Hello,

During this stewardship season, I am asking for you to consider the Memorial Acolyte program as a way to give of your time and talent. I have attached the Acolyte manual in order to give you an idea of what it means to be an Acolyte at Memorial. Some of you are already involved and have asked for training opportunities. Some have asked to become involved, and some I am inviting to consider for the first time. If you know of others that might be interested, please do forward this email.  As a way to get us started, I have created a poll to find out when might be a good time for us to gather to begin the training.

Please provide your and/or your child's availability to begin or renew your commitment to learn more about the Acolyte Corps by going to this link no later than Tuesday, November 27. Acolyte Training Scheduling 

Please click ALL times you are available and hold those times until you receive my update email on Wednesday. I will not conduct training on all dates but will select the top 2 or 3 based on your responses.

Questions? Please email me or find me in church! (I'll likely be one of the ones at the altar 😉)

Time is of the essence as we have had some of our Acolytes moving out of the program recently. 

Fr. Grey and I appreciate your prayerful consideration!

In Christ,

Alice Peake

BUILD Action with Delegate Maggie McIntosh, December 4

We are having an action on Tuesday night Dec 4th 6pm (please arrive and be seated by 5) 
at Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE) High School 1300 west 36th street.  
Maggie McIntosh is confirmed.  We are inviting the rest of the legislators that represent Baltimore City.  

This is a power meeting and reception - with approximately 50 BUILD leaders.  
Purpose of action is to have BUILD and the legislators publicly commit to Kirwan as our top legislative priority in 2019 and that we will fight together to win. 

The core of the meeting is a teach-in where Maggie Mcintosh will teach us how she anticipates things rolling out  - when will the report drop? When will legislation be introduced? Will funding and policy be in the same bill or separate? etc.

After she teaches, we will make our commitments to each other

Then we will have a reception - food/drink - where build leaders mix and mingle with legislators where they can introduce themselves, put a face with a name, and ask about other legislative priorities besides kirwan.

Please RSVP to elizabeth@buildiaf.org, rjburgin@gmail.com, jufrye@yahoo.com, rahcrew@gmail.com

Thank You!

Holiday Dance sponsored by St. Katherine of Alexandria

The View from Bolton Street

The View from the outskirts of BWI Airport: A Report from the Interim Bodies Meeting of The Episcopal Church

The last few days your Rector has been dutifully taking his part in the councils of the church, by serving as a member of the Standing Commission for World Mission, one of many ‘interim bodies’ that continue on the work of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church during the ‘triennium’ - the three year period between General Convention meetings. The President of the House of Deputies, the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, jokingly referred to this meeting as the culmination of thousands and thousands of spread sheets.  And while the joke was well received, it was true!  The bureaucracy of the Church had worked very hard with names and dates and backgrounds, data points in a never ending stream of excel spreadsheets to produce this meeting; a gathering of close to 200 Episcopalians, lay and religious, priests and deacons, and even a few bishops, to do the work of the Church for the next three years. But it was an amazing gathering of Christians!  The full diversity of the Church was on display, and the fervor and excitement of the gathered body was palpable by all in attendance.

I won’t go into too many details, as there is much work to be done, but I can say that we all recognize we are part of a two million person denomination in the Episcopal Church and part of an even larger 165M Anglican Communion and the work we do gathered together informs and connects with all of that. 

As Secretary for the Standing Commission on World Mission, it is my duty to keep records of the work of the group, keep us on task, and report out to the broader church about where we see Jesus calling the Episcopal Church in our work in the wider world going forward.  It is inspiring and taxing work, but also an important reminder that we don’t do this work alone.  We may be 100 or so on Sunday morning, but we are one small part of the Body of Christ working in the world - and we trust that the other parts are doing the same Godly inspired work we are, even if it looks and sounds different than what we do.

This is, perhaps, the most important takeaway for me personally from these last few days.  Part of being a Christian is recognizing that we are part of something much greater than the sum of what the Church is doing. We are, as the Blues Brothers said ‘on a Mission from God’ - and we don’t understand even a little bit what that mission is. We can only trust that the work we do is part of that broader plan and will somehow make sense in the end.

This means we also have to have the humility and patience to trust that other Christians, other Episcopalians, other Anglicans are also part of that broader plan and even if we don’t agree with them on everything, or even most things, we are able to see that Jesus may be working through them just as much as Jesus is working through us.  Further, that as Christians we can find unlikely partners in the work of the Gospel - ecumenical and interreligious partners - who may not share our politics but do share our desire to make the world better.   

It is my hope that that small bit of inspiration can filter out from this rather bureacratic gathering  not only to Memorial,but to the whole Episcopal Church - and together we can begin to make the Kingdom of God a little more real.

Green Team - Sequestering Carbon Dioxide

Sequestering CO2 – Plant Trees!

Last Saturday afternoon, a beautiful Fall day, 5 climate stewards gathered for a tree planting event in the southerly end of Wyman Park.

Organized by Memorial Episcopal and initiated by its Creation Care team members Guy Hollyday and Dick Williams, a Red Maple, an American Beech and a Dogwood were planted, mulched, staked against high winds, then watered.

As the planting was sponsored by a church on public lands, we qualified for all-in funding by the MD/DE Lutheran Synod’s “Reformation 500 Tree Project”.  The opportunity was made known to Dick by Bernadette Roche, MEEP (Maryland Episcopal Environmental Partners) co-lead.

The 3 trees and supplies were donated by the Synod under its challenge to plant 500 trees, enabled by grant funding.  Over a two-year stretch, the program has afforded the planting of nearly 600 trees in the two states.

Other planting party members were Kristen McDaniel, Graham Eschbacher and Tom McGilloway, a landscape architect with Mahan Rykiel Associates.

Wonder how much carbon a single tree might sequester?  The U.S. Energy Administration offers this: “Plant, say, one silver maple today, and in 25 years—assuming it survives—it will have sequestered about 400 pounds of carbon dioxide.”  Driving a small car that gets 40 mpg 1,400 miles/mo. will emit about 5 pounds of CO2 per year .  Do the math!  Then plant a tree.

Memorial Book Club - November 27

First notes, the January meeting has been confirmed for January 15.  Alex contacted the author who is local to Baltimore and she is able to and delighted to attend our discussion on January 15.  

A reminder that the November meeting is on 11/27.  If you are planning on attending dinner, please let me know by 11/16.   Dinner will be at the Dizz at 5:45.  

The November meeting date is 11/27 at 7:30 in the Church Library 

For November meeting the selection is  Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II, by Liza Mundy (Recommended by Tiz)

Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.  

The View from Bolton Street

America Needs A Hobby: A Post-Midterm Reflection

For my grandparents it was bridge (and poker for my grandfather).  For my dad it was model rockets. For my mom it was theater.  For many of us it was sports. Either playing, coaching, or following our favorite teams.  You cheered for the Orioles because of Cal Ripken or Brooks Robinson or because you liked Eddie Murray’s surly nature.  You cheered for the Dodgers because you grew up with stories about Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson.  You rooted for the Bulls because of Jordan, or the Jazz because of Stockton-Malone. You were a ‘Showtime’ Lakers fan. You rooted for the Caps or the Pens or the Flyers because... you like the cold I guess? You rooted for the Cowboys because you didn’t have a soul ( I kid I kid.... sort of).

Or maybe your hobby was old books, Arthurian legends, archeology, fossil collecting, medieval theology, model trains.  Whatever it was, it was something to identify yourself with besides where you worked and what you ‘did’ for living.  But we are less and less defined by our hobbies and interests - and more and more defined based on whether we are RED or BLUE.

I’m not saying we have stopped having hobbies. But, for a lot of Americans, Politics has become our hobby.  And it makes sense. Like so many things today it is ‘free’ to start. There is no barrier to entry other than having opinions (which we all do) and no cost to participate unless you choose to.  And what’s more it feels a lot more participatory than some other hobbies.  In 2018 a model train enthusiast seems like a relic of a bygone era but a volunteer political commentator - a vociferous partisan - gets followers, and attention and appreciation from the politicians they support.... AND a lot of vitriol from the other side.

Instead of saying ‘I’m a cyclist. I’m a philatelist. I’m a Herpetoculturist.’ We are now more likely to say ‘I’m a Republican. I’m a Democrat.’

You know the old saying ‘nothing in life is free?’ It remains true.  We have learned that when the ‘news’ is free — you the consumer become the thing for sale.  Much of modern partisan media is really about  developing market segments and guaranteed access for advertisers so they can target particular demographics. 

So it is with politics.  It may be a hobby for you. But it is not free.  If you were very engaged with the midterm elections consider how you are feeling today? Exhausted? Burned out? Depressed? Anxious? Unsure of the future? Politics as a hobby is not free. And the cost is sometimes every ounce of your being.

I am not saying we should avoid engaging with the political system. Indeed as Christians we are called to work hard to make our world a better place, more like the Kingdom of God, and that includes electing leaders who we believe best exemplify the morals and values that Jesus taught.  But politics as hobby or sport is bad for the nation and bad for our souls. We are beginning to define a kind of public life where those who did not vote the way we did are our enemies. Are less than. Are sub-human.  As one of the early defectors in my family from voting straight Republican I am used to being called the bleeding heart liberal, but that somehow has transformed into the stupid liberal. The socialist liberal. The anti-American liberal.

Now if you are a Red Sox fan saying terrible things about Yankees fans you can (for the most part) look past that in the rest of your daily life.  And while I’m not quite sure what rivalries look like in the world of model trains, I’m sure they are localized enough they don’t spill out in the rest of the broader society. But not so with politics. 

When your politics is your hobby - your enemy is suddenly half of the country. And that rhetoric continues to ratchet up on both sides.  This is particularly challenging to manage when it does appear one party’s Washington leadership is at least indifferent to, if not supportive of, blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry.  But while our cartoonish commander in chief continues to say and do blatantly offensive things, often on purpose to antagonize the opposition, there are many republicans who find his behavior and his policies offensive.

Now contrast this for a moment with those who do politics for a living. While the rhetoric may help get votes and support, you also know you have to work with those across the aisle, work with those you disagree with, to get things done.  Professional politicians and political organizers recognize that maintaining relationships and friendships with people they disagree with, even on fundamental issues, is important for the sake of their personal political ambitions and for the larger health of our democracy. Even the Apostle Paul developed relationships with both the Jewish authorities and the Roman overseers, even as they tried to destroy him and the nascent Christian religion, after all.

A favorite movie scene of mine comes from the movie remake of ‘Fever Pitch’ - where Jimmy Fallon plays a crazed Red Sox fan who hates the Yankees with every fiber of his being.  One night he is out to dinner with his girlfriend and he notices a group of Red Sox players out to dinner eating with Yankees players and he is just heart broken. For all his crazed fandom, he was unable to see that for many of the players, this is just a job. 

For many of you reading this, the next two years will be quite ugly in our national politics.  We have a President who is unmoved by any appeals to centrism and civility, we have a rabid political base on the conservative far right that loves anything that sounds like racism, xenophobia, and bigotry - and we have a political media system that can’t wait to turn every tweet, quote and statement into a steady stream of clicks, likes and $$$ in the never-ending 24 hour news cycle.

Given that reality, I encourage you to do two things: 1) be very clear about the things and the people that matter to you. Let them know regularly that you love and care for them. And when they are threatened do what you can to protect them. And 2) develop a hobby. A simple spiritual practice that you can use to pull yourself away from that frenetic news cycle and give you joy. Maybe it is training for a marathon. Maybe it is a fish tank. A coin collection. Curling. Training for an obscure Olympic sport. Even expanding your pet rock collection. You could even read the Bible. In Hebrew and Greek. 

Whatever it is engage in it as a spiritual and healing practice.  So that you can define yourself as something other than a RED or BLUE person.

Children's Corner - Children and Youth programming at Memorial

Children’s Corner

Children’s Chapel meets once a week during the service. The kids all go down to lower farnham hall and listen to the gospel. The scriptures are written in a way that kids can understand and it really amazes me how much they get out of the readings. We are using a program called Whirl Lectionary and it comes with a little video each week that the kids watch. If you would like to get to know some of the characters we have met in the videos, and see the program for yourself, you can click the link below. After the video and the scripture we either play a game or do some sort of craft.

This month during children’s chapel there has been an underlying theme of giving. I would ask the kids what talents and skills they felt they could give to the church. Many of them said things like money, time, energy, and then someone said love. The love one I emphasized because no matter what we can always give a little love. We wrote down all these answers and one week we decided to offer up our talents to the church by placing them in the offertory plates. The kids enjoyed feeling like they were apart of the community and contributing their talents and gifts.

-Hannah :)

Director of Youth and Community Engagement

“For those who are led by the spirit of God are the Children of God.” Romans 8:14

https://www.wearesparkhouse.org/store/category/286739/Whirl

Family Fun Night - Wednesday, November 14 @ 6:00 pm

Next Wednesday the 14th is Family Fun Night in Upper Farnham Hall. Bring the kids and enjoy some good homecooked food and discussion about Youth programming at Memorial. This is an excellent chance to check in and share ideas while hearing what is planned going forward. We look forward to seeing you.

Important notice from the Rector regarding the Gala this Saturday

Don’t Panic!

For those of you who are fans of ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ you will remember the famous words said to decorate the cover of this useful book.  And while it is written perhaps tongue in cheek as one is facing off against Vogons or Belcerabons; it is good advice for all of us when we are suddenly confronted with challenging, unexpected and surprising circumstances. I have repeated this a few times over the last few weeks to friends and neighbors as we got close to the midterm elections and now I pass the advice on to all of you because, when you walk in to church on Sunday, the pews will be missing.

Yes. In order to make the 2018 Gala a success we need to move the pews out of the church temporarily so that we can use the space for music, dancing, laughing and building community. It promises to be a great night and a great opportunity to bring people together and celebrate what we love so much about Memorial and to dream under the (projected on the sanctuary ceiling) stars about what lies ahead.  

BUT it would be a little cruel to ask our staff and volunteers to show up late on a Saturday evening to put the news back in in time for Sunday.  So for three weeks (through thanksgiving) we will keep the pews out, and take advantage of this temporary change to dream a little bit about what it is like to worship without the pews in place.  

Now if this is of big concern to you - Don’t Panic! - they will be back by Advent so that we can worship in our more traditional configuration for Advent and the getting ready for the arrival of the Christ Child on Christmas.  

And if you are really excited about the prospect of removing the pews - Don’t Panic! - we will get a full taste of what worship is like using Cathedral chairs so that in the future we can evaluate how best to adapt our worship space for the next 50 years. 

However you feel about the prospects of this temporary change - I hope it won’t be as bad as being subject to a never ending Vogon poetry reading.