Rev. Valerie's Reveille

Things are getting exciting around St. Barnabas this October!  Starting on Sunday, we have several initiatives that will be happening simultaneously.    1)       Year of the Bible In order to get better acquainted with our sacred Scripture, rather than have a bulletin insert with the Scripture readings for the day, we are encouraging people to B.Y.O. B – Bring Your Own Bible!  Get to know your Bible by finding the Scriptures when they are announced.  Or you can prepare ahead of time and look up the Lectionary for the day and note the readings.  If you are more technology savvy, you can use your smartphone to look up the Scriptures on the web or in a Bible App. Some Resources a)       We use the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible for our Scripture readings on Sunday, so if you decide to buy or bring a Bible, that is the best version to have. b)       You can l...

Yesterday and today (9/22 &23) have been noteworthy days for both joyous and sad reasons.  I learned this morning that Phyllis Tickle, a prominent voice in emergent church theology and a devoted Episcopalian, died yesterday morning from lung cancer.  Her death (like all deaths) is sad as we have lost an amazing, faithful woman who offered a beautiful vision of the future of Christianity as we face a dynamic cultural shift.  Her death (like all deaths) is joyous as she is now part of the great cloud of witness at God’s banquet table.  She will be missed, but her work and spirit will live on, I have no doubt. It was also sad news to hear that baseball great Yogi Berra died this morning.  While I am not a big sports fan, it is almost impossible to not know who Yogi Berra was and the great quotes he was known for.  “It ain’t over till it’s over.” “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”  In an odd way, I think Phyllis Tickle and Yogi Berra co...

September 14 th is a “Red Letter Day” on the Church calendar.  The term “red letter” comes from a Roman practice of making dates of significant importance red in color to make them stand out.  Most liturgical calendars use a different standard for coloring the days of the year, but September 14 th is always red because it is the day the Church commemorates its biggest failure.  Yup, you read that correctly, a failure.  It is Holy Cross Day when the Church remembers how a terrible instrument of death and a horrible system of oppression sacrificed an innocent man for teaching repentance, love and hope. And yet the Church celebrates with cross, because without it we would have nothing. The symbol of the cross has become a fashion accessory to some, an arcane novelty to others; however we Christians claim it as both a sign of awesome victory and shameful death. That duel reality is hard to rationalize and we need to live in the tension of those competing realities. ...

I remember watching a show called “Welcome Back, Kotter” (which starred a very young John Travolta).  As a child, I didn’t understand the premise of the show - an alum of the high school returns to his roots to teach a group of challenging students.  I did like the theme song (welcome back, welcome back, welcome back), but I didn’t understand how it had anything to do with the show itself as it didn’t seem anybody went anywhere.  The antics of Vinnie, Horshack, Boom Boom and Epstein were amusing, but nothing I would be caught doing in a classroom (as I had a desire to live).  The romanticized ideal of a person returning home as an honored son or daughter is a bit troubling for Christians because we see it didn’t work for Jesus (see Mark 6).  He was unable to do any deeds of power because no one would believe he could have the power, let alone be the Messiah.  It worked for Mr. Kotter because those kids didn’t know who he was, nor did they care, at leas...