FaithJustice & Fellowship - 21 October 2009

The most recent gathering of FaithJustice & Fellowship took place on 10/21/09. We were thrilled to have some new faces and are blessed to have them with us! Our fellowship started with a tasty chicken soup, courtesy of friend and CFJ "adjunct staff member", Meg Duffy. We then moved into the Chapel for Evening Prayer with our prayer leader, Martha Dudich. Our prayer started with this introduction and reading:

Listen to the Word of God from the gospel of John:

"Jesus declared to Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless that one is born again."

'How can a person be born who is old?' Nicodemus inquired.'Surely I cannot enter a second time into my mother's womb to be born!'

Jesus answered, 'The one who is born of water and Spirit will enter the kingdom of God.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You watch its movement, you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. . . God gives the Spirit without limit."

 

Martha then offered the following reflection: 

"I often look to the calendar as an aid in my prayer life. While the headlines can usually be enough to jumpstart my morning devotion, I will also often peek at a pair of almanacs I keep with my spiritual readings and journal, and if I’ve got the time to boot up the computer, I’ll check www.on-this-day.com  for historical facts, famous birthdays, a daily quote and, right up my alley, some quirky piece of musical trivia.  Undoubtedly we’ll all sleep better tonight knowing that the can-can was first performed in Paris on October 21, 1858.  On this day in 1917, the first US soldiers entered WWI combat, while in 1927 construction began on the George Washington Bridge. And on October 21, 1980 the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series.  (From my mouth to God’s ears, they should get it in again this year!)  You’d think the fact that Thomas Edison invented the electric light on this day in 1879 would certainly give me prayer fodder, motivating me to reflect upon ways I carry Christ’s light, or those times I am blind to it in others.  But it was another bit of wacky wisdom that adjusted my daily compass when I read that in Gloucester, England today is H.C. Booth Day.

It seems that in 1901, the mechanical engineer Hubert Cecil Booth was sitting on his front porch at sunset watching a cloud of dust created as the nearby railway carriages were being cleaned with compressed air. Observing this, he wondered aloud to no one, “What if we could reverse the wind?” with the idea that instead of blowing the dust, it could be pulled up.  Within a month, Booth had invented the vacuum cleaner (patented, in one of God’s little jokes, on my birthday, prompting its annual drag around my house, whether it is necessary or not!)

Perhaps there are times you, as I, feel the wind is blowing dust and debris that clouds our vision, distorts the direction we think we should be moving in.  H.C. Booth Day invites us to consider reversing the wind.  The Spirit of God, that Holy Wind, is ever with us and, as the Gospel assures, without limit. What might we want reversed?  What debris – what wreckage, what rubbish – needs to be vacuumed from our work, our worship, our world?  Can we dare to imagine what might be different, Divine Wind blowing where it pleases, carrying new considerations, fresh outlooks and varied points of view?  May we abandon ourselves to the breath of the Spirit that we might, as the GODSPELL song encourages, “see more clearly, love more dearly, follow more nearly” – on this day October 21, 2009 and all the days we are given."

After prayer, we gathered for coffee and conversation, with a renewed sense of spirit and renewed in the Spirit. 

Please consider joining us next week, Wednesday, October 28th in our effort to build a community of faith and justice. We welcome you and your friends. Dinner is at 6:30 PM, prayer at 7:15 PM. 

If you'd like to be on the weekly email, please contact us at mail@faithjustice.org. Simple include your name and email address and you'll be all set. Hope to see you soon!

FaithJustice & Fellowship - 14 October 2009

The second gathering of FaithJustice & Fellowship took place on 10/14/09. Again the evening started with a wonderful soup & salad, courtesy of friend and CFJ board member, Mary Vanderhoof. We then moved into the Chapel for Evening Prayer with our prayer leader, Martha Dudich. Our prayer started with this introduction and reading:

"In these last weeks of the liturgical year, we hear scripture readings that speak of endings and for me that always implies and invites new beginnings.  Autumn paints this idea outside our windows as leaves offer a final burst of flaming crimson, orange and gold before ending the cycle that will begin anew in spring.  It seems quite fitting that on the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah – marking the beginning of the New Year – and Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – are observed at this time of year, bringing with them the hope for transformation, for possibility, for beginning again in love.

The holy writings of ancient Hebrews and early Christians celebrate this wisdom in blessed partnership."

"Hear now the Word of God.

Hear my voice, O God.  Be attentive to my words.  If you marked our failings, who could stand?  Rather with you there is forgiveness.  My soul waits for you, more than the watchman waits for daybreak.  With you there is loving kindness and abundant mercy.
 

The younger son said to his father, “I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Prepare the fattened calf.  Let us feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
 

Seek, while God may be found.  Call, while God is near.  Let the wrongdoers abandon their ways.  Let them return to God who is merciful and lavish with forgiveness, that they may go out with joy and be led forth in song.
 

Now if you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that another has something against you, leave your offering there and go; first be reconciled.  Then come and present your offering."

Martha then offered the following reflection: 

"I have never been much for ringing in the New Year, at least the one our cultural and lunar calendar offers us in January.  As one who closely follows the liturgical calendar, however, particularly enthusiastic about Advent – all that darkness breaking into light – I have no trouble shifting my revelry to those days, with a holy marking of endings and beginnings. Having said that, I must admit to frequently thinking that the New Year really belongs in the fall.
In our society, so much starts up this time of year as those lazy days of summer fall behind us and we look forward to the crisp cool nights, perhaps even anticipating the holidays ahead.   (I still treat myself to back-to-school shoes and sometimes a new box of Crayolas, with the built-in sharpener!)  And while I have only occasionally participated in the High Holy Days celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – also known as the Days of Awe – I have an absolute sense of their rightness, their  being right now  -ness.  

On the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the New Year. In ancient Hebrew lore, Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of Adam, the anniversary of the creation of human life. Even though it falls in the seventh month of the Jewish year, for millennia it has been celebrated as the beginning of time and creation.

Yom Kippur, which falls ten days after the first day of Rosh Hashanah, is called the Day of Atonement. It is a complete Sabbath: a day with no work performed, a day of fasting from food and drink. Traditionally there is also no bathing, no intimate relations, no handling of money.  People spend the day worshipping with their religious community, examining their lives, asking forgiveness of their wrongdoings, and praying to God to inscribe their names in the book of life – a sign they are accepted once again by their neighbors and their God.  On this day, by denying themselves the most basic of human needs, faithful Jews reconnect to a compassion for those who have little, and have their hearts opened to charity.

It is Erev Yom Kippur, the eve of the Day of Atonement, that also holds great meaning for me.  While on Yom Kippur one seeks mercy from God, the day before one must ask forgiveness of others.  You cannot come before God on the holy day unless you have sought out your sisters and brothers the day before.   “First, be reconciled.  Then present your offering.” Partnership indeed.

As a Catholic who deeply values other religious traditions and seeks to learn from them how to negotiate my own faith journey, I embrace the Days of Awe as a reminder that each year, even each new day, provides fresh hope, affords another opportunity for reconciliation, acceptance and healing.

I began college out in the farmlands of central PAs Susquehanna Valley and would find needed respite from my studies in a somewhat unusual place, the house turned museum of Joseph Priestly.  Priestly is best remembered for his pioneering work in chemistry and in particular for the discovery of oxygen.  He was also a prolific theologian, an innovative educator and a liberal political philosopher.  As a lover of the egg cream, I am forever grateful that Priestly found a way to produce carbonated water, but it was another breakthrough I hold closer to my heart.  He developed a vegetable gum which had the ability to rub out black lead marks.  He dubbed the substance “rubber” and while it eventually took 3 additional engineers and another 80 years to refine it and, finally, attach it to the end of a pencil, I thank Joseph Priestly those times it’s been necessary to begin again – in my checkbook, with the crossword puzzle, on my GREs, when I’m searching for the words in a note of condolence or remorse.

I’d invite you to take an eraser now as the bowl is passed among us. Could an object be more of the world yet at the same time so sacred?  As we recognize and celebrate our own autumn days of awe, let’s put this eraser where we’ll see it.  Whether in a pocket or purse, on a desk or dashboard, kitchen window or bedside table, may it remind us to remove artificial borders and boundaries, even those religious dividing lines Father Ed Hays refers to as “God-zones,” and to wipe out words, opinions, attitudes that deface, separate or confine.

As we go from this place, let us remember that we, like these days, are holy, even awesome.  May we accept ourselves – admitting to our mistakes, beginning again – and embrace others, recognizing the common human frailty and the immeasurable Divine compassion we all share."

What a great evening! After prayer, we gathered for coffee and conversation. Please consider joining us next week, Wednesday, October 21st in our new effort to build a community of faith and justice. Dinner is at 6:30 PM, prayer at 7:15 PM. We'd love to have you with us!

FaithJustice & Fellowship - 7 October 2009

Our first gathering of FaithJustice & Fellowship took place on 10/7/09.

We started off with a simple meal of soup and moved into the Chapel for a beautiful Evening Prayer led by the incredibly talented Martha Dudich. Our prayer started with this introduction and reading:

In the New Testament canon, there are twenty-one documents that take the form of letters. Most are actual letters; some are more like treatises in the form of letters.  Fourteen of these are attributed to Paul and, with occasional variation, there is a virtually standard form: a greeting, followed by a prayer, an explanation of some Christian teaching and a farewell that includes advice.  It seemed appropriate, as we begin our times of prayer together in this place, to hear these imperatives – gathered from several of Paul’s epistles – and consider how they might inform this next phase of our journey of faith. 

Listen then to the Word of God from the letters of Paul. 

"Draw your strength from God and stand fast."

"Pray at every opportunity in the Spirit."

"Let mutual love continue."

"Never tire of doing good and sharing whatever you have, for in due time you shall reap the harvest, if you do not give up."

"Proclaim the word; be persistent, whether it is convenient or not."

"Encourage one another."

"Live in peace."

"Cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all."

"Rejoice always."
"In every circumstance, give thanks."

"Be certain of this: the One who calls you is faithful and will accomplish all good in you." "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." 

"Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." 

"Grace be with all who love God and the Lord Jesus Christ!"   

Martha then offered the following reflection:

"Earlier this week I sent out birthday greetings succinctly announcing: YOUNG.  OLD.  JUST WORDS.  While I understand the wisdom on its face – we’re as young or old as we feel, age is a matter of mind (if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter) – I must admit to strong objections at the belittling tone.  JUST WORDS.  As offensive to me as the carelessly dismissive “Just friends.”  There is nothing JUST – mere, simply, no more than – about either.   How many of us truly believed the schoolyard taunt “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me”?  Whose life changed forever hearing simply: “It’s a girl!”? Think of those whose very beings are lessened by only four words: “Don’t ask.  Don’t tell.” Scientific study revealed that simply hearing sentences about elderly people led research subjects to walk more slowly.

Words create impressions, images and expectations, build connections and shatter relationships.  They influence how we think and feel, whom we trust, what we purchase, how we vote, where we devote our time and treasure, what we believe.

Would you rather your boss see your mistake as a problem or a challenge?  Prefer that your bank spend your money or invest it?  Poorly chosen words can kill enthusiasm and joy, can diminish, exclude, wound.  Thoughtfully chosen words can offer hope and motivation, can inspire, embrace, comfort and sustain.  I see the impact of words I choose on my fragment of the universe and my own biases and selective attention in the words I hear.  Only yesterday, speaking on the phone with a hopelessly lost delivery man, likely of a different racial or ethnic group than mine and speaking with some slang and grammatical error, I immediately projected an image of someone less intelligent, less capable, less than.  Based on the words he used.  I am truly ashamed, and must remain attentive to those prejudices in me, perhaps too easily obscured in a cultural climate of intolerance for weakness or error of any sort.

PROCLAIM. ENCOURAGE. BE CERTAIN. BE PATIENT. REJOICE. ACCOMPLISH. GRACE.

Saint Paul’s words, whether inspiring or infuriating, cheerful or chiding, were no doubt carefully chosen and are the primary impact he has left on Christianity.  Letters to his precious, often petulant communities of believers.  Those he knew well and some he would never meet.  Letters.  Affording an intimacy for, as the 12^th century French abbess, scholar and legendary correspondent Heloise insisted, letters have souls.  Flesh touching pen touching paper.  Technology has clearly altered our use of and skills at written correspondence. An entire generation no doubt believes all letters begin “You have been pre-approved.”   Paul opens each of his epistles from a place of genuine care.  “To the holy and faithful ones.”  “I give thanks for you.” “Grace and peace.”

I suspect Saint Paul would have had a field day with today’s rapid and varied styles of electronic communication, the awesome ease holding spellbound this inveterate letter writer.  The actual composition and writing of the letter posed some difficulty in the era of the New Testament’s formation.  On average, each papyrus sheet held about 140 words.  To write 3 syllables required about 1 minute, and an hour’s work produced about 72 words.  Scholar’s estimate that the oldest text in the New Testament, Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, required about 11 sheets of papyrus and 20 hours of writing.  His longest letter, to the Romans, needed 50 sheets and 100 hours to complete.  Because writing was a tedious task, only 2 or 3 hours in a working day could be devoted to a letter.  It is estimated then that the Letter to the Romans must have occupied Paul and his secretary anywhere from 32 to 49 days.  Thank God the phone wasn’t ringing to interrupt his train of thought!  Not an easy task, but a true labor of love.

The known effects of a personal letter are remarkable. For better or worse there was only one Saint Paul, but each of us have the ability and opportunity to cheer, console, cajole, congratulate, and encourage each other. Letter writing is a valuable apostolic venture, and an effective tool for promoting justice and peace.  A beloved mentor in the earliest days of my ministry would spend every Friday morning writing thank you notes to those who had helped his work in some way that week.  These days it could be said he was building an important network.  For John, it was all about gratitude, about letting people know that every effort built up the Body of Christ.  Writing a personal letter is a wonderful and warm expression of thoughtfulness and courtesy and appreciation. Writing to civic leaders, social organizations, and businesses can produce improvements for society.  So I’m wondering, Who needs these words from you, from me, in the coming days?

I once read that a word is like a living organism, capable of growing, changing, spreading, and influencing the world in many ways, directly and indirectly through others. In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul insists “the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any sword.”  How many words have been spoken, written down and passed through generations, still quite alive when read or recited today, having lived thousands of years?  As we consider the power of the Word – God’s word, our words – to incite and divide, to calm and connect, to create and effect change, we know for certain what has brought us to this place and to this good work.  FAITH.  JUSTICE.  JUST WORDS? 

Like I said, beautiful! After prayer, we gathered for coffee and conversation... a truly blessed start to our new effort to build a community of faith and justice.

Please consider joining us next week, Wednesday, October 14th. Dinner is at 6:30 PM, prayer at 7:15 PM. We'd love to have you with us!

Welcome to the CFJ Blog!

Hello! In addition to the Center's website, we are adding this blog for up to the minute postings, musings and assorted items. All members of the Center's family are welcome to submit posts, so if you have something to share, don't hesitate.

Perhaps most importantly, we will post the weekly reflection from our Wednesday night "FaithJustice & Fellowship."

Hope to see you soon!

~sean