Rev. Valerie's Reveille

After many hours in transit, I am happy to report that 17 of us from the Diocese of New Jersey have safely arrived in Cape Town, South Africa.  And, even after all of those hours, that is about as much as I have to report!  Fortunately our travel was fairly smooth, even with a rather close connecting flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. I did learn that the word "sawubona" is Zulu for "I see you."  It is also the title of the in-flight magazine for South African Airways, as well as a traditional greeting.  It reminds me of the greeting used in the movie "Avatar." I wouldn't be surprised if James Cameron used this melodious language as as inspiration for the Na'vi. It is quite a powerful connection to be seen by someone - just like God sees us in our perfectly imperfect forms and loves us anyway! The picture above is of Table Mountain, which we will visit tomorrow.  I am sure our hotel (which is very nice!) is somewhere in this picture, but ...

People seek God’s presence in their lives for a number of reasons, but most often I hear a deep need to find connection and peace in the midst of chaos. These are valid, sensible needs and, even if they are not your primary reason for coming to church, they are a great way to develop our relationship with God.  I believe that it is important to set an intention when we worship, focusing our energy on what is important to us and for us in that moment.  During this Advent season, I invite us to set our intention to seek peace and quiet in our hearts, minds and spirits. Our primary interaction with each other and God each week is our Sunday morning Worship.  I have seen an unsettling pattern of people arriving later and later each week.  Services start at 8:30 am and 10:30 am.  We want to be respectful of your time, so we so we begin the service at the designated time.  The entire service is important and we want you to experience all of it.  Perhaps...

With Thanksgiving only a week away, it might be surprising for some to hear Sunday’s Gospel lesson from the twenty-third chapter of Luke. While turkey, pumpkin pie and football predominate our thoughts and TVs, there is Jesus being crucified.  Huh?  That seems a bit out of sync – because it is.  This Sunday is known as “Christ the King Sunday,” when the Church remembers (as I did a week ago) that Jesus is still Lord of all.  And yet sometimes we forget that to claim that title, Jesus died from a brutal, state-sponsored execution – by crucifixion. Good Friday is not the only day of the year when we need – and should – contemplate the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by his death on the cross.  As the hymn says, with “signs of ending all around us” (WLP 721) the latter days of autumn offer a special opportunity for us to consider Jesus’ death; just his death.  Even more, we need to be honest about our feelings about his death. Too often in our cultur...

Much has changed in an historic presidential election last night, but one thing has not changed – Jesus Christ is STILL Lord of all!  Jesus’ words from last Sunday’s Gospel need to be proclaimed again: "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:27-31 This is not an easy path to follow.  Americans proclaim justice as an enduring virtue, but what Jesus is describing here is mercy. It is merciful to love when it would be easy to hate.  It is merciful to support your neighbor when it would be easier to ignore or abuse them.  It is merciful to give without expecting anything in return.  ...

In early September, the Roman Catholic Church declared that Agnes Bojaxhiu – more commonly known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta – was a Saint, with a capital “S”.  The process that the Roman Catholic Church uses to declare someone a “Saint” is called “canonization,” in which the person is vetted by a group of people to ensure that the person led a Godly life and (at least the lore goes) has two miracles attributed to his or her ministry.  While this is a noble task, it is one that I have severe theological issues with and would like to clarify our Anglican tradition on the subject. With all do respect to St. Teresa of Calcutta (not to be confused with St. Teresa of Avila!), we all are saints !  The tradition of declaring that certain people are somehow better than others is indeed just that, a tradition that was started centuries after Jesus walked on Earth.  The problem of selecting a few “special” people and raising them up is that it gives the rest of us leave ...