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...

I will confess that I have a certain amount of anxiety and fear before we start our Vacation Bible School program each year.   Will the kids show up?  Will the music be well received?  Will the Bible stories make sense to young children?  Will we be able to pull it off again this year?  Well, miracles have been happening this week!  We are half way through and so far God has been praised and everyone is still smiling.  Actually it has been a delight to see faces return for the 3 rd or 4 th year since I arrived at St. Barnabas.  Kids that may only see each other during this week remember each other and old friendships are rekindled and strengthened.  And, as always, the kids impress me with their knowledge and love of God.  We get the usual questions: “What does God look like? (I suggested looking in a mirror.) “Where does God live?” (In our hearts.) “Why can’t we see God?” (Because we need to look with the eyes of our hearts, a...

B e careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15 A State of Emergency was declared again this week in Ferguson, Missouri, following demonstrations marking the first anniversary of the death of Michael Brown.  My heart breaks at this news because it shows that racial tensions are still high and everybody seems to be waiting for a reason to react violently.  I freely admit that I do not know what has happened in Missouri over the last year in order to address this tenuous situation, but it doesn’t seem to be enough if this amount of rage is still present.  A black colleague of mine is currently in Ferguson as a pastoral presence.  She and other clergy members from many denominations gathered to bear witness in this broken community.  She posted a picture on Facebook of a white police officer with his hand on his gun during this gathering, asking why this had to be....

If you are like me, you had no idea there was a Universal Peace Day or that it is on August 5 th .  And much to my high school US History teacher’s chagrin, I did not remember that the significance of 8/5 is that this day, 70 years ago, the United States dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Yes, this action helped end a terrible war, but it was at the cost of much innocence, not only lives but also the knowledge of destruction. It is fitting that a redemptive day of peace is invoked on such an occasion, drawing us back into a place of brotherly love. In the Japanese culture, the crane is a sign of peace, and at the suggestion of the resource “Taking Faith Home,” we decided to make origami cranes at the National Night Out hosted by South Brunswick Township at Rowland Park last night.  It was a great activity to draw kids and families over to our table – a non-threatening way to invite people to be at peace. One man came to the table, v...