Rev. Valerie's Reveille

I’m taking a risk today and writing about the election.  My hesitancy isn’t because I may upset some people (I will not endorse any candidate), but that the atmosphere around the election has become so emotionally charged that well-intentioned people find it difficult to even think about politics without feeling anxious, suspicious or even fearful.  We cannot, as Christians, accept that type of human-created fear.  Regardless of who is elected this year, we need to claim our joy as Christians and do what we should do best - PRAY! Forward Movement, the publishing house that prints Day by Day and many other evangelism resources, saw an opportunity to call upon all Christians, especially Episcopalians (it is an Episcopal institution), to offer prayer for our country, our elected officials and ourselves for 30 days prior to the election.  That started last Sunday on October 9 th , so I apologize for being 4 days late, but I know God will forgive.  You can find...

I am mindful that as I write this, there are many in Haiti who are facing catastrophe on a scale which I am completely unfamiliar.  For those whose lives have been reduced to the core of simple survival, we pray you feel God’s presence. For those in the Bahamas and lands further north preparing for the storm, we pray you feel God’s mercy.  For those who are mobilizing to respond to the needs of all those affected by Hurricane Matthew, we pray for God’s speed.  If you feel prayer is not enough, I encourage you to offer a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development www.episcopalrelief.org  or the Red Cross.  Such a storm reminds us of the barest parts of our faith, seeking to find meaning that can sometimes disappoint.  Why would a loving God hit such a poor nation with yet another disaster in less than a decade?  Some will offer (erroneously, I believe) that sin caused such a situation.  I do not believe that the Haitians are any worse or bet...

I remember my first visit to a planetarium.  It was a school trip to the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, which was exciting enough. And yet the opportunity to sit in these weird seats while the sky spun around me was truly awesome.  I recall feeling really small after that experience (and indeed every time I’ve been to a planetarium since) because the program reminded me of just how small a part I am in an extremely large universe.  It puts things into a perspective that is helpful.  It doesn’t diminish my cares and occupations to seem meaningless, but it does remind me of just how big God is.  God is the Creator of all – ALL – and I doubt we have even scratched the surface of what that means. In the latter part of the Season after Pentecost, we will take the opportunity for the next 5 weeks to highlight in our liturgy what it means to be in relationship with the Creator, what position humans have in Creation, and how w...

Today, September 21 st , is a red-letter day because it is the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.  Or at least it is on my Church Calendar. On my more secular calendar, the notation is that today is the U.N. International Day of Peace. I have a feeling that both events will go unnoticed by the majority of people today, but that shouldn’t prevent us, as people of faith, to celebrate and draw a connection between them. The tradition of making important words stand out in red ink started in medieval time, and they became known as rubrics .  For those of you who are real Church geeks, you will know that we also call all the instructions in the Book of Common Prayer about how to offer liturgies are also called rubrics , however in most modern copies of the BCP, they are italicized and not written in red (although I have seen some versions that do use red!).  The practice of using red to signify something important continued with the printing press, and it is a...

A couple of weeks ago, our Minister of Music, Thomas Williams, chose the song “Give me oil in my lamp” for the Gradual song before the Gospel Reading Luke 12:32-40, where Jesus mentions bridesmaids and their lamps.  It was a fun song that I don’t remember singing before, but it seemed that several people at church did. Well, this week we are supporting the Jesus Way Day Camp from Crossroads being held at our longtime partners in ministry, Christ the King Lutheran Church. Lo and behold – what song do they sing? “Give me oil in my lamp!”  However, like any good Christian camp song, it has a couple of extra verses in it that are a bit different from what we sang during worship. “Give me wax for my board to keep me surfin’ for the Lord. Cowabunga!” “Give me gas for my Ford to keep me truckin’ for the Lord. Honk Honk!” As you might imagine, the kids love the silliness of these verses (and hand motions, of course), but more importantly, they are learning about the j...

I am always impressed by Christians who are willing to witness to Jesus at work in their lives whenever and wherever.  This happened recently at the Olympic Games during an interview with David Boudia and Steele Johnson, who had just won a Silver Medal in Men’s 10M Synchronized Diving. The reporter asked the pair how they had prepared for this event that has been dominated by the Chinese, who set an Olympic Record Score in the event to win Gold.  In his response, Boudia said something about Jesus, but it was so quick, I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly, something about, “because I know Jesus, it would all be OK, no matter what happened.”  In that moment of heightened emotion, I was impressed he thought about Jesus, but it seemed like a side comment. Then Johnson responded, and while I cannot quote him directly, he essentially said that, like David, because he knows Jesus, the result of the competition would not change who he was, but it was a blessing and honor win ...

“N ow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen .” Hebrews 11:1 Several years ago, on some road trip, I remember seeing a license plate from Missouri with the inscription, “The Show-Me State.”  Since I was born and raised in New Jersey, I had little to no idea about what Missouri was like or why it would require tangible evidence.  I would later learn that this adage came from U.S. Congressman Willard Vandiver in an 1899 speech, where he said, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” From the point of view where “actions speak louder than words,” this requirement seems less of a demand than a reasonable request.  None of us want to be taken as a fool or considered gullible.  Promises are great, but until we have hard evidence that the promise is being kept, we will remind skeptical. The above ...