John the Evangelist concluded his Gospel by writing “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (Jn 21: 24-25).
If we were to write down our epilogue on the good news of Jesus Christ expressed among us, I wonder if we would have to make the same observation. The Parochial Reports doesn’t quite get it done, but it is trying to learn. There is now space to pay attention to those who come to us or with whom we interact beyond worship—for food, clothing, healing prayer, the fellowship of a visit to them in the hospital or in prison, counseling or friendship. It is a shame that we are not asked; “What signs and wonders has the Risen Christ done among you this past year? What have you and the Holy Spirit witnessed together?"
What if the baptismal covenant questions framed the annual report—how have you walked in the Apostles’ teaching, breaking of bread (there’s an ASA question, I suppose), and the prayers, or resisted evil, confessed the Good News in word and deed? And how have you upheld everyone’s dignity, and served Christ in others as you worked for justice and peace? It’s a way of life, this following Jesus, and how do we organize ourselves to that end?
The Christian Way is a spiritual and philosophical process. Our thoughts matter, our spiritual struggles matter. And we need to be allowed and allow ourselves to own up to it. Thomas did in the Easter story; and Jesus did not tell him that he only had one shot at a resurrection appearance. In fact Jesus made a repeat appearance just for Thomas. Now, Thomas was in community on the second occasion, and that seems significant. Eventually getting back to the group is an important thing, no matter how hurt, disillusioned, confused, disappointed they may have been with how things turned out on that horrific Thursday night through Friday.
The early church was a community; they were witnesses of God’s living presence among all people; and they came to understand that all of this placed an accountability upon them—even in recognizing the authority of God over that of human authorities, as they encountered governmental resistance.
It’s an equally incredible challenge on us to follow Jesus in our day and make that pursuit a way of life. We face attachments and resistance of a different nature—chiefly our interconnected economic system based on the consumer model. We are attached to the accidental nature of our births that set us up in nations and tribal groupings that equally make demands upon our allegiance and representation. It’s hard to engage as disciples when at times we don’t know where to begin, as followers of One who we say is Beginning (Alpha) and the End (Omega).
The answer may be to notice where Jesus began again. He appeared to His disciples. And then appeared again for the one who was not there! In Jesus’s kindness to Thomas, He placed each and everyone of us in that room. “Blessed are you who have seen and believed, but even more blessed are those who have never seen, and yet believe” In other words, He was speaking about us, about you and me!
So given this choice as a Body, how do you want to engage yourselves, and one another, as disciples? How can you, where you are, organize in a way that creates a community that focuses primarily on the mission of God? Don’t let parochial reports drive you. What must we grow out of to sharpen our engagement as disciples? Let us, each and all, organize so that the work of witnessing to the Risen Christ is our focus. After all, He makes us reconcilers or a “kingdom of priests” (go-betweeners, people-God connectors), a community that knows and shares forgiveness, a people whom God loves and who express that sense of being loved in our own attitudes and actions of loving. And who in the world could contain such testimony—not even perhaps the internet Cloud itself?
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Sunday, March 31, 2019
April 2019
On Tuesday March 19th I met with members from the congregational cluster of St Paul’s, Council Bluffs and St John’s Glenwood. The people from St. John’s had had to come a circuitous route because of the closed roads in the region due to flooding. They were also tired from becoming a distribution center for blankets, clothes, tarps, water and food. They were themselves cut off from fresh water supplies. The other cluster congregation is St. John’s, Shenandoah, and they were unable to make the journey at all. The senior warden was busy mopping out flood water from her business office, and the priest, Holly Scherff, was occupied with being our diocesan point person for the SW region flood disaster relief. Holly had been mulling over God’s impeccable timing, as she returned to a flooded area from a Disaster Relief Training Conference in Chicago. In fact, her hour long drive home took twice as long as she navigated flood detours to get home in the dark.
These are still early days for our response. As Holly wrote for the clergy listserve:
Holly has been attempting to contact the twenty Episcopal congregations which she has identified within the fifty-two counties that the Governor has proclaimed as disaster areas. Many of our congregations are small and do not have office staff during the day, and so communication has been difficult. I encourage you, if you are a congregation in one of those counties to reach out to her at 515-227-6940, or at scherffh@gmail.com. Also, The Episcopal Church has been building an asset map of all its congregations (that the “find a church” button on the website links to) which could be utilized more easily for such a challenging occasion like this, and it is sadly underutilized and under-informed when it comes to our Iowa congregations. It is a site which invites each congregation to fill out information about locations, and so this would be a good time to be reminded of its potential importance to us all and to invite you to find someone who might be willing to put you on the map.
Unfortunately, the worst is not behind us, and the flooding is spread up the western part of the state, and into South Dakota and Nebraska Native lands. As we are planning a visit by partners from the Episcopal Relief and Development US Disaster Program in the second week of April, we hope to bear those areas in mind as well. So, please be in touch; do not be hesitant in reaching out for assistance for yourselves and for your neighbors or community. In the meantime, Holly reminds us that
To this end Jesus calls us “o’er the tumult.”
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Click to learn how to update the Asset Map for your congregation!
These are still early days for our response. As Holly wrote for the clergy listserve:
“As many of you know, SW Iowa has several communities under water. The water has started to recede and clean up has begun and yet there is still much Spring to endure. Iowa has shown its true colors by providing these communities with all they need and more. Much more, in fact, to the point that we no longer know what to do with it all. Currently if you feel compelled to help in some way, please consider a donation to the Bishop’s Crisis Fund [payable to Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, 225 37th St., Des Moines, 50312], which is an internal diocesan fund for emergencies like this, or to Episcopal Relief and Development. As the mucking out progresses, needs will arise, and I will do my best to keep you informed. Prayers for endurance and wisdom are appreciated.”
Holly has been attempting to contact the twenty Episcopal congregations which she has identified within the fifty-two counties that the Governor has proclaimed as disaster areas. Many of our congregations are small and do not have office staff during the day, and so communication has been difficult. I encourage you, if you are a congregation in one of those counties to reach out to her at 515-227-6940, or at scherffh@gmail.com. Also, The Episcopal Church has been building an asset map of all its congregations (that the “find a church” button on the website links to) which could be utilized more easily for such a challenging occasion like this, and it is sadly underutilized and under-informed when it comes to our Iowa congregations. It is a site which invites each congregation to fill out information about locations, and so this would be a good time to be reminded of its potential importance to us all and to invite you to find someone who might be willing to put you on the map.
Unfortunately, the worst is not behind us, and the flooding is spread up the western part of the state, and into South Dakota and Nebraska Native lands. As we are planning a visit by partners from the Episcopal Relief and Development US Disaster Program in the second week of April, we hope to bear those areas in mind as well. So, please be in touch; do not be hesitant in reaching out for assistance for yourselves and for your neighbors or community. In the meantime, Holly reminds us that
“it is helpful to remember that one of the guiding principles of the Episcopal Church in responding to such disasters is to ask the question ‘who is it in the community that are the most vulnerable, most hidden from the public eye, and under-served?’”
To this end Jesus calls us “o’er the tumult.”
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Click to learn how to update the Asset Map for your congregation!
Sunday, March 3, 2019
March 2019
The apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthians would speak of the contrasting experiences that were part of his ministry, all seemingly happening at the same time. He never let the difficult times get the upper hand, and could always seem to rally around the reality of God's grace and overcoming through the Risen Christ. His message is that we always have the care of the Churches and the evangelistic mission of the Gospel before us, no matter what our circumstances. That is important to remember for those of us hurting badly with the United Methodist Church members on their Special General Conference's decision to prohibit same gender marriages, and to penalize clergy who permit them. At the Cathedral on Sunday, I invited us to carry them in our prayers. I also voiced my deep disappointment at the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision not to invite the spouses of gay and lesbian bishops to Lambeth, though the bishops are invited. On this I refer you to the letter to the Diocese of New York by their bishops, which includes one of the affected parties, Mary Glaspool and her spouse Becky. These were a couple of the topics being gently and lovingly discussed as bishops met with the Presiding Bishop before the joyous and wonderful consecration of our own Cathleen Bascom as Bishop of Kansas.
These are the ongoing conditions in which we are always invited to minister, and to keep our eyes on the prize that is knowing, loving, suffering and rejoicing with the Lord Jesus. With that in mind, I want our attention to turn to the engagement of all followers of Jesus—all disciples—in the work of extending love. Love for the Gospel, love for neighbor, love for this planet of the Lord’s, love for growing in the Way of Love, love for worship in a lively manner and space, love for justice, and love for bridging the gap with the new upcoming generation.
These are the topics most requested during last year’s Growing Iowa Leaders days. And in 2019 through to 2020, starting at the Summer Ministry School and Retreat in Grinnell, I am inviting you to find your ministry and passion and commit twelve months to intentional growth and training in it.
We have asked presenters from last year to return and be coaches for a year in seven areas of ministry. The coaching program will begin with a face to face gathering (in most cases in Grinnell in June) and then continue with monthly zoom sessions as you put your learnings into action at the local level. The seven cohorts, or learning groups, being offered are:
I am inviting you to sign up for the cohort of your passion in ministry. If possible, it would be great to have pairs of people from any given congregation for an Engagement topic, but if God is beginning with you alone then that is exciting. We have never done anything like this before; and yet it is what we can offer thanks to the ongoing blessing of the gift we received last year that keeps on giving.
You have heard me talk of my pastor from my youth days and his fundamental and prayerful question—what is God going to do with this one? I look towards these growing cohorts and ask about you the very same thing. This is a Lenten call, and an Eastertide call; an Advent call and a back to Epiphany call.
If you are called towards one of those learning cohorts, you can register for Summer Ministry School and Retreat here. Or, if you would like to discern with me about any of the offerings, I welcome you to contact me. God continues to equip the hands of Christ’s Church.
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
These are the ongoing conditions in which we are always invited to minister, and to keep our eyes on the prize that is knowing, loving, suffering and rejoicing with the Lord Jesus. With that in mind, I want our attention to turn to the engagement of all followers of Jesus—all disciples—in the work of extending love. Love for the Gospel, love for neighbor, love for this planet of the Lord’s, love for growing in the Way of Love, love for worship in a lively manner and space, love for justice, and love for bridging the gap with the new upcoming generation.
These are the topics most requested during last year’s Growing Iowa Leaders days. And in 2019 through to 2020, starting at the Summer Ministry School and Retreat in Grinnell, I am inviting you to find your ministry and passion and commit twelve months to intentional growth and training in it.We have asked presenters from last year to return and be coaches for a year in seven areas of ministry. The coaching program will begin with a face to face gathering (in most cases in Grinnell in June) and then continue with monthly zoom sessions as you put your learnings into action at the local level. The seven cohorts, or learning groups, being offered are:
- ENGAGING Our Stories as Disciples: Evangelism & Discipleship
- ENGAGING New Generations of Faith
- ENGAGING Creative Expressions of Worship
- ENGAGING the Way of Love and Discipleship
- ENGAGING Our Neighbors and Neighborhoods: Mission
- ENGAGING Justice through Public Policy
- ENGAGING Our Resources
I am inviting you to sign up for the cohort of your passion in ministry. If possible, it would be great to have pairs of people from any given congregation for an Engagement topic, but if God is beginning with you alone then that is exciting. We have never done anything like this before; and yet it is what we can offer thanks to the ongoing blessing of the gift we received last year that keeps on giving.
You have heard me talk of my pastor from my youth days and his fundamental and prayerful question—what is God going to do with this one? I look towards these growing cohorts and ask about you the very same thing. This is a Lenten call, and an Eastertide call; an Advent call and a back to Epiphany call.
If you are called towards one of those learning cohorts, you can register for Summer Ministry School and Retreat here. Or, if you would like to discern with me about any of the offerings, I welcome you to contact me. God continues to equip the hands of Christ’s Church.
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
From Nzara: “Living in a good place far, far away”
The Zande term for heaven is literally the good place far, far away. It may hint of pre-“Honest to God” theology, in which Bishop John Robinson sought to dismantle the up and down dimension of heaven and hell; but that would be to underestimate the Christians of the Diocese of Nzara. Yet when you think of this phrase as it impacts us psychologically and spiritually, and consider that this is a place where faith teaches us to live, then you find meaning in the words “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Zande people have other interesting phrases. If they can’t quite grasp your name, they may say that “they haven’t found room for it in their head as yet.” A literal translation of the question—how did you sleep last night? – comes across with the much livelier inquiry – “what is the news of your sleeping?” And so heaven is a compound word that translates “the good place far, far away.” It is linked of course in the Lord’s Prayer with earth—or this extensive surface of land on which we stand.
Living in a good place far, far away is not escapism. Therapy in our culture might invite someone to “find their good place.” We want youth groups to bond over highs and lows. And maybe we should just concentrate on the highs as I am told by my Improv coach and player daughter that playing out of one’s negative side is always the cheaper laugh. Learning spontaneity and creative reactivity from what is positive is much more difficult and requires more discipline. “Rejoice in the Lord, always,” says the Apostle Paul, “and again I say rejoice.” He writes that after he has called us to the discipline of thinking on those things that are good, true, honorable and worthy of praise.
In other words—think and live into that good place far, far away. Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come on this surface on which we stand as it is already experienced in that good place far, far away. Jesus adds that the Kingdom of heaven is come near, and the response of entry is to turn around your life, its direction and presumably its frames of reference. This good place far, far away is among you. We are invited to head there; and are reminded that faith is that certainty of things yet unseen.
I realize that I am experiencing life in the Cathedral compound of All Saints in Nzara, South Sudan, during a rather special week when the Diocese comes together, to live, counsel and worship together. At any moment you see people sitting around enjoying each other, cooking and then gathering for their Synod meetings. Clergy Conference has been going for two days during the week, and we have just concluded the week with a five hour ordination service, at which I came on to preach in the fourth hour! And they wanted a sermon no shorter than twenty minutes.
“They feel safe here,” said Aida Peni, the Bishop’s wife. Not everyone can live in the compound, but those who do, including the Diocesan and Cathedral staff, have a growing community around them. The reality on this earth is that the peace that opened up a crack in the war clouds afflicting the country is fragile, even as talks go on. Opposing forces remain in their camps and are far from ready to dismantle. Our gathering was a three hour walk away from such a camp. The strife has created untold suffering and misery, deprivation and frustrated plans to harness creative and imaginary capable minds with material possibility and progress in daily life.
Yet the Diocese of Nzara celebrated—ten years of war and conflict-interrupted development as a parish, and yet still achieving most of its goals for five years in two. People’s health, children’s education and the spiritual goals of the Gospel are their foci, and the Diocese of Iowa has walked alongside the entire time. It was right to use this window of peace to share in their ten year celebration.
“We are oppressed,” said the Apostle Paul, “but never crushed.” Paul set his citizenship in heaven—that good place far, far away—not to pursue pie in the sky, but because he had access to heaven on earth through his profound faith in Jesus Christ. When he declared to the Romans that nothing could separate us from the love of God, it was because “such is the Kingdom of heaven.” The fruits of the Spirit of joy, peace, hope, patience, love etc. are heavenly fruits; as is the potential for justice, peace and reconciliation. It’s how we live in heaven; and it finds its expression through living committed faith on earth. Paul set his citizenship in that good place far, far away, and he was able to bring it very close to the lives of the men and women he met. And he so committed to such a life that he would tell the Corinthians that if Christ is not risen he was the most pitiable of humans. No one wants that reputation. Yet who is the fool when you can connect and live now in that good place far, far away? Death or that moment when “your visa expires”—another new contemporary Zande phrase—then becomes the “coming home” of which we so often speak.
Christian faith is bound up in the rhythm of death and resurrection. As Lent approaches we are reminded that it is the way of Jesus. Baptism also starts us down such a path of understanding. Are children simply made a deeper part of the family of faith, or are they brought to that good place far, far away which begins with those first steps of faith? Living as in heaven is our Lord’s Prayer.
It's an incredibly hard life in South Sudan, and in Nzara, our companion diocese. Faith however creates exuberant joy in worship, fervor in prayer, and a commitment to live each day for the health and education and transformation of others and society. It’s what they claim God expects in God’s loving way.
As guests here I know that we are skillfully and lovingly kept away from their deepest and even common pains. For after all, we might not have found the room yet in our minds to access that good place far, far away that Jesus opens to us for this very life we live, and to which our orientation as people of faith following Jesus seeks to direct us. We may still be thinking how the will and kingdom of God starts on earth, and heaven is something we build. It’s a wonderful eye opener to contemplate that the good place far, far away is what we by faith now live, and our mission is to bring it on earth as we do so.
The Zande people have other interesting phrases. If they can’t quite grasp your name, they may say that “they haven’t found room for it in their head as yet.” A literal translation of the question—how did you sleep last night? – comes across with the much livelier inquiry – “what is the news of your sleeping?” And so heaven is a compound word that translates “the good place far, far away.” It is linked of course in the Lord’s Prayer with earth—or this extensive surface of land on which we stand.
Living in a good place far, far away is not escapism. Therapy in our culture might invite someone to “find their good place.” We want youth groups to bond over highs and lows. And maybe we should just concentrate on the highs as I am told by my Improv coach and player daughter that playing out of one’s negative side is always the cheaper laugh. Learning spontaneity and creative reactivity from what is positive is much more difficult and requires more discipline. “Rejoice in the Lord, always,” says the Apostle Paul, “and again I say rejoice.” He writes that after he has called us to the discipline of thinking on those things that are good, true, honorable and worthy of praise.
In other words—think and live into that good place far, far away. Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come on this surface on which we stand as it is already experienced in that good place far, far away. Jesus adds that the Kingdom of heaven is come near, and the response of entry is to turn around your life, its direction and presumably its frames of reference. This good place far, far away is among you. We are invited to head there; and are reminded that faith is that certainty of things yet unseen.
I realize that I am experiencing life in the Cathedral compound of All Saints in Nzara, South Sudan, during a rather special week when the Diocese comes together, to live, counsel and worship together. At any moment you see people sitting around enjoying each other, cooking and then gathering for their Synod meetings. Clergy Conference has been going for two days during the week, and we have just concluded the week with a five hour ordination service, at which I came on to preach in the fourth hour! And they wanted a sermon no shorter than twenty minutes.
“They feel safe here,” said Aida Peni, the Bishop’s wife. Not everyone can live in the compound, but those who do, including the Diocesan and Cathedral staff, have a growing community around them. The reality on this earth is that the peace that opened up a crack in the war clouds afflicting the country is fragile, even as talks go on. Opposing forces remain in their camps and are far from ready to dismantle. Our gathering was a three hour walk away from such a camp. The strife has created untold suffering and misery, deprivation and frustrated plans to harness creative and imaginary capable minds with material possibility and progress in daily life.
Yet the Diocese of Nzara celebrated—ten years of war and conflict-interrupted development as a parish, and yet still achieving most of its goals for five years in two. People’s health, children’s education and the spiritual goals of the Gospel are their foci, and the Diocese of Iowa has walked alongside the entire time. It was right to use this window of peace to share in their ten year celebration.
“We are oppressed,” said the Apostle Paul, “but never crushed.” Paul set his citizenship in heaven—that good place far, far away—not to pursue pie in the sky, but because he had access to heaven on earth through his profound faith in Jesus Christ. When he declared to the Romans that nothing could separate us from the love of God, it was because “such is the Kingdom of heaven.” The fruits of the Spirit of joy, peace, hope, patience, love etc. are heavenly fruits; as is the potential for justice, peace and reconciliation. It’s how we live in heaven; and it finds its expression through living committed faith on earth. Paul set his citizenship in that good place far, far away, and he was able to bring it very close to the lives of the men and women he met. And he so committed to such a life that he would tell the Corinthians that if Christ is not risen he was the most pitiable of humans. No one wants that reputation. Yet who is the fool when you can connect and live now in that good place far, far away? Death or that moment when “your visa expires”—another new contemporary Zande phrase—then becomes the “coming home” of which we so often speak.
Christian faith is bound up in the rhythm of death and resurrection. As Lent approaches we are reminded that it is the way of Jesus. Baptism also starts us down such a path of understanding. Are children simply made a deeper part of the family of faith, or are they brought to that good place far, far away which begins with those first steps of faith? Living as in heaven is our Lord’s Prayer.
It's an incredibly hard life in South Sudan, and in Nzara, our companion diocese. Faith however creates exuberant joy in worship, fervor in prayer, and a commitment to live each day for the health and education and transformation of others and society. It’s what they claim God expects in God’s loving way.
As guests here I know that we are skillfully and lovingly kept away from their deepest and even common pains. For after all, we might not have found the room yet in our minds to access that good place far, far away that Jesus opens to us for this very life we live, and to which our orientation as people of faith following Jesus seeks to direct us. We may still be thinking how the will and kingdom of God starts on earth, and heaven is something we build. It’s a wonderful eye opener to contemplate that the good place far, far away is what we by faith now live, and our mission is to bring it on earth as we do so.
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| The inauguration of 6 classrooms and two offices for St. Timothy Nursery and Primary School in the Diocese of Nzara. Photo: Victor Mangu Elisama |
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| the inauguration of 6 classrooms and two offices for St. Timothy Nursery and Primary School in the Diocese of Nzara. Photo: Victor Mangu Elisama |
Sunday, February 17, 2019
From Nzara
You awake to drums, and are summoned by drums to tea breaks during your workshops or to prayer in the Cathedral in the morning. Rosters crow incessantly in the morning, just in case you didn’t get the message that a new day has dawned. Days are not taken for granted here and so with genuine gratefulness, you greet God’s blessing of the new day. Life is God’s ongoing gift, and it is offered in the age long refrain “And it was morning and evening—(another) day.”
As jet lag from the thirty-hour journey wanes, you find a new rhythm to life. It is life in community, where the bishop’s house is home not only to his own children but to any number of others whom he has taken under his wing—some from early childhood to becoming adults. All of this is in a life uncompensated by the artificial notion of salary.
Somehow travel expenses are met in a busy global ministry; schools are expanded to accommodate increasing number of students; and solar panels are the building blocks of their own electrical grid. The great gift of water—clean though not yet “running” except to its five points of distribution around and outside the Cathedral compound. This is a Cathedral and Diocesan staff that lives together in community, in a growing village of “tukols,” or huts fashioning an intergenerational homestead.
Is this a way of life that commercialized urbanization has never reached or has left behind? Or is it an ongoing, ancient choice of how to live that we have forgotten and lost to our sorrow? Certainly it is a choice seeking best of all worlds as modern technology increases its reach. Laughter rings out from morning to night. Children lead prayers, and people know how to welcome strangers and how to open their lives to say thank you for being with us.
I have just enjoyed two days of workshops with the clergy of the Diocese, tackling the thorny question of blending Hebrew and Christian scriptures on the first day, and going deeply into the Lord’s Prayer on the second day, showing how to use it as a faith telling course for baptism and confirmation preparation. And now we have begun to experience the open and honest accountability sessions which make up the Nzara Diocese in Synod.
In the meantime it has been a joy to see the Iowa team absorbed in their specific work here – helping the Mother’s Union find the confidence to make their own uniforms (Abigail and Marci from St Timothy’s West Des Moines) or exploring the set up of creating their own diocesan pineapple wine for communion (Mel Schlachter). This is about capacity building—and saving the expense of Ugandan imports for both entities. And yet everything is done around prayer and singing, laughter and joy. And if we wonder how is all this possible even as the clouds of civil war have barely broken open to let in sun rays of peace, well I think the clergy group know the answer—for do we not pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done—on earth as it is in heaven?” Live as in heaven, and seek to bring its reality to this land surface of ours. That is the secret of this place. We might almost say “Is this heaven? No it’s Nzara!” But they live as if it is so!
+Alan
As jet lag from the thirty-hour journey wanes, you find a new rhythm to life. It is life in community, where the bishop’s house is home not only to his own children but to any number of others whom he has taken under his wing—some from early childhood to becoming adults. All of this is in a life uncompensated by the artificial notion of salary.
Somehow travel expenses are met in a busy global ministry; schools are expanded to accommodate increasing number of students; and solar panels are the building blocks of their own electrical grid. The great gift of water—clean though not yet “running” except to its five points of distribution around and outside the Cathedral compound. This is a Cathedral and Diocesan staff that lives together in community, in a growing village of “tukols,” or huts fashioning an intergenerational homestead.
Is this a way of life that commercialized urbanization has never reached or has left behind? Or is it an ongoing, ancient choice of how to live that we have forgotten and lost to our sorrow? Certainly it is a choice seeking best of all worlds as modern technology increases its reach. Laughter rings out from morning to night. Children lead prayers, and people know how to welcome strangers and how to open their lives to say thank you for being with us.
I have just enjoyed two days of workshops with the clergy of the Diocese, tackling the thorny question of blending Hebrew and Christian scriptures on the first day, and going deeply into the Lord’s Prayer on the second day, showing how to use it as a faith telling course for baptism and confirmation preparation. And now we have begun to experience the open and honest accountability sessions which make up the Nzara Diocese in Synod.
In the meantime it has been a joy to see the Iowa team absorbed in their specific work here – helping the Mother’s Union find the confidence to make their own uniforms (Abigail and Marci from St Timothy’s West Des Moines) or exploring the set up of creating their own diocesan pineapple wine for communion (Mel Schlachter). This is about capacity building—and saving the expense of Ugandan imports for both entities. And yet everything is done around prayer and singing, laughter and joy. And if we wonder how is all this possible even as the clouds of civil war have barely broken open to let in sun rays of peace, well I think the clergy group know the answer—for do we not pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done—on earth as it is in heaven?” Live as in heaven, and seek to bring its reality to this land surface of ours. That is the secret of this place. We might almost say “Is this heaven? No it’s Nzara!” But they live as if it is so!
+Alan
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
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| Photo Credit: M. Mordecai |
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
February 2019
“I have done what was mine to do. May God show you what is yours.” This quote from St. Francis was offered to the Iowa diocesan delegation in a response to the case study we presented at the Living Stones annual conference on the ministry of all the baptized. Our case study shared the story of four new ministry initiatives that have popped up in Iowa—Breaking Bread, The Way Station in Spencer, the Beloved Community Initiative, and Wild Church in Dubuque. We realized, as we presented, that we could have included so many more—Messy Church, Laundry Love, the Faith and Prairie Gardens, or even the shaping of a tree stump in Glenwood into “Praying Hands.” In fact, the people reflecting on our study wondered whether these new ministry initiatives, and the enthusiasm and support for them, were seen as a source of envy or threat or was the source of some dispiritedness among congregations that were struggling. It’s a worthy warning not to get overly excited by new and shiny things that we lose focus of everyone else. Again, we could have also referred them to the Revival, Growing Iowa Leaders or Engaging All Disciples consults and to the small church gatherings being planned for this Spring and Summer.
Part of the process of Living Stones is that the case study presenters get thirty minutes to speak, and then have to be silent for an hour and forty minutes while their reflectors enter into conversation about what they have heard. The reflectors obviously get only a slice of the whole picture but often their insights and wisdom prove invaluably for our movement forward. “Are these singular initiatives or can they be replicated in other places in the diocese?” was another insightful question.
“I have done what was mine to do. May God show you what is yours.” This is what engaging all disciples is all about. The assumption is that God is at work in everyone, and seeks for us to discover and engage what that work is. Most of it is found in the routine course of living our lives—of being in the Way of God’s Love for us and for everyone we encounter.
As I am never ashamed to repeat, I had the blessing of a pastor who asked, in prayer, “What will God do with this one?” for every one of his church members, and especially the younger ones. He threw us into preaching ministry in our late teens, encouraged us when we wanted to set up summer camp for children living in poverty and who had never been outside the city. And he prayed and discerned with us for God to show us what was ours to do. Ministry is a way of life; it is not a profession. It’s a call on our lives, and it takes as many forms as human beings vary from one another. There are so many gifts in ministry that I see manifest across the diocese: people who respond to need and hurt that is so obvious to them, and yet to which others of us might be oblivious. It’s through this ability to learn what is ours to do that God manages to bring about the Kingdom.
Near the end of the interaction in our Living Stones group, it was suggested that what we had presented were not really new initiatives; they were continuing initiatives—for God is always setting the whole ongoing work of Christ in new contexts. In that sense they seem new. If, however, through our new initiatives, Jesus is proclaiming forgiveness to sinners, purity to the unclean, hope to the joyless and oppressed, and life to the lost and despairing, then His work simply continues in our time and place as it did when St. Francis first heard in his time and place the Gospel call to sell all he had and give it to the poor.
God simply repeats this pattern, and invites us to engage. May God show you what is yours to do.
Part of the process of Living Stones is that the case study presenters get thirty minutes to speak, and then have to be silent for an hour and forty minutes while their reflectors enter into conversation about what they have heard. The reflectors obviously get only a slice of the whole picture but often their insights and wisdom prove invaluably for our movement forward. “Are these singular initiatives or can they be replicated in other places in the diocese?” was another insightful question.
“I have done what was mine to do. May God show you what is yours.” This is what engaging all disciples is all about. The assumption is that God is at work in everyone, and seeks for us to discover and engage what that work is. Most of it is found in the routine course of living our lives—of being in the Way of God’s Love for us and for everyone we encounter.
As I am never ashamed to repeat, I had the blessing of a pastor who asked, in prayer, “What will God do with this one?” for every one of his church members, and especially the younger ones. He threw us into preaching ministry in our late teens, encouraged us when we wanted to set up summer camp for children living in poverty and who had never been outside the city. And he prayed and discerned with us for God to show us what was ours to do. Ministry is a way of life; it is not a profession. It’s a call on our lives, and it takes as many forms as human beings vary from one another. There are so many gifts in ministry that I see manifest across the diocese: people who respond to need and hurt that is so obvious to them, and yet to which others of us might be oblivious. It’s through this ability to learn what is ours to do that God manages to bring about the Kingdom.
Near the end of the interaction in our Living Stones group, it was suggested that what we had presented were not really new initiatives; they were continuing initiatives—for God is always setting the whole ongoing work of Christ in new contexts. In that sense they seem new. If, however, through our new initiatives, Jesus is proclaiming forgiveness to sinners, purity to the unclean, hope to the joyless and oppressed, and life to the lost and despairing, then His work simply continues in our time and place as it did when St. Francis first heard in his time and place the Gospel call to sell all he had and give it to the poor.
God simply repeats this pattern, and invites us to engage. May God show you what is yours to do.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
January 2019
According to Susan Shain, writing in The New York Times, 31 December 2018, there are seven important elements of a successful New Year resolution of “new year, new you” (“How to Crush Your Habits in the New Year With the Help of Science”).
As I began reading the various formulas for developing the newly resolved you, the byline “From the Bishop” caught my attention. Is a bishop really into the pop psych business of New Year resolutions? Isn’t it more appropriate to reflect on the significance of January 1 being the Feast of the Holy Name? After all, it is into that Holy Name of Jesus that we all obtain our identity and the purpose of our resolved lives. We are followers of Jesus and are seeking to lose our lives to gain them as enriched, enhanced, and celebrated in Him. We believe that in that Name is our source of love, joy, and hope to which all our selves aspire.
We are also people who carry such a “treasure in an earthen vessel.” Muscles need exercising; love, joy, and hope are not solo efforts but communal; thoughts need the provocation and inspiration of listeners and storytellers alike. There’s always a personal readiness expected even as the Kingdom of God seeks to transform. It always helps to put ourselves in the way of potentially good becoming, and to acknowledge the freedom of moving away from what doesn’t help that same becoming.
And so I have overcome my uncertainty and am glad to offer the collective wisdom of the research of a New York Times writer, and invite you to consider how these seven principles may assist you as you grow more fully into the Name you have been given.
First, think big. What is the change you want to see by next New Year’s Eve and having picked the theme, find the satisfying ways that help you get there. Don’t pick the habit just because it’s meant to help, rather first pick the theme of change you desire. And in an atmosphere of trial and error discover what moves you closer to the chosen theme.
Second, be patient. Find the trigger and reward of the behavior you are trying to break, and seek to transform bad habits into better ones.
Third, break the new behavior down even to a two minute activity. Want to read more? Start with a page a day, and see where that can take you over a six month period. You’ll be surprised by the impact of “mastering the art of showing up.”
Fourth, embrace snappy rewards. These are not necessarily physical activities, but the way your new actions make you feel. “Choose the form of habit that brings you joy in the moment” (James Clear)—like volunteering in an environment you enjoy.
Fifth, prime your environment. This includes placing yourself in supportive places—like-minded groups, like a book club, or in a room with an unplugged tv, or in the presence of encouraging post-its. My best gardening season was when I chose to sit outside for morning coffee and devotions. I can spend days inside and then be amazed (and overwhelmed) at what happens to uncontrolled natural growth outside.
Sixth, plan to fail and have a recovery strategy on hand. Outsource your willpower by sharing your intentions with others who can hold your intention with you when you are hesitant or exhausted by your efforts.
Seventh, celebrate often. Take a selfie of the post-workout you. “Celebration is one of the emotions that propel persons forward....That gratitude, and authentic pride along with hope, social connection and compassion are the most effective emotions for promoting long-lasting behavior change. The least effective are shame, guilt and fear” (Kelly McGonigal).
It is obvious that much of the life of spiritual practice and attachment to a community of faith are already present in the seven elements. We just don’t always see our faith as a way of life. We separate our “personal” state from Church. And yet all we need is found together and it begins in the worshipping community of our local Episcopal congregation. Every week we come together to celebrate. We know how to outsource our willpower as a praying people. We promise that when we fail, we will turn again to the source of forgiveness and restoration. Failure is never the end of the road. And we will hold each other up.
We painstakingly work on creating an environment that reminds us of the beauty and fulfilment found in the presence of God and we probably could do more intentionally in this department. We are also learning how to create sacred space beyond Church buildings. It is a worthwhile exercise to take inventory on how our environments inspire aspiration and good resolve.
We are a “think big” people; and we have the tools if we would create the time and opportunity to break things down to their basics. This is a leadership challenge for the annual meeting and the vestry planning retreat. If you are a vestry of the whole, take a series of weekends early this year and ask where you want to be as a people of God by New Year’s Eve entering 2020; and set out the baby steps to move towards it. What would the two-minute challenges look like for you and yours? And don’t be afraid to extend creative rewards. Have fun with being Church, and let Church be fun. There was something God wanted to reflect when God placed a sense of humor and absurdity within us.
All of this is about growing in Christian mindfulness so that we may be the alert people God seeks to use each day to hallow the world. It is also about being available for “that day”—of the disaster, of the unforeseen consequence, of the time when those around you need your composure and faith; as a people prepared for any moment because we have learned to live in the moment which is what mindfulness, and our annual resolutions, seek to preserve.
A blessed New Year to you in the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Sources: Charles Duhigg, “The Power of the Habit”; Kelly McGonigal, “The Willpower instinct”; James Clear, “Atomic Habits”.
As I began reading the various formulas for developing the newly resolved you, the byline “From the Bishop” caught my attention. Is a bishop really into the pop psych business of New Year resolutions? Isn’t it more appropriate to reflect on the significance of January 1 being the Feast of the Holy Name? After all, it is into that Holy Name of Jesus that we all obtain our identity and the purpose of our resolved lives. We are followers of Jesus and are seeking to lose our lives to gain them as enriched, enhanced, and celebrated in Him. We believe that in that Name is our source of love, joy, and hope to which all our selves aspire.
We are also people who carry such a “treasure in an earthen vessel.” Muscles need exercising; love, joy, and hope are not solo efforts but communal; thoughts need the provocation and inspiration of listeners and storytellers alike. There’s always a personal readiness expected even as the Kingdom of God seeks to transform. It always helps to put ourselves in the way of potentially good becoming, and to acknowledge the freedom of moving away from what doesn’t help that same becoming.
And so I have overcome my uncertainty and am glad to offer the collective wisdom of the research of a New York Times writer, and invite you to consider how these seven principles may assist you as you grow more fully into the Name you have been given.
First, think big. What is the change you want to see by next New Year’s Eve and having picked the theme, find the satisfying ways that help you get there. Don’t pick the habit just because it’s meant to help, rather first pick the theme of change you desire. And in an atmosphere of trial and error discover what moves you closer to the chosen theme.
Second, be patient. Find the trigger and reward of the behavior you are trying to break, and seek to transform bad habits into better ones.
Third, break the new behavior down even to a two minute activity. Want to read more? Start with a page a day, and see where that can take you over a six month period. You’ll be surprised by the impact of “mastering the art of showing up.”
Fourth, embrace snappy rewards. These are not necessarily physical activities, but the way your new actions make you feel. “Choose the form of habit that brings you joy in the moment” (James Clear)—like volunteering in an environment you enjoy.
Fifth, prime your environment. This includes placing yourself in supportive places—like-minded groups, like a book club, or in a room with an unplugged tv, or in the presence of encouraging post-its. My best gardening season was when I chose to sit outside for morning coffee and devotions. I can spend days inside and then be amazed (and overwhelmed) at what happens to uncontrolled natural growth outside.
Sixth, plan to fail and have a recovery strategy on hand. Outsource your willpower by sharing your intentions with others who can hold your intention with you when you are hesitant or exhausted by your efforts.
Seventh, celebrate often. Take a selfie of the post-workout you. “Celebration is one of the emotions that propel persons forward....That gratitude, and authentic pride along with hope, social connection and compassion are the most effective emotions for promoting long-lasting behavior change. The least effective are shame, guilt and fear” (Kelly McGonigal).
It is obvious that much of the life of spiritual practice and attachment to a community of faith are already present in the seven elements. We just don’t always see our faith as a way of life. We separate our “personal” state from Church. And yet all we need is found together and it begins in the worshipping community of our local Episcopal congregation. Every week we come together to celebrate. We know how to outsource our willpower as a praying people. We promise that when we fail, we will turn again to the source of forgiveness and restoration. Failure is never the end of the road. And we will hold each other up.
We painstakingly work on creating an environment that reminds us of the beauty and fulfilment found in the presence of God and we probably could do more intentionally in this department. We are also learning how to create sacred space beyond Church buildings. It is a worthwhile exercise to take inventory on how our environments inspire aspiration and good resolve.
We are a “think big” people; and we have the tools if we would create the time and opportunity to break things down to their basics. This is a leadership challenge for the annual meeting and the vestry planning retreat. If you are a vestry of the whole, take a series of weekends early this year and ask where you want to be as a people of God by New Year’s Eve entering 2020; and set out the baby steps to move towards it. What would the two-minute challenges look like for you and yours? And don’t be afraid to extend creative rewards. Have fun with being Church, and let Church be fun. There was something God wanted to reflect when God placed a sense of humor and absurdity within us.
All of this is about growing in Christian mindfulness so that we may be the alert people God seeks to use each day to hallow the world. It is also about being available for “that day”—of the disaster, of the unforeseen consequence, of the time when those around you need your composure and faith; as a people prepared for any moment because we have learned to live in the moment which is what mindfulness, and our annual resolutions, seek to preserve.
A blessed New Year to you in the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Sources: Charles Duhigg, “The Power of the Habit”; Kelly McGonigal, “The Willpower instinct”; James Clear, “Atomic Habits”.
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