Revival

Revival Sermon at New Song Episcopal Church on Saturday, September 9 by the Rt. Rev. Christopher Epting

Isaiah 11:6-9, John 3:1-6

Classical evangelicals make much of these few verses we just heard from the Fourth Gospel; the ones about being “born again” or “born from above” as the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible translates it. And what they often mean by that is a powerful experience of the love and grace of God, the moment when (as they are likely to describe it) they “accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”

Some of us here tonight can remember such experiences. A moment of surrender and acceptance on a deeper level of a faith we may have professed with our lips for many years. Mine happened on the couch of a college apartment in Gainesville, Florida. And it really did feel like being “born again.” But I think many of us today recognize that the “born again” experience is not so much a one-time event, but a recurrent pattern which may take place countless times over the course of a lifetime.

I was born again in that college apartment and it led me into a deeper search for whatever truths Christianity and the Bible might offer for my life and the life of the world. I was born yet again in a seminary experience which I wasn’t sure was going to lead to ordination, but which was where I needed to be to get more answers and seek deeper truth. Ordination itself was another born again experience in which I felt myself stepping into a long succession of those called to that particular ministry (I remember a vision of looking backwards as though through the wrong end of a telescope and seeing all those who had gone before me in this role!)

Becoming a bishop here in Iowa was yet another such experience, being born into a completely different ministry for which – in those days at least – there was absolutely no preparation. Never have I had to rely so completely on the love and grace of God as in those thirteen years as Bishop of Iowa. There was no other way to get up every morning!

And, finally, at least for tonight, I would point to an experience of being born again when I accepted the Presiding Bishop’s invitation to serve as his Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations – for here I was initiated more deeply into the gifts and graces of other Christian communions and other world religions, many of whose disciplines I adopted as my own and still treasure to this very day.

Well, those few simple examples from my own life may illustrate a pattern which I believe is the template for many, if not most, of us on the spiritual path. Theologians often point to the fact that the paradigm for Christians at least is not “getting better and better every day in every way,” some uninterrupted pattern of spiritual growth which lead us to higher and higher levels (or deeper and deeper truth, depending on your analogy!).

No, the Christian pattern is death and resurrection -- The pattern of Jesus’ life. The reality those same theologians call “the paschal mystery.” For some reason – known only to God – we seem to have to die before we can be raised!

Jodi Page-Clark’s wonderful hymn puts it so well: “Teach us to know your word, Lord/ Let it cleanse us through and through/ As we open our hearts to each other/ Break us and make us anew! We have to die before we can be raised!

This is what will happen to us at the end of our lives, but it is also a pattern which takes place, on a smaller scale, over and over again during the course of our lives. And every little resurrection is preceded by a little death. I died to certain aspects of my life after that experience in a college apartment – but I was introduced to so much more.

I died to certain simplistic understandings of Christianity and the church during my time in seminary, but learned how much richer and more complex our faith can be. I died to certain freedoms when I was ordained to the priesthood and to the episcopate, but I found the kind of freedom which can only come from discovering what it means for whatever gifts you may have to be matched up to ministry which needs to be done – the place where “your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” as Frederick Buechner puts it.

And when I went to New York, I died to the folly that my way was the only way to God -- that even “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement” has a lot to learn…from other faith traditions and from people whose life experiences are so different from many of ours!

Tonight, during this experience of Revival, we will be invited to make a new commitment, or perhaps a re-commitment, to some aspect of our faith journeys. No one is required to do this, but everyone is invited. That may mean acceptance of some “nudging of the Spirit” you have been feeling for some time.

It may be to take the next step on your journey – even if the way may look dark and somewhat frightening viewed from this place. You may wish to commit to a new way of living out your Christian faith – some way to make a difference in this world which is so desperately in need of “difference makers” today. Or, it may be something totally unexpected. God’s spirit within you will provide that guidance – not me.

These little experiences of being “born again,” these little deaths and resurrections sometimes feel life-changing and significant, at other times they are gentle “mid-course” corrections. But be they great or small, they are our ways of participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the paschal mystery at the heart of God’s creation. I would point out one thing: according to Jesus in tonight’s Gospel the whole purpose of being ‘born again’ is that we might “enter the kingdom of God.” And that means so much more than getting into heaven when we die!

When we risk being “born from above” we are opening ourselves to see the world -- and help transform the world -- as God sees it and is transforming it. Our little “dyings and risings,” patterned on the death and resurrection of Jesus, are for the purposes of preparing the way for nothing less than a New Heaven and a New Earth.

We don’t know exactly how that will happen. But the Christian hope is that, in God’s good time, and perhaps as a result of our being willing to die and rise with Jesus, to be born again and again and again:

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them…

Most of all, it is our hope and our fervent prayer that, one day…

They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;

For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea!

September 2017

Our eyes and hearts are focused on the people of Houston and West and East Texas and South West Louisiana and the astonishing armada of boats continuing to seek to rescue those still stranded in their flooded neighborhoods. Those of us who remember the sights and experiences of Cedar Rapids in 2008 can only gasp at the enormity of what we are witnessing. Our prayers and generosity go out to them. We also hold our breath as the waters subside and the house to house visits have to be made and the people accounted for.

This is a time not for my words, but those of the Bishop of Texas, who wrote to his episcopal colleagues yesterday:

Dear Colleagues,

I was and continue to be a bit in shock with all that is going on. We have been reunited with our daughter after 3 days of the storm. My mother is safe as is my sister-in-law after being rescued. What do we know? Our family is all safe. Some may have lost their homes. Our clergy are all safe. Some may have lost their homes. Our staff is safe but some have lost their homes. The same is true for our parishioners. Thanks to our mayor and our experience fewer lives were lost in this great storm than in the last. What do we know? God is good.

The disaster stretches from one end of Texas where it hits Mexico to the other end where it hits Louisiana. The storm is now presently hovering over the eastern part where they are experiencing the same amount of rain we did here in Houston just days ago. They have opened three huge evacuee sites. Today and tomorrow many will go to Dallas.

Yet, our ministry is flourishing. We are working on a long term recovery strategy and building a network of volunteers to help people muck out houses and clean up to rebuilding. Our churches are shelters, hubs for collection and distribution of water/diapers/blankets. We have a massive web of people helping across the southern part of the diocese which includes over 25 counties.

People from around the world are sending money either directly to our diocese through our donate button on the website or are going through ERD. Through ERD they can also sign up to be notified when it is safe to come and help and where to go.

Let us be aware that gifts to ERD will go to help West Texas too! And, that presently the storm is battering our East Texas and Louisiana. Prayers remain for all of those in harms path. As the storm has left us it now batters our brothers and sisters to the east.

We are engaging the mission of Harvey that has found us. And, we are so fortunate to have friends from across the communion like yourself who have reached out as a sign of hope, who are offering prayers, who are reminding us that the storm shall not have the last word. Death and destruction never has the last word and we are ready to give a testimony to the hope that is in us. God is good and we are buoyed, literally, by the love of friends and coworkers here and around the world - for that is the love of Christ which is greatly evidenced in such dire times.

Faithfully yours,

Andy

C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.
IX Bishop of Texas

A few years ago a team from Iowa went to Galveston, Texas to assist in ongoing clean-up and rebuilding efforts headed up by the Diocese of Texas and under the leadership of Iowan native Katie Mears. Katie is now in charge of coordinating the Episcopal Relief and Development response effort for domestic disasters. Along with this huge responsibility, she is also pursuing God’s call to the priesthood. Though she resides in Maine, she is a postulant in the Diocese of Iowa and is undergoing theological studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

I expect that when the time comes, Jerry Davenport and Holly Scherff, our Diocesan Disaster Relief Coordinators, will be calling for volunteer teams to assist in Texas and Louisiana. In the meantime, let us donate what we can and continue offering our prayers, compassion and encouragement.

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan

The Rt. Rev Alan Scarfe
Bishop of Iowa

August 2017

Planning to attend the State Fair this year? Please come on Saturday, August 12th. That is when the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa will be hosting a Revival evening at the State Fair with a Breaking Bread Eucharist. Fair organizers were impressed with the Breaking Bread event last year, and invited us back. We are returning with an expanded worship agenda and, with your help, in greater numbers. The State Fair Episcopal Breaking Bread Revival starts at 5:30pm and will be at the Farm Bureau Shelter House, located behind Pioneer Pavilion.

At the congregational level, this month Revival 2017 picks back up after a six-week summer recess. We are exactly halfway through and have held nineteen revivals impacting twenty-nine congregations and attended by 500 people.  The Revival moves west over the next few months and up to the north east and north west. We held a second orientation meeting last month at the Cathedral of St. Paul which was attended by representatives from St. Andrew’s, St. Timothy’s, and the Cathedral in Des Moines. Fort Dodge, Mason City, Spirit Lake and Emmetsburg, Shenandoah and Glenwood, Cedar Falls and Waverly were all represented, as well as Trinity, Iowa City and New Song, Coralville.

I believe that God honors our efforts to draw closer and in fact is the One meeting us more than halfway through the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Revival is about our personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. It encourages us to take stock of what is driving us spiritually, and through the various prayer stations gives us an opportunity for reflective action–whether more traditionally in renewing baptismal vows, or receiving prayer with the laying on of hands, or in the contemporary and creative ways of “prayer through coloring,” journaling, or joining me for a one on one conversation on your life in the Spirit. Some congregations are adding to these ways of responding that I think are vital to letting God act in renewing, recharging and rekindling our lives as followers of Jesus.

We have found that music is a key ingredient for an effective weekend. Angie Dowd of St. John’s, Mason City shared at the orientation several reasons for this. She gave six reasons for music’s importance: music gathers us in; it unifies; opens hearts preparing us for new ideas and possibilities, providing a “solid emotional base”; it supports the message of the day; provides segues; and uplifts the energy level of a gathering space. She also added, “and it adds raw entertainment value.”

One thing that the Revival 2017 evening does is make us think of how to incorporate elements into more regular services. The impact of music is an obvious given, but what about offering opportunities for immediate responses through prayer stations on a Sunday? Some of this might flow into a new small group or house group movement as we follow up in the months and years following Revival.

There are some excellent referrals out there already–such as from Carl Mann of Christ Church, Burlington, or Fred Steinbach of St. Andrew’s, Chariton. Whether the attendance was large or small (rule of thumb seems to be one third of your Sunday average attendance), God has “shown up” and the evidence is in the nine filled canvass tiles which have captured people’s prayers and commitments as a result of the Spirit’s nudges. These are prayers which we carry around to each Revival as the tiles grow in number, and which will be featured throughout the Diocesan Convention in October. The final Revival 2017 weekend will be in Des Moines at the Cathedral on Saturday as St. Paul’s combines with Indianola and St. Mark’s, and wrapping up at St. Timothy’s in West Des Moines Sunday evening at 5pm, October 22^nd.

Give yourself a chance–Give God a chance–to stir up the gift of the Spirit within you, which many of you received through the laying on of hands in confirmation or reception, and all of us in baptism.

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe

Bishop of Iowa

Download a State Fair Flyer to share

July 2017

Tackling the difficult subject of death and dying is something we tend to avoid as long as possible. This is not the case at New Song, Coralville. There, in your welcome packet, as a newcomer to the Church, you will find information about Honoring Your Wishes, a ministry of the congregation started by their Rector Emeritus, Elizabeth Coulter in 2011. Honoring Your Wishes is about planning in advance for those difficult days that come to all families. It helps people think about death when not in a crisis and can acquaint people with what “extraordinary measures” involve. Receiving such information while you are healthy might very well assist you to determine if such measures would add to your sense of quality of life when you or a loved one faces a catastrophic illness.

The Book of Common Prayer invites the clergy to “instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provisions for the well-being of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses” (445). Advanced care planning is another element of that prudence.

This is one of the topics treated by the Older Adult Ministry Development Team in their workshop which I attended on Faith and Aging at this year’s Summer Ministry School and Retreat in Grinnell. They have posted an extensive collection of resources on the newly revamped “Iowa Share” website (IowaShare.org).

When did you last engage in conversation as a congregation on choices around death? How many of us with adult children have sat them down and talked over our wishes if we should face a difficult death? Do those closest to us, including our clergy, know our preferences for our own funerals? I once sat down with my own father and said that with someone in his condition, if he was my parishioner, I would be beginning such a conversation. He took my awkward opening in stride and started out with what he didn’t want – a viewing. “I don’t look good at the best of times,” he added! Then we moved on to brass bands playing, and if possible my leading things. “If you are not up to it, I won’t be mad,” he offered.

The aspects of considering issues of death and dying involve discerning what is of value to us. What speaks to us of living well? We need to work hard to define what living well means to each of us, and to make decisions about our care that express that definition.

Stacey Gerhart, a long-time hospital chaplain, explained that she had never met a person on their death bed who did not know that they were dying. The issue tended to be avoided by those around them.  Having such a hard conversation ahead of time can be a pastoral gift to relatives and neighbors alike. It is a vital (living) part of the Church’s mission, appropriate for those who state their belief in the One who says “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

In general, conversations can be started when a person is in the hospital as you invite them to reflect on how life is going. We can be bold enough to share our thoughts with a friend in regular conversation, and ask them “what about you?” Sometimes it is easier when doing something with a person side by side–jogging or driving or working together­–and not looking at one another.

We should be grateful for the group of people who, in forming the Older Adult Ministry Development Team, are bold and open to entering into such conversation and inquiry. The presenters at Summer Ministry School and Retreat–Warren Frelund, Diane Eddy, Stacey Gerhart, Judith Crossett, Kelly Shields, Lori Erikson and Bob Sessions–are all eager to help us develop our ministries with seniors. For many of our congregations, seniors are a large percentage of the membership. Seniors fall into three categories: young seniors (65-75), middle-aged seniors (75-85) and older seniors (85+). Each category brings its own vocational and spiritual development needs. Along with the focus on death and dying, the group explored ministry opportunities in retirement; the evangelistic challenge of boomers examining their lives and reflecting deeper about them; seizing the opportunity to see church as coordinating centers of concerns among the community; and seeing Senior Centers as components of the Church.

Finally, I found the concept of “eldering” very powerful. Eldering needs a community to flourish while at the same time elders help a community flourish. Together we spoke of elders as people who are growing in spiritual maturity, people who do their spiritual homework and move beyond their egos. They are people who build up larger identities to carry the concerns of the community and to offer service. They are people in mission with Christ through each and all. (Where have I seen that phrase before?)

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe

Bishop of Iowa