Into the Woods

Into the woods

First a little explanation: 9 years ago I had the opportunity to study at Canterbury Cathedral in England.  Those several weeks were the longest Diane and I had been apart since our first date 25 years previous.  Studying in England was an experience that I was excited to share so I blogged during my time away.  This was one way that, while physical distance kept us separate, we were able to remain in touch.

Then 8 years ago, when hurricane Sandy threatened the community where I served I again returned to my blog for a single pre-storm post.  

Other than that this blog, Stained Glass Reflections, has remained dormant.  This weekend I was able to dust off the blog, my computer remembered the needed passwords, and it looks like I am back in the blogging business.  

There is no suggestion that you read the past posts, rather, come join me on this journey that we take together, separated by physical space, but united as branches on the vine.  I can’t promise that you will find words of wisdom here, but I will share our journey from my perspective and welcome you to fill in your own perspective in the comments; we can journey together.

The weekend, and even the past week, has been unusual.  Not just from the news regarding COVID-19, but from the need to rethink church.  Just when we thought on Tuesday that we had redone Church according to best practices Bishop Budde informed the diocesan clergy that church would not be happening for the next several weeks.  It was time to rethink Church again.  

Planned days off were out the window and for the next 58 hours Mother Shivaun, Jim Kreger, and I found a new way to do church this weekend.  It was a hectic, stressful, and exhausting marathon but we crossed the finish line late Friday night.  

Saturday morning came around and I vowed to Diane that this day would be a Sabbath.  It was a chilly early spring morning but the sun was shining so I sat on the deck with a cup of tea and a book.  If you read quietly the birds soon get accustomed to your presence and return to the feeders that line the deck rail.  Before too long there was a parade of birds coming and going in a rhythm that was much like the flight patterns of the Atlanta airport during Thanksgiving weekend.  

They were not hoarding bird seed, or toilet paper, just a normal meal, some squabbling, and squirrels on the ground seeking leftovers.  For this feathered community life was pretty normal.  

One can only have so much tea and time to read so all too soon it was time for chores around the house.  A much needed confirmation that the vacuum cleaner worked, in all the rooms, was in order.  Then to Diane’s delight, the Christmas decorations were put away.

Let me clarify, the Christmas decorations had all been taken down after the 12 days of Christmas, but the boxes were piled in the basement and never placed in storage.  So with some reordering and shuffling the boxes were stored properly in the garage and my office area was beginning to look more like an office.  With the realization that I would be working from home for the next several weeks, and dare I say perhaps even longer if the CDC is suggesting such, then cleaning my office area would be helpful.

With the mid-day sun warming the air it was time to clean the gardens for spring.  Having heeded the advice of natural gardeners I had left plants and leaves in place for the winter so a clean up was due.  

Then as the evening chill was soon to approach Diane and I took a walk in the woods where we could see trees beginning to bud and birds doing what birds and bees do.  

It was a day of normalcy.  In the midsts of a storm I had found some semblance of normal.  That is not to say that all was forgotten.  While pruning a tree, with clippers in one hand, there was an angry prayer spewing forth.  

As Bishop Budde suggests in her book, “Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love”, prayer can begin with emptying your mind, dumping all your problems on God, and then seeing the detritus piled before you ask God what you want or need.  

Then comes the hard part – listening to God.  

I emptied my mind of all that was in it for God to see, God already knew but I felt better having offloaded the baggage, and then I listened.  God did not give me an answer that I can share with you today, God did not provide three easy steps for going forward.  But I believe that God told me to figure out how to be Church without a church; how to be Jesus in the world and not in a building.  And figure out how to do this, not for just 2 weeks, but for the long haul.  God was also clear that this is not for me to do alone; not only does St. John’s have wonderful colleagues working together, but more importantly God is with us.  

Our journey in the wilderness is only just beginning.  As they took their first steps the Israelites never imagined that their wilderness journey would be 40 years.  Today I would count it as a blessing if our journey was only 40 days, and a miracle if it is only 2 weeks.  

My first blog posts were based upon being apart from Diane for 2 weeks.  So I begin writing again with the prospect of being apart from the good people of St. John’s for 2 weeks.  We begin our journey together; you, me, and God.

God be with you until we meet again.

Fr. Henry+