Rev. Valerie's Reveille

What does it mean to be a Christian in the 21 st Century?  What does it mean to be part of a church that has a hierarchical structure like the Episcopal Church?  What does it mean to be a “Diocese”?  These are all important questions with no simple answers, but ones we must be brave enough to engage.  The reality is that the way we do “church” is changing, even since I was ordained 12 years ago!  While the majority of Americans still believe in “God” (or some mystic entity), most don’t go to church or another religious institution.  That is partially because the institutions have let people down, but also because priorities of life have changed.  People, especially children, are busy ALL THE TIME.  There is little to no “down” time to just be (which is kinda ironic, since that is part of developing our spiritual lives, but I digress).  We can look at the changing dynamics and fear what that means for the future, because it won’t look or work like the past. Or we can begin to

One of the hallmarks of our Sunday worship in the Episcopal Church (and other Catholic and Protestant traditions) is the use of a 3-year cycle of appointed texted for the Liturgy of the Word. Rather than having the preacher or senior pastor choose a passage to focus on, we decided to follow a pattern similar to what is used in our Daily Office tradition and establish a fixed rotation of readings from the Bible to give continuity to our corporate worship.  The current iteration of this practice is called the “Revised Common Lectionary” or RCL, which was adopted for use in 1994.  Its roots go back to the Second Vatican Council, but this version was developed by a wide range of Protestant groups.  The 3 years are entitled “A,” “B” & “C”.  In general, the Gospel of Matthew is used in Year A, the Gospel of Mark is used in Year B, and the Gospel of Luke is used in Year C, with the Gospel of John interspersed throughout the triennium.  Similarly, passages from the Hebrew Scriptures a

I have said often that the vocation of prophet is not for the faint of heart.  Calling your family and neighbors back into right relationship with God can get you into a lot of trouble, if not killed, especially if you are seen as calling another’s actions into question.  Rather than accuse someone of not living into the obligations of being in a right relationship with God, sometimes it is better to remind people, especially those in positions of authority in our society, of what their obligations are while hoping and praying they will self-examine that they are, indeed, living into their part of the bargain. That is why we pray for our country and those who have been elected to make our government work.  These prayers are intended to be offered without regard to party or affiliation.  We are not here to debate about who is “right” or what is going “wrong.”  This is about reminding us and those who serve about our basic values as humans, Christians, and Americans. I believe there i