Saint Andrew Episcopal Church

Easter Sunday

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 06:35:00 -0700

Today is predicted a sunny day - a beautiful image of the power of resurrection. With each lingering blast of arctic air maintaining the chill of winter, I can feel the level of anxiety rise within and around me. We grow weary, around these parts, of putting our coats on, keeping our windows shut, not being able to go outside. We grow weary, but we do not doubt that no matter how long winter may keep her icy grip, we know…. We have no doubt, spring will come and summer will follow, bringing a whole new life cycle into our world; into our life.

In the C.S. Lewis’ fantasy classics, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, when we are first introduced to this land that lies beyond the closet, it is described as always being winter, and no Christmas. There is a curse on the land ever since the white witch has seized control of the land.

The author captures us, who live in a climate where winter kills everything. As winter grows, the landscape sinks into a deep sleep, the trees stand barren amidst the dark cold winter nights, and our neighbors are rarely seen and never spoken to for three months. It would be quite the nightmare, would it not? If there came a time when winter arrived to never leave? If our windows remained shut, our coats remained on, our bones ached, and our neighbors invisible all YEAR LONG! I know there are remote places upon this earth, where this dark fictional tale, is reality, where the earth remains frozen and the air icy all the time, which is why few to no people make their home there. Our creator knows, with every winter, there must be spring. With every dying – there must be a new living.

We share a common confidence, that regardless of how stubborn winter is being, our assurance that spring will surely come, is not daunted. We know that is how it works. But, we also share a common anxiety that when the dying seasons, the cold times, the vulnerable, sick, and frightened times, the old things passing away seasons come, we are all gripped with the fear and doubt, that life, new and vibrant, will never come back. We are all afraid to die. Because we are all afraid that death brings the end.

When Jesus came upon his good friend, Martha, whose brother had just died, She bore the same sorrow and lament you and I have, the grip and sadness of death has a way of making us feel, it will always be this way. New life, new ways, new adventures, new acquaintances, second, third, and fourth chances will never come. Winter is here…and it will never go away.

But we know… we have seen it year after year after year, the resurrection always comes. The buried bulbs break forth in color. The neighbors come out and exchange greetings. The air grows soft and warm. The song of the birds break each morning. We know that the season of winter comes in due time, and the season passes in due time, life begets death begets life. It is how God created. Death is not a tomb, it is a womb, from which new life always breaks forth.

I know the weariness of prolonged winters – times when lonliness, sickness, sadness, fear - have us convinced that they will be our companions forever. But the message of Easter rings out with exuberance and persistence – have faith, and re-joice. Our God is a God of life, every morning is new. There is an end to the valley and shadow of death, but there is no end to life. It is eternal. Just look around you and see: winter is passing – and new life is springing forth all around us.

Amen. And Blessed Easter.

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Palm Sunday

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 07:00:00 -0700

We join together with millions of others throughout the world to walk the final days of Jesus’ life. Of all the weeks in history, what a week re-lived for two millennia. The church is divinely ordained to recall these days for the sake of the world. It is important to remember the story of that final week of Jesus’ life because we need in it for our own times, in our own lives.

We know this story, how it begins with Jesus riding into Jerusalem amidst accolades and the greeting of palms and how quickly things go from promising to crushing. The world’s multitudes know how quickly life can turn from good to bad. We know what it feels like to be filled with hope and then to be filled with fear. Holy week is the story of when good and holy enters the bastion of power and violence. It is not a pretty sight. Holy week is the story of the champion being felled, the disciples falling short, the heart of a mother being broken.

Holy Week is a testimony of the beauty of love and the ugliness of hatred. It is a testimony of just how far hatred will go, and… is a testimony of how much further God’s grace and redemption will go. Holy week begins on a donkey and ends in the grave. The final week of Jesus’ life begins upon the mount of transfiguration amidst the ecstatic affirmation of divine love and belonging and ends upon a hill called Calvary, hung upon a cross enveloped by darkness and isolation.

Holy week must be remembered because the darkness and agony of those days return again and again in life. Those holy days return in the wake of diagnosis, tragic death, crippling addictions, broken marriages, acts of hatred.

Holy week is the eternal proclamation that there are times when days are dark and grow darker – when it feels like everything beautiful, holy, innocent, pure, lovely, and good is lost…dead….beaten….stripped of dignity…drained of life. Holy week recalls and relives that time of suffering and it places Jesus, the sacrament of God, the bearer of all that suffering, the victim of all that hatred, the condemned of all that judgment.

For me, the message of Holy week answers the question, “Where is God…” Where is God when countless innocents are being gunned down? Where is God when my body is stricken with disease? Where is God when my parent or spouse, no longer knows me as their son or husband? Where is God when my homeland is devastated by war, violence, corruption, or natural disaster? Holy week tells me where God is… not on the sidelines, not in the distance, not among the mourners, not safe with the righteous.

Where is God? Bullet ridden and bleeding out upon the pavement. Where is God? stricken and disfigured with disease. Where is God? Homeless and hunted as a refugee. Where is God? beaten and imprisoned, in agony and alone hanging in the balance. Where is God? Lying in the tomb.

Holy week is the story that tells the world, God is known amidst the glory, the beauty, the goodness, the richness, the joy of life and…. And … God is known in the agony, the suffering, the poverty, and the depression in life. And from these places the institutions of compassion, this yearly pilgrimage through the life of Jesus that we walk together every year.

Amen

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Padre's Post - Why The Church Does Holy Week

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Tue, 9 Apr 2019 16:00:00 -0700

It is an important message to remember. Holy Week is about the darkness and suffering in the world. It is about injustice and the isolation felt when the weight of the world falls upon your shoulders. Holy Week is about the reality of cruelty and callous nature that resides in the seats of power and authority. It is about the inability to stand with those you love amidst their darkest hour. It is about betrayal and being sold out by someone you loved and welcomed into your circle of friendship and community.

Holy Week is about the suffering of the innocent and the victory of the ruthless. It is about forgiveness, sorrow, disappointment, anguish, abandonment, and death. Holy Week is about the worst of times and the crushing of dreams. It is about suffering and a diagnosis of death. Why does the church do Holy Week? Because these events remain in the world around and beyond us and the church is called to be present - amidst the bleak and darkened days of our world.

Frankly, I myself have no interest in a church that cannot be present and engaged amidst the worst of times, but chooses only to observe the most glorious of days.

Be present with the world in her suffering, be present with the church in Holy Week.

Fr, Richard

Knowing God In Death And Dying

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 7 Apr 2019 07:00:00 -0700

As we approach Easter we must walk through the valley of death. Of course, if Easter is all about resurrection then we must enter through the door of death. Most of us in this room are quite acquainted with death. We have lost loved ones, friends, parents, wives and husbands. Some of us have suffered the death of our children, and most all of us are well along the second half of life. More years lie behind us then lay before us. We generally deal with death by trying not to think about it, and yet our own Christian tradition speaks often and encourages us to contemplate our own death, for the sake of embracing every moment of life.

Paul wrote, I want to know Jesus in his suffering and in his dying, so I may know him in his resurrection and his joy. Throughout Lent, a handful of us walk the Stations of the Cross. As I have walked the Stations, I think of the suffering and death present both in the parish and in our world. Healthy religion does not steer us away from death, but gives us grace, compassion, peace, and courage, to be present with others and to accept our own dying, with the faith that life changes but does not end through death.

We must have a spirituality that can be present in other’s and in our own time of dying, a spirituality that has seen the day break after long nights of darkness. A spirituality that can sit in a time of mourning, a spirituality that has learned there is no answer to “why”, but only the affirmation that before our own trail of tears and suffering, God, in Jesus, walked the path of suffering, grief, anguish, and death. If we are to know this Jesus, then we must know him in his suffering and death, before we can know him in his resurrection.

Life brings us to the dying places long before, and often before, our own time of dying. We enter into times of despair, depression, apathy, sadness, grief, disenchantment. Troubles through sickness – bad news – unfortunate events turn our laughter into tears, our zeal into apathy, our faith into disbelief, our belonging into estrangement. LIfe is filled with good and bad, sickness and health, financial stability and bankruptcy – life and death. A real spirituality does not call one a gift and blessing from God, and the other a curse or absence of God. Our faith tells us, we must know God in dying, before we can know God in living.

This is why the church does Holy Week. I do not believe those Christian communities and traditions that omit Holy Week to only celebrate Easter do their parishioners a favor. To see God only in the victories and risings and not in the losses and falling fail to recognize the very power of faith and grace and mercy and peace. It is knowing God in our times of being lost will we learn of God’s unfailing love for us. It is only knowing God in our times of suffering, will we learn of God’s mercies. It is only knowing God in death, will we learn that life survives death. It is only in knowing God in darkness, will we learn of God’s unquenchable light within us, restoring our fortunes and inspiring our dreams.

Amen

NOTE:

Audio is entitled "The Serpent", delivered by Richard Alexander

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Padre's Post – Holy Week

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Tue, 2 Apr 2019 16:00:00 -0700

Maundy Thursday, April 18, is for many at St. Andrew, a beloved experience. It is a remembrance of Jesus' last supper with his friends. The evening includes, footwashing, the sacrament of serving, and the agape meal shared amidst candle light in parish hall.

The evening will include some of our partners dedicated to serving others: Ruth Lawson, C.A.M.; Jeff Newton; K.U.O.; Ryan Sibray; U.M.C. Also joining us will be Doris Tudor, with a dramatic presentation of "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar."
The evening begins at 6pm. All are welcome during this most holy of weeks at St. Andrew.

Fr. Richard

Reconciling The World Unto God

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 07:00:00 -0700

4th Sunday of Lent

God is filled with grace and forgiveness and reconciliation. In Christ, God is reconciling the world unto God. There is unconditional love, boundless grace, inspiring beauty, and heart-melting compassion. When any of us find our way to God, we find there a place with greater expanse then we were led to believe or understand.

When any of us find our way to God we wonder, where did I get the idea that you were the God who condemns? Who punished? Who hated persons who were different than us? When any of us find our way to God, we recognize the beauty and grace found in all peoples, all ideals and faiths promoting the ways of faith, hope, love, compassion, peace. We wonder how any government can invoke the name of God to wage war? We wonder how any religion or ideology can invoke condemnation upon other religions and ideologies? We wonder how any tradition or system of belief can believe that they hold the exclusive truth and revelation of the divine and cosmic mysteries? We wonder who created that God who hated the gays, the western ways, the eastern philosophies, the liberal perspective, the conservative platform?

Who is this God of political power and abundant wealth? Who is this God that favors the dominant cultures and powers that inflict segregation, discrimination, and down-right oppression upon the vulnerable peoples they govern? Who was that God who rejected those who could not and would not accept a belief in such a God? Who rejected those who suspended belief and trust in anything beyond their own understanding or reason? Who promoted the highest accountability upon humanity, not for the sake of religious zeal, but for the sake of a better world?

Why did I grow up being taught that Christianity was the only true religion, a gay person was sick, white people are privileged, and men should be in charge? These are all cultural ways that work well for those they favor but that does not mean these ways are the ways of God. In God, through Christ, the whole world is being reconciled, brought forth into the ways of compassion, wellness, equity, and beloved community.

In God, I see how BIG God is. I see God greeting all God’s creation coming home from their ways of squandering the riches of God on bigotry, pride, arrogance, greed, discrimination, hatred, and judgment. I see hearts melting for those once hated. I see the right hand shaking the left, both embracing the other in mutual affirmation for a broader view. I see the children of Abraham sharing community together. I see the West affirming the depth of the East, I see the East affirming the wisdom of the West.

I listen to the news about chaos in parliament over Brexit, hunger and revolution in Venezuela, nuclear warfare threatened between superpowers, our own government crippled by partisan ideology and politics. And I hear some proclaim that God is in this restoring the ways of yesterday. It is hard for me to see God in governments, ideologies, or dominance. I don’t see God in great wealth or in poverty. I don’t see God only with us and not with them. I see God reconciling the world, the whole world, in Christ, NOT IN CHRISTIANITY, but in Christ, the One in whom all live and move and have their being. In Christ, the one who laid down his life for the whole world, not just our part of the world! In Christ, the one who loved his neighbor as himself and included those who were not of his own. In Christ, the one who said do not judge, do not live only for yourself, but love one another as I have loved you. In Christ, the healer, the teacher, the wounded, the redemptive.

We are living through contentious, judgy, factious times. The internet promised world unity but we have made it the voice of contention and hatred. These are not the times to proclaim our own righteousness. This is a time to leave the ways of pigs and self-indulgence and make our way back to the arms of God, the arms of compassion, of forgiveness, of grace, of reconciliation. The only arms big and wide enough to restore beloved community amidst the broad diversity that is the world, the same world God is reconciling in Christ.

Amen

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Padre's Post – Lent

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:00:00 -0700

In the season of Lent the church turns her attention to the challenges and suffering in life. At St. andrew we walk the Stations of the Cross three times a week as a Lenten observance. This ancient devotion does not shy away or deny the agony and suffering that is present in life; nor does it deny the human emotions of feeling persecuted, abandoned, and despised amidst our darkest hours.

All you who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is in tumult; my heart is poured out in grief because of the downfall of my people. “Do not call me Naomi (which means Pleasant) call me Mara (which means Bitter); for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” (13th station)

Walking the stations at Lent reminds me the church's place is not only in the joyful and triumphant experiences in life, but also a companion upon the path of sorrows and suffering that are prevalent in these times.

Fr. Richard

The Celtic Cross

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 07:00:00 -0700

The Celtic cross, with the circle forming a frame for the intersecting pieces of the Christian cross, is a beautiful symbol of the balance between heaven and earth, soil and seas, flesh and spirit, grace and grit that Celtic spirituality offers. In the Celtic cross we see divine beauty, symmetry, and balance demonstrated by the circle juxtaposed by the reality of suffering, injustice, sacrifice, and redemption demonstrated by the symbol of the Cross. These two contrasting symbols are held together by the non-dualistic theology and thought that exists within Celtic spirituality.

It makes sense for the circle to be a divine symbol. When we look into the heavens, we see the bright circular sun that lights and warms the day, and the translucent moon, when in its fullness, glows in the night sky, the most beautiful of circles. When we look out into the distance, we observe the curvature of the horizon, and with each passing day we watch the sun make its semi-circle journey from its eastern rising to its western setting; the moon following its path by night. Each year, the seasons come to us in their due time and order, marking the annual journey from the rest and conception of winter to the harvest and dying of autumn. This ancient and eternal pattern is seen in our own Catholic faith as we walk the seasons of the Christ, from his conception to his resurrection through the holy seasons of the church.

Here at St. Andrew, we have been contemplating the symbol of the circle and what it can teach us in our day; the idea that in a circle, people are facing each other offering mutual commitment to maintain the balance and integrity of the circle. A circle can only be a circle when left is in sync with right, when top and bottom maintain a rotational exchange of position. In a circle, members do not form parallel and opposing lines facing off against one another, but instead each hold a place at the periphery, living together in balance around shared ideas and purpose, even while holding diverse position and perspective.

Our lives consist of circles: the circle of our relationships, the family circles, the friendship circles, our community circles, our business, religious, political, and world circles. If mutual affection and respect are not practiced and maintained, then what we are left with ceases to be a circle: but instead become broken and opposing lines and fragments; and God in Christ is not fragment, but is the whole circle in which all move and breath and have their being.

When Patrick brought the message of Christianity to the Celtic culture of Ireland, he himself was converted to the divine symbol of the circle. The circle was the template by which the system of Celtic society was developed. He did not find the hierarchical pyramid, or distinct lines and strata of classes prevalent in the Roman Empire, but instead he found tightly formed and decentralized clans. Patrick introduced the message of Christ, a man in whom god was incarnate, thus joining heaven with earth, flesh with spirit.

Christ was the sacrament of God, the outward and visible manifestation of the invisible mystery and grace of the divine. In Jesus, the Christ, the circle was evident by the Lord of all becoming a servant, the almighty becoming vulnerable, the holy one taking upon the harsh realities of great suffering and cruelty and pain, eternal life taking upon death. The circle was shown with the shame of our lives being embraced and absolved by the grace of God’s love. The circle was shown by how this Jesus himself became a chieftain, who gathered around himself a small circle of disciples and followers, who, though he was the eternal light, did not seek a throne or a kingdom, but instead walked the way of the poor, the powerless, the sick, the peasant, and the poet.

Being the eternal light he entered the darkness of the tomb. Jesus did not rule, he taught. Jesus did not condemn, he absolved. Jesus did not hurt or threaten, he healed and redeemed. Jesus was the great circle who turned our lives and our world upside down. He brought together, east with west, north with south, jew with gentile, male with female and showed all of creation that we are not fragmented or separate from each other, but co-exist in the great circle that is the Christ.

We are in a time of examining and contemplating the conditions of the circles in our own life and time; the way we live with ourselves, our family, our parish, our community, our nation, and our world. We are contemplating the conditions of our culture and society, and we are asking what will heal our own sense of isolation, what will mend our tattered and torn society?

I believe the Celtic cross, with its marriage of the encompassing circle around the harsh but redemptive cross gives to us the path of bringing together the great diversity and contrasting perspectives of our times. This symbol for us becomes a powerful totem that heals where the circles and bonds of community have been broken, with the love and redemption that God has made incarnate in the world through the life, teaching, and suffering of Christ symbolized by the Cross.

May our own circles be healed as we practice the ways of humility and forgiveness, grace and hospitality. May our own circles be healed as we renew our attention and our affection for all who share the circles of family, of parish, of city, of nation, and of world. May we choose to be healers and teachers. May we choose to serve instead of control, may we choose to listen instead of opinionate. May we build bridges instead of walls. May we see our life and our world with same view as that of the countless satellites that orbit our planet see – a beautiful and holy circle; guided along a symmetrical path by invisible forces. Held together by diverse and countless factors working together to sustain and inspire our world.

Amen

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Remember That You Are Of The Earth

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 07:00:00 -0700

As I impose ashes on Ash Wednesday I say the words, “Remember that you are of dust, and to the dust you shall return,” But in my mind I say, “Remember that you are of the earth, and to the earth you shall return”. For me, Lent is the season to return to the elementary foundations of our life. The word translated here is humus, from which the word humility is derived. We are called back to the simple ways of God; the ways of love, of kindness and generosity. Being from the earth, we, like all creation, rely upon the primal elements of light, and water, nourishment from the land around us. For me, Ash Wednesday is a day calling us back to the origins of the goodness, and divine relationship by which this whole spiritual journey is about.

The whole season of Lent is about returning to the humus, to the place of our belonging – that place of receiving rain from the heavens, food from the seed, meat from livestock, love from God. The story we read and see and hear throughout the sacred scriptures, written upon the page and in our lives, is the story about returning to the place of gracious belonging – a relationship from which we receive in faith, and we give back in faith.

Our modern culture with its mass production techniques has realized the destruction caused by taking from the land without giving back. Farming techniques that exploit the natural resources and replace them with chemicals have created a crisis in both the land and in our diet. This is not the natural or the divine way to live. From the beginning, the children of God are instructed, “when you have come into the land of your inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord, your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and bring it to the priest…” The passage in Deuteronomy instructs the descendants of Abraham to remember from where they have come and to remember all the ways by which the land which God gave to them, has given them a home and provided blessing and sustenance.

The ritual of giving back in faith at the altar of your God is the beginning of the eternal balance; from the creator of all we have received, and from what we have received we return in thanksgiving upon the altar of faith. Jesus said it in simpler terms; freely you have received; now freely give. It is the most basic and simplest way to prevent your life from only receiving; from only taking. The act of bringing your offering to the altar of your God, is an act of faith, of gratitude, and of humility – a conscious declaration that all things come from Thee, O God, and from thine own we give.”

Lent calls us back to the earth, sharing with all of creation this relationship of dwelling in the shelter of the most high. As Jesus taught, the sparrow is fed, the lily is adorned, and we are given all and more than we need. Where does it all come from? How did our lives become so full? Who do we have to be thankful? Is it so hard or foolish to give back, in a similar spirit and generosity in which we have received?

Early in our life together, Annie was explaining to a family member our practice of giving back a portion of our income as a faith and thank offering to God. He thought the whole idea was a little kooky and risky. I remember thinking, what is so kooky about giving back from all that we have received? And the idea of it being risky? Well, I suppose a synonym for faith and trust, is taking a risk. But this simple act of bringing to God an offering of faith is the opening statement of a whole life narrative of living under the shadow of God’s nurturing and loving wing. It is for me, the ground of faith. Giving back in kind and substance, an offering of love and gratitude and sacrifice, for all that has been so generously been provided to me and my family.

Amen

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The Mount Of Transfiguration

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 3 Mar 2019 07:00:00 -0800

Why is the mount of transfiguration observed on the last Sunday following the epiphany? Perhaps it is the ultimate epiphany of Jesus’ divine nature? Perhaps, it is that iconic “mountaintop experience” that we all must descend from to face the struggles and suffering in life, as Jesus did turning his face toward Jerusalem, the church turns her face to LENT? Perhaps it is the image of being so close to Jesus as Peter, James, and John were, and still not understanding the significance of his life? They, like ourselves, still naïve and foolish in our understanding of the unseen and divine wonders that are all around us. Thus, calling us to a deeper walk, a walk of mindful reflection and willing to bear the suffering in this world, and intercede on behalf of the suffering and powerless in this world which is the call of LENT? There are various good answers to the question, why is the mount of transfiguration observed the Sunday before Lent.

I find the timing and placement of this story within our liturgical journey of the church very telling and appropriate. The spiritual journey is all about coming to new awareness of life, followed by a dying process, followed by resurrection to new life. If any of us reflect mindfully upon our lives, we will recognize this cycle time and again. Like Jesus, our lives emerge from anonymity to peaks of glorious realizations and affirmations, followed by the challenges and struggles of life, resulting in a dying/suffering process, culminating in resurrection, being born into new life, new realities, new awareness, greater depth. We see our lives cycle from lows to highs to lows to highs and along the way we have the invitation to walk in the grace, the hope, the faith, the boundless love of the Christ, God incarnate in creation, or we can suffer and experience all that life brings with a sense of selfishness or isolation. I choose the former, to see my life within the full embrace of the divine who says to me, just as it was said to Jesus, while in the womb of Mary, lying in the manger in Bethlehem, being lifted out of the waters of the Jordan in Baptism, and upon the mount of transfiguration, “You are my beloved Child, with whom I am well pleased.”

We not only see this cosmic cycle from conception to resurrection happen in individual lives, we see it in whole cultures, civilizations, cities, and communities, such as our own parish life together. This parish of St. Andrew walks the holy path of Jesus’ life every year, along with the turning of the seasons in creation, but it experiences its own cycle of life to death to resurrection in its own natural course throughout its history. I have been here long enough to have experienced this cycle at least two times and in my observation we are presently in a season of resurrection and new birth. Much of what was our life together has changed, much of the old has passed away, behold new things are being born all around us, and in all of my learning and observation, the joy and enrichment of life , along with the eternal resurrections of life, belong to those who allow themselves, along with the world around them, to be born, again. Not to be born OVER, again, repeating the same life course and choices, But, born again to live life in new ways, with deeper perception, with greater understanding, in more intimate communion with the divine within and all around us.

As we enter the season of Lent, I, along with the vestry, are committed to the much needed revitalization and re-imagination of the parish. As spring emerges all around us, we follow her cue to nurture and cultivate the new life that is emerging around us, along with all that has been given to hibernation and rest. It is our prayer and intention to see Lent as a season of reorganization and revitalization of our parish. Our Wednesday soup suppers will be devoted to strengthening the circle that is our parish family and to see the formation of the smaller circles of service, outreach, and fellowship. Bring a crock pot of soup and/or a large bowl of salad to share and let us do the work of reviving the life and function of our shared life together.

Life transfigures us. We are born in the appearance of infancy, and allowed the natural course of a full life, we are in the appearance of one worn and aged by the sands and tides of life. Together with our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our souls are transformed as we experience all that life brings our way. It is all done within the cosmic and mystical presence and grace of God incarnate upon the earth, the same spirit that dwelt in Jesus dwells in and with us, being our companion along the way.

Allow this Lent to be a time of renewal and return to the intimacy of that fellowship with God through your faith in Jesus, the Christ. Allow the Stations of the Cross to reveal God’s grace in the midst of suffering and struggle. Allow the beauty of our common worship at Lent to renew the bonds of affection we share in this parish. Attend the formation class facilitated by Karen Altergott Roberts on spiritual renewal and centering prayer, commit yourself to offering the daily office in the chapel at least once/week during this season of Lent, come on Wednesday nights to revitalize the circle of our parish, give yourself to the season of Lent for intentional personal and communal renewal of mind, body, and soul.

Amen

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The Circle Of Prayer

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0800

I have been talking about what it means to live your life in circle; a circle of mutual support, affirmation, inspiration, and work. Living, working, and growing with others.

Today we will gather to say goodbye and celebrate the life of Jack Mapes. So I wish to use this historical day to speak about two circles that Jack and Hazel, his beloved, shared their lives with for over 4 decades.

The first circle is the circle of prayer. Jack’s life was blessed and full because he made a weekly habit of gathering in circles of prayer. I watched Jack do this for the past eighteen years, and I know he had been doing so for twenty plus years before I arrived. I watched Jack gather with others in the hood room, and later the lobby, every Tuesday. I watched Jack pull into parking lot along with a few others every Thursday at 2 pm. After watching Jack do it for a number of years, I began to wonder, just how much blessing and burden-carrying Jack and a handful of others were bearing on behalf of the parish? How good was my life as a priest, or how fortunate were we, because Jack and Hazel and few others were committed to being a circle of prayer on your and my behalf?

So a few years back, coming out of the CDI experience, I was increasingly compelled to embrace the idea of forming circles of prayer. And, it became obvious, that such a practice was ingrained in our tradition via the Daily Office. I began to share such an experience in the chapel on Fridays at noon. Stew and Judy Lauterbach, along with Medora Kennedy, have shared such a circle using the Evensong Service of the community of St. Julian. They have faithfully maintained that circle for the past ten years or so. Tom and Susan Richey, along with Coleen Kebrdle, have shared in a circle of prayer every Monday at noon. And the Eucharist on Tuesdays has become for myself, Corrine Givens, Medora Kennedy, and Coleen Kebrdle, a circle of prayer and reflective conversation.

Jesus taught his disciples, wherever there are 2 or more, gathered together in my name, I am present. In my own experience, and as I have seen in the life of others like Jack and Hazel, when you give your life to a circle of others who are aware of the power and bonding it brings, your life becomes larger than the flesh that holds you and the blood that flows through your veins. If you give effort and attention to gathering with a circle of only a few, to offer the daily office as members of the universal church, you begin to see your world and the world around you change. You give your life to being the conduit between the seen and unseen world, there is no limit to what your life becomes a part of.

Beyond the work of prayer, I believe a second gift is received when you give yourself to such a circle, is the gift of Anam Cara, which is the gaelic term meaning “soul friend.” Those with whom I gather have become my soul friends and I have become theirs. It doesn’t happen at once, but over time, those with whom you share the daily office, the community requests, the seasonal passages of scripture, the passing from one season to the next, the conversation evoked by all the above. The persons you share such with become like brothers and sisters. It is akin, I think, of what persons share more intensely in monastic or communal life together. Over time, true sacred friendships are cultivated when you share together a circle of prayer. Persons with whom you may have little or nothing in common, become eternal kin.

Jack is no longer with us in person to carry all that work of prayer that he bore on our behalf, but I believe something. I believe that Jesus was speaking truth when he told his disciples that they would be better off for him to pass form their sight to be with them in the spirit. Likewise, I am believing that in Jack’s departure, many will rise to carry on. I believe the gift and power and place and fellowship of prayer that Jack Mapes cultivated in this parish, can yield ten, twenty, fifty, and hundredfold. I believe that the weight Jack carried will fall upon us, and I believe, at least some will choose like Jack chose in 1977, “Come on Hazel, let’s begin a circle of prayer and change our life and our world.” And, by God, that is exactly what he did.

Amen

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Life In Circle III

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0800

Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a level place… Jesus shared his life with a handful of others and together they changed the world. Together they broke bread and shared it with others, they healed diseases and practiced compassion and they blessed the poor, the hungry, the mournful, and the troubled.

I think when we find ourselves in the right kind of circles we can change the world too … at least … at least we can change our world. Yesterday I shared the circle of the kitchen. In the parish kitchen you share life with those who serve, who create feasts and offer hospitality. If you enter the circle of the kitchen you will get to know Tom Richey, Marvin and Jody Howell, Michael Ashworthe, Chuck Lewis, to name a few of the constants… others will come in and out of the circle experiencing the joy of serving and being in community.

Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a level place… I think sharing the right kind of circle brings you to a level place, to a well-rounded, healthy, balanced place. The circle as a symbol is significant. It’s not a line, or a box, or a dot… it’s a symbol of people living, and working, and thinking together…in unity and in diversity. It is where ideas and perspectives get bounced around and balanced. Its where those seeing things looking one way live in community with those who see things from a different perspective.

On Sunday mornings at 9am I share a circle with a small number of people who come to our adult formation class. Together we read reflections about what it means live your life in a vocation. My life is changed as I share that time with them, the wisdom we read together, and the unique and insightful thoughts that are shared together. I wonder how often you gather with others to intentionally expand and enrich your life and perspective and wisdom?

Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place… and the multitudes gathered and were taught, and healed, and comforted, and encouraged. I imagine the life we share in the parish as a circle. Every year we walk the seasons of the church creating the circle of Christ’s life from conception to resurrection. Together we offer the prayers, divine wisdom, make the Eucharist – all for the sake of the world. I hope by sharing this liturgical circle in the community of the parish your own life finds and lives in this holy and eternal rhythm of grace and peace, life and death and resurrection.

Amen

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(With poetry by Andrea Gerig)

Circle II: Catching People

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0800

We are reflecting upon the circles in, or lacking in, our life. It seems evident that whenever a person senses and follows the call of the divine in their life, they are drawn together with others who affirm, resonate, encourage, and challenge our life. We see this in the life of Jesus, we see this in the life of the disciples, of Paul, of the saints, of the church. People called and drawn together for the sake of mutual purpose, work, and love. Simply put, the journey in God is always done in community, in circles.

Jack Mapes was a man who lived his life amidst circles. He told me this was not the case before he became spiritually renewed. But in 1977, Jack and Hazel attended the faith alive weekend here at St. Andrew, and Jack had an experience like Peter did in the Gospel this morning. Jesus got in Jack’s boat (though in Jack’s case, perhaps Jesus got into Jack’s dentist chair) and Jack told Jesus, “Lord, you can’t sit in my chair, I have too many other patients to deal with”. Jesus said, “don’t be so anxious, Jack, follow me and you will be catching people”.

After that weekend in 1977, Jack and Hazel opened their home and invited any and all who wished to share circle with them. That circle remained for over 40 years. That was not the only circle Jack would make. He met in a men’s prayer breakfast for decades. He would gather with others to intercede on behalf of the church in the chapel. He and Hazel maintained the circle of fellowship here at St. Andrew by being present every Sunday for over 50 years. When you live your life in a circle, your life is shared. Your life is known, it is loved, it is needed, it is supported.

In 1978, I experienced a similar awakening as Jack did a year earlier. Jesus got in my boat. Unlike Peter’s and Jack’s, my boat was just bobbing in the water, not really going anywhere. But Jesus said the same thing he said to Peter and Jack, “Don’t be afraid, Richard, follow me and you will be catching people”. I don’t really like that phrase “catching people”, but as I have watched it lived out in my own life, and in the lives of people like Jack Mapes, or Liz Karavitis, or Doug and Vicki Miller, or in Rick Alexander’s life, and in Annie Lightsey’s life, and in Chuck and Mel Lewis’, I think what it means is we cease living our lives simply for ourselves, with ourselves and by ourselves, and we let our life become a circle. Your heart opens, your mind believes, your home welcomes, your arms offer a wide embrace. People come into your life and your life becomes a place that others sense acceptance, affirmation, love, encouragement, partnership, support, inspiration, joy. Prayers, once religious requests, take on the spirit of bringing persons into the realm of grace and wisdom and blessing and family.

I watch the choir come together year after year after year. They love to sing and bring the music that Rick and Danny lead them in. But, what is really keeping them together? I think it is because they are a family, a circle together. They experience friendship, encouragement, help in times of need, and joy of being together. Rick doesn’t simply lead them in the music, he leads them in a circle. In fact, ever since I arrived at St. Andrew, only a few months after Rick Alexander had been called to St.Andrew, I believed that Jesus had jumped in Rick’s boat. Like Peter did, I have watched Rick shy away from being the person Jesus saw Rick to be. “ Jesus, what are you doing in my boat”, Rick would say, “I am Gay.” But Jesus said the same thing he said to Peter, and to Jack, and to me… “Do not be afraid, Rick, Follow me and you will catch people”. Rick and Allen live their life in a circle, in community, in mutual love and care with persons who have shared their life for years. The choir is not simply a Sunday morning and Thursday rehearsal experience. It is a sacred and loving circle they share amongst themselves and welcome others to share it.

I missed the Pilgrim’s experience this year. Since 2005, at least for me, it became a cyclical community that a number of us would share year after year. Every year, along with so many others here in the parish we would gather on Tuesdays for a shared meal, reflection of the seasons of the church, the scriptures, the liturgy, Benedictine spirituality. It was a circle that moved with the seasons, shared intensely by a few of us, shared in some degree or another by the whole parish. The Pilgrims circle moved in the Benedictine cycle, the Gospel story, the cosmic circle of coming in for renewal and going out for meaningful work. We would gather together to walk through the life of Jesus from advent to Easter and we would disperse to be sent out into the world filled by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

This year was a year for stepping back to review and reimagine what we offer for initiation and annual spiritual formation in and through the parish. I am extending a call out to all who wish to help restructure and organize our cathecumenal and spiritual formation pilgrimage at St. Andrew.

I think sharing life in a circle is how people catch people. I don’t think evangelism

and conversion is what Jesus meant by catching people. Annie likes to say we

collect people. We are drawn into relationship and care. Circles emerge and we

find our lives receiving others. If your life is open you will draw others into circles

of care and companionship. This is what it means to catch people. To walk with

people, laugh with people, cry with, pray with, suffer with people, rejoice with,

live with, and love people.

When Jesus gets in your boat and tells you “follow me, from now on you will catch people”, say yes, and watch your life become a circle. A circle of mutual care, accountability, beloved community: loving one another and the world we all share.

Amen

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Life In Circle

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 3 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0800

Our journey in Epiphany has covered the visitation of the Magi, the emergence of Jesus out of silence and anonymity into the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist, to the unique light that Jesus brought to his world and time, leaving us to ask the question, What is the light that we bring to our world and time? For what is Epiphany if it is not about light? The dawning of light amidst the darkness. The light of compassion, of wellness, of kindness and justice, of care for the sick, the poor, the ones pushed to the margins by cultural dominance and preference.

From the beginning of Epiphany I have wanted to talk about circles. Circles of relationship – support – encouragement – and exhortation. Our world and time boasts of global connection and community through the internet, but all are in agreement we suffer from a lack of human community. The more that grows available through technology, the less we cultivate in reality. Creation, human kind included, need to live in circles – circles of family, friendship, support, protection, companionship, community that work together for the benefit of one another and the blessing of the world in which they live.

If you have read the gospel story, then you know that the life of Jesus was all about living in a circle. In the gospel of Luke, which is written to reflect historical accuracy, Jesus emerges out of the quiet life of Galilee into the waters where John is baptizing. He is then compelled to go out into the desert to experience 40 days and nights of solitude and vision for his life. He returns from the 40 days of solitude and according to all three synoptic gospels, goes back to his home and begins a public ministry.

Based upon the story in Luke, Jesus begins his public ministry alone. He goes to the synagogue in Nazareth where he proclaims a provocative interpretation from the Prophet Isaiah, creates such a negative impression he is almost pushed off a cliff by an angry mob. He survives that encounter, moves from a teaching ministry to a healing ministry, where he manages to gain both fans and adversaries. But early into his public ministry Jesus realizes he cannot do this life without a circle. So he begins to call persons who he perceives will share his life, and with whom he can share in their life.

I was raised in a big Irish catholic family. There were 8 of us who lived at 1417 El Rancho Drive, and my earliest memories were all about big family life. Dinners together, going to baseball games, swim matches, and holidays. I was the youngest, and as my life evolved from childhood to adolescents, I could plot on a graph the decline of my family circle. As the circle of my family eroded, my sense of isolation and loneliness grew.

By the time I was fifteen, the circle of eight had pretty much diminished to a circle of 2. Though all of my family members were alive, the circle of family had been broken. As any of us reflect upon life, we could all share a similar story. The emergence and diminishment of the circles we share. But just because a circle is ebbing, we are not restrained to build new circles of life and community. In fact, in a round world, it is necessary. There are always new lives, new needs, changing environments that bring the fall and rise of circles in our life.

At 18, I emerged from the broken circle that was my family and high school friends into the circle of a church community. Now I was raised in an Irish Catholic Church, but I never knew that church as a circle of community. It was a place we belonged and we attended, but at least I did not experience the church as circle. Perhaps it was the estrangement and brokenness of my own family life that kept us marginalized from parish life. For whatever reason, I was 18 years old when I experienced a sense of community in a church. And I took to it like a duck takes to water.

A spiritual awakening coincided with a social awareness, that family was not the only family we had. We have a sacred family between humankind and all other parts of creation. We are not here, alone. We are here, together. We are not a dot on a board, a segment of a line, but we are part of a body, a sacred, celestial, universal body. And our life is to be lived in micro – how the whole universe exists in macro – infinitely and eternally coexisting – co-creating, co-evolving, co-habitating –in mutual interdependence and rhythmical balance with all other.

Life, in its smallest and remote manifestation to its infinitely unmeasurable reality, is lived in a circle – a web of mutual care, love, acceptance, and belonging. Jesus taught this. The Buddha taught this. Mohammed teaches this. The Torah teaches this. All the sacred and scientific traditions teach that humankind was not intended to live alone. We live in circle – having all things in common – mutually committed to the sharing of resources, spending much time together, breaking bread together, sharing glad and generous hearts together, praising the Divine Spirit in all things together, and working for the goodwill of all. In case you do not recognize those words, it was the description of the earliest church in Jerusalem recorded in the second chapter of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. So… for the remainder of Epiphany I wish to talk about circles. The circles we share – and perhaps the circles we lack.

Last week I concluded with the question, what is the unique light you bring or wish to bring to this time and your world? Keep asking yourself that question, and add a second question to it. What is or are the circles in my life?

Amen

[No audio available]

The Light Of St. Andrew

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 07:00:00 -0800

As we gather together today to share the community and well-being of this parish, I am drawn to the message of Epiphany, and to the question, “What is the light our parish bears to our times, and our city, and to our world?” That is the message of Epiphany, right? Amidst the darkness that shrouds the earth, God has given a light to shine. Because in the mystery of the divine word made flesh, God has caused a new light to shine in our hearts, we proclaim in the Epiphany preface at the Eucharist.

So what is the light that we, at St. Andrew, bring to our world? Our nation? Our city?

We bear the light of the ancient and sacramental faith that proclaims the incarnation of God in our world today. In our faith, matter matters, and how we treat our selves, treat our neighbor, and treat the creation from which we have been formed…matters. Every part of creation bears the image of God, of God’s beauty, God’s imagination, God’s creativity. Our fellowship is not simply with one another, but with all creation.

I believe St. Andrew Episcopal Church has cultivated a reputation in this city. It is a place where the many lines that divide and define people in our culture are intentionally and mindfully blurred, if not erased. It is a place where unity and community is extended beyond our belief, our ethnicity, sexuality, politics, nationality, and all the other ways people are excluded and defined. Why does the light of inclusion and mutual respect for all people and creation shine in our midst? Because this is the faith and life we have received, it is the catholic faith passed down through all the ages, the light of common humanity reflected in the divine embrace of the whole creation through the mystery of the incarnation. The whole earth is filled with God’s glory, and who are we to diminish the glory of God in anyone or anything, simply because they are different?

We bear the light of the beauty and creativity of God and creation. When Jesus emerged in his generation, he represented a different view and voice than what had become the dominant voice of religion. Christianity, as it is wielded and perceived in popular culture, is no longer the faith and teaching of a suffering servant, but has become a battle-ram in the hands of religious and political bullies.

God incarnate in Jesus was a poet, a teacher, a healer, a community builder, a gracious guest, a humble leader, a bridge between factions and cultures, a willing sacrifice for the sake of others. The life of Jesus was beautiful, it was filled with poetic rhythm and voice. His life evolved like the seasons of the earth, from incubation to resurrection, like a seed that falls from a grain of wheat that became the bread of life. This parish walks the path and shines the light of that eternal cycle from birth to death to re-birth every year. We are not identified by the political and cultural issues and struggles of our day, for in this place people dwell together with diverse perspectives. We are identified by the eternal rhythm of eternal life as it was lived in the life of Jesus, the Christ, and as it is revealed through the seasons of the earth.

And thirdly, we shine the light of community. From the earliest documents and records preserved through two millennia, Christian community was always intended to be lived like family. In this parish we are not members, attenders, supporters… we are family. We are known, we are loved, we are embraced and welcomed, we are prayed for…often. When one of us receives a serious diagnosis, we all bear the sorrow and concern. When any of us suffer loss, grief, anguish, we all accompany in one way or another that walk through the valley of shadows and deaths. We share many meals, together. We break bread, share the cup, offer the prayers, and pass the peace…not as strangers or acquaintances…but as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles. I can think of so many examples of the light of community that shines here at St. Andrew, but allow me to offer just this one. When Harley became a member of our family eight years ago, I have watched from the beginning how she did not simply gain the Lightseys as her new and loving family, she became a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister of this parish. This church, and its many members, became her family, just as it has been for all of us. The family, here, is not perfect, but it never resigns from its intention to being the beloved community of God in Christ.

Conclusion: When Jesus emerged amidst the landscape and culture of his day, he emerged with the light of love, of divine kinship, of healing and reconciliation, of grace and compassion, of peace and favor for the poor and powerless. We too, as a parish and a people can be a light to the landscape and culture of our day. The light of the ancient and catholic faith, the light of beauty and creativity, the light of community and universal family.

Amen

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The Feast Of The Epiphany

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 6 Jan 2019 07:00:00 -0800

The season of Epiphany, and its message and significance to our universal spiritual journey, is too often diminished between the two more elevated seasons of Christmas and Lent. But if you think about it, the message of Epiphany is HUGE; it is the emerging light and life of the divine amidst the creation. If Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the Christ, and Lent is the end of life challenge and suffering of Jesus, the Christ, then what is Epiphany, but the very life and teaching and emergence of Jesus, the Christ?

Epiphany begins with the long journey and visitation of wise men from the east to pay homage to the recently born King of Israel. So let’s start there. Woven into our sacred story, from the beginning, is this idea of a unity of thought and connection between peoples of all nations and faiths. These pilgrims from another culture and religious tradition recognizing the gifts God has given the world through the people and faith of Israel.

I admire the sense of adventure and broad inclusion these wise pilgrims demonstrated through the journey to Bethlehem. Here we are, two thousand years later, and we still suffer the lack of this kind of mutual appreciation and respect of cultures and traditions other than our own. We worry about the rising influences in our culture that extend beyond our own ethnicity and religion. It is big news that for the first time in 242 years of the congress, the dress code that prohibited hats or headwear must be altered to allow newly elected Muslim congress woman, Ilan Omar, to wear her hijab in the halls of congress.

Most of us, myself included, have lived in a predominant culture that pronounced certain values and beliefs as the only perspectives and traditions that were correct. Christianity was not simply our faith, it was the only faith, and all others, were inferior, or even worse, dangerous and to be avoided if not eradicated from our culture. I find this pervasive microview of the naturally diverse and varied creation we live to be both troubling and sad. For too much of my life I have felt uncomfortable with recognizing and even exploring the gifts and wisdom and divinely inspired scriptures from faiths and traditions other than my own. For too much of my life I have felt that Christianity and the culture in which I was born and raised was all I needed. How narrow of me. How I have limited myself from the riches and wisdom that those other than my own, could bring to my life and my world.

But right in the heart of our own sacred story are wise men from the east, utilizing spiritual practices and traditions and wisdom of their own, to travel great distance and effort to pay homage to a King of a people not their own, given by a God they do not follow, to be enriched and enlightened by his very presence and all that it might mean.

I admit, this is a rather unconventional presentation that I am sharing this morning. It is more “orthodox” to present this visitation from the magi as a recognition that this Christ of the Jews was truly the Christ and Savior of the whole world, of all peoples and all traditions, and ultimately (if things are to go the way God intends them), all faiths, traditions, cultures will be brought to this true light and manifestation of God through this young boy, born amongst the Hebrew people.

But I think the perspective I am presenting holds a relevant and timely epiphany. It is actually a good thing, a wise thing, a godly thing, to go beyond your own familiar culture and tradition. It is a good thing to recognize the divine blessings other faiths and traditions bring to our world. Sacred stories and symbols other than our own bring great enrichment to our shared lives. Here is something even more provocative: I think this political and cultural crusade to keep America “Christian” is an example of very un-christlike behavior and ideals. The gifts of the Muslim tradition, the Jewish tradition, the pre-Christianized indigenous and folk traditions, the humanist traditions, bear rich and blessed gifts to our own tradition. This idea is promoted in our own baptismal vows that we will re-commit to together next week: Will you seek and serve Christ in ALL persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? AND will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

The world is rich, the universe unfathomable, and creation is beautiful because of the infinite and diverse gifts and blessings and sacraments offered in all their variation and sources. The gifts of the wise men from the east may not simply be frankincense, gold, and myrrh. The gift they offer, and it is much needed in today’s rising influences of separatism and culture wars, is the gift of paying homage to the divine gifts and presence provided to our world by peoples, faiths, and cultures other than our own.

Follow their example by taking the trouble and journey to explore and understand others, or at the very least, recognize the dignity of their existence, and return back to your own culture and faith, more blessed and enlightened than had you never bothered to leave or explore.

Amen

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Padre's Post - Anticipating Christmas II

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 15:00:00 -0800

This year, the fourth Sunday of Advent is squeezed in one day before Christmas Eve, but its message is too important to be neglected. The church's focus remains upon Mary, the Christ bearer. Mary is the ideal image of all humanity, willing to receive and give birth to the divine through her life. In Mary's story the image is that of actual childbirth, but in our story what does recognizing and giving birth to the divine look like?

I think it looks like times of quiet and stillness when we sense a vibrant communion with all of life around us.

I think it looks like what Christi Brewer Allen is doing through the Church of Goodness, or what Jeff Newton, Ruth Lawson, and others are doing through the compassionate work helping the under-resourced and struggling in our city.

I think it looks like what the St. Andrew kitchen looked like last night filled with joyful people preparing a Christmas meal for others.

I think it looks like forgiveness winning over a grudge, compassion winning over apathy, acceptance and understanding winning over judgment, creativity over mockery.

I think giving birth to the divine in any life looks like a life as it was intended to be lived...in kind co-habitation with all who share their little piece of the planet.

So whether its Nazareth, Bethlehem, or Kokomo, may the divine in our life be given birth through our lives, just as it was in Mary's.

Fr. Richard

Padre's Post - Anticipating Christmas

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 15:00:00 -0800

Christmas at St. Andrew has always been magical. I can still remember my first, having arrived in 2000 at the beginning of Advent. The beautiful church becomes radiant with lights amidst the greenery and the glow of candles adorning the pews. The air is filled with the smell of heaven being wafted by the thurifer, together with the singing of carols being led by the pipe organ and Christmas Choir.

This year, perhaps more than ever, the anticipation of Christmas has been intense. Well before Advent, Rick has brought together voices from throughout our city to prepare for late night Mass on Christmas Eve. Listening to the interviews posted from various choir members, I believe they have already experienced the gift of Christmas. The music and community they have shared is filled with beauty and wonder.

The days of Advent are coming to a close. This Sunday we observe the 4th Sunday of Advent with ONE service at 10am. Following the service we will hang the lights and greenery that has adorned the church for decades.

Make Christmas a holy season. Join us this Sunday at 10am to sing the Magnificat with Mary. And then, return on Monday Night at 6pm or 10:30pm for the glorious Christ mass.

A quiet, intimate Mass will be offered on Christmas day at 10am.
Christmas Lessons & Carols will be offered on Sunday, Dec. 30th, at 10am.

May God's peace and beauty be with you, and welcome home to St. Andrew for Christmas.

Fr. Richard

The Gift Of Joy

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0800

Father Richard's sermon for December 16, 2018

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Padre's Post - In Advent

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 15:00:00 -0800

The third Sunday in Advent features the pink or rose colored candle. Its light represents the gifts of joy amidst the long journey in darkness. We need the little doses of hope and joy when bearing difficult times. We need the reprieves from bad and worst news. We need the splashes of light amidst dark and heavy times.

We need gifts of joy in the form of clear pet-scans, generous and unexpected aid from friends and strangers, appreciation for quiet and faithful presence, being part of a Christmas choir, receiving a poinsettia and delivering the same, hearing that others want to help your child go to a life-changing trip to Chile, celebrating the anniversary of the day you met your daughter, a day of sunshine after two weeks without, joining others in common prayer, celebrating the ordination of a dear friend and sister, lighting the Advent candles at the end of a long day just to bask in its gentle light.

We do not need a lot. We can bear much. All we need along the way are the little gifts of surprising joy. This is the message of the third candle in Advent.
Rejoice and exult with all your heart!...even for the little things.

Fr. Richard

Angels Can Fly Because They Are Light

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 9 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0800

Father Richard's sermon for December 9, 2018

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Padre's Post - Advent Reflections

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sat, 8 Dec 2018 15:00:00 -0800

The season of Advent is about long awaited hopes and dreams coming to fruition before our very eyes. Events once only imagined and dreamed find their way into reality. This makes the season of Advent an appropriate time for Mindy Hancock's ordination into holy orders of the Episcopal Church.

Since the day she and Josh and their two daughters, Maleah and Maidie (Ethan would come later), became members of our church as ordained Nazarene ministers, I have imagined and hoped for this day to arrive. Mindy has been engaged in the process of discernment, study, and examination for a lifetime...Ethan's lifetime to be exact, and in November, Mindy completed, with excellence, all requirements and preparation for ordained ministry. She will be ordained as a Transitional Deacon of the Church at St. Andrew, with the intention to be ordained to the priesthood later in 2019.

Congratulations Mindy! Your gifts and wisdom and experience will be a blessing to the church and the world we serve.

Fr. Richard

What Is Advent?

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 2 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0800

Father Richard's sermon for December 2, 2018

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Times Ending, Times Beginning

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 07:00:00 -0800

Father Richard's sermon for November 25, 2018

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Consecration Sunday

standrewkok@sbcglobal.net (Saint Andrew) — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 07:00:00 -0800

Father Richard's sermon for November 18, 2018

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