From the Rector…
It’s a great day for the church! That is said whenever a person is baptized and/or confirmed, a new clergy person is ordained, and a bishop is consecrated. It takes the individual experience and repackages it into our communal expression of what it means to be Christian. We are not just a bunch of individuals knocking around in the world trying to get to heaven. We are a great body of Christ that forms together much like atoms make up our bodies. Each of us is necessary and when we are attached to a greater organism—we become something more.
I got to serve as my best friend’s chaplain when she was consecrated bishop coadjutor of Ohio this past weekend. The service of consecration was everything a liturgical church nerd like me could hope for. There were aspersions by bishops, prostrations on the ground, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached, fancy clothes, great jewelry, incredible music, Eucharist, laying on of hands by a peck of bishops (is that the plural?), and a four-part procession that took almost ten minutes! It was a glorious day to worship God and be the church. There aren’t a lot of times you get to participate in such amazing liturgy.
Liturgy itself is work that we do to help us connect in deeper ways to God and to develop our understanding of what we believe. There is an old saying in the church, “Praying shapes believing.” I think that is true on a myriad of levels. The way we pray forms us. When we are habitual about our prayer, it gets deep under our skin and starts to seep out of us into our daily life—be it at church, home, or work. It becomes that thing that helps us to know who we want to be in the world. When we are all praying in the same way, we begin to not only understand ourselves as individual Christians; we start to form together in a great organism of transformation and even transcendence that draws us closer to God. That is a powerful witness to the world. Who we are as Episcopalians begins to change those around us.
Bishop Michael Curry preached an incredible sermon (as always) that he jokingly titled, “C’mon Baby Light My Fire.” He was preaching in the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine once said, “Be who God made you to be and you will light the world on fire.” The Doors have played the Public Auditorium which is across the street from the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. One of The Doors more popular songs is, “C’mon Baby Light my Fire.” His sermon reminded us that when we partner together, we can light such a fire for Christ for all the world to see. (You can see the service and hear the sermon here.) Bishop Curry was on fire! My friend Anne was on fire! The Diocese of Ohio was on fire! The church was on fire! It was indeed a great day for the church.
When we show up and worship together, we find ourselves being transformed—even transcending who we are. It doesn’t happen instantly. We must be willing to church—be it in-person or on-line. We find transformation through worship when we show up, regularly, and do the work of finding personal connection to the liturgy even as we share it with others. It’s not just baptism and confirmations, ordinations and consecrations that are great days for the church. It is a great day for the church whenever we show up and worship together—whenever we allow ourselves to be open to our own transformation and transcendence.
“C’mon baby, light my fire.” What The Doors sing about is not simply lighting some fire of individual yearning but lighting the world on fire with God’s love. When we are on fire it isn’t just a great day for the church—it’s a great day for God!
Light and Life,
Candice+
P. S. Many of you have met the Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly before. But you probably remember her as the Dancing Lobster! She looks great in red!
From the Rector…
It’s a great day for the church! That is said whenever a person is baptized and/or confirmed, a new clergy person is ordained, and a bishop is consecrated. It takes the individual experience and repackages it into our communal expression of what it means to be Christian. We are not just a bunch of individuals knocking around in the world trying to get to heaven. We are a great body of Christ that forms together much like atoms make up our bodies. Each of us is necessary and when we are attached to a greater organism—we become something more.
I got to serve as my best friend’s chaplain when she was consecrated bishop coadjutor of Ohio this past weekend. The service of consecration was everything a liturgical church nerd like me could hope for. There were aspersions by bishops, prostrations on the ground, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preached, fancy clothes, great jewelry, incredible music, Eucharist, laying on of hands by a peck of bishops (is that the plural?), and a four-part procession that took almost ten minutes! It was a glorious day to worship God and be the church. There aren’t a lot of times you get to participate in such amazing liturgy.
Liturgy itself is work that we do to help us connect in deeper ways to God and to develop our understanding of what we believe. There is an old saying in the church, “Praying shapes believing.” I think that is true on a myriad of levels. The way we pray forms us. When we are habitual about our prayer, it gets deep under our skin and starts to seep out of us into our daily life—be it at church, home, or work. It becomes that thing that helps us to know who we want to be in the world. When we are all praying in the same way, we begin to not only understand ourselves as individual Christians; we start to form together in a great organism of transformation and even transcendence that draws us closer to God. That is a powerful witness to the world. Who we are as Episcopalians begins to change those around us.
Bishop Michael Curry preached an incredible sermon (as always) that he jokingly titled, “C’mon Baby Light My Fire.” He was preaching in the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine once said, “Be who God made you to be and you will light the world on fire.” The Doors have played the Public Auditorium which is across the street from the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. One of The Doors more popular songs is, “C’mon Baby Light my Fire.” His sermon reminded us that when we partner together, we can light such a fire for Christ for all the world to see. (You can see the service and hear the sermon here.) Bishop Curry was on fire! My friend Anne was on fire! The Diocese of Ohio was on fire! The church was on fire! It was indeed a great day for the church.
When we show up and worship together, we find ourselves being transformed—even transcending who we are. It doesn’t happen instantly. We must be willing to church—be it in-person or on-line. We find transformation through worship when we show up, regularly, and do the work of finding personal connection to the liturgy even as we share it with others. It’s not just baptism and confirmations, ordinations and consecrations that are great days for the church. It is a great day for the church whenever we show up and worship together—whenever we allow ourselves to be open to our own transformation and transcendence.
“C’mon baby, light my fire.” What The Doors sing about is not simply lighting some fire of individual yearning but lighting the world on fire with God’s love. When we are on fire it isn’t just a great day for the church—it’s a great day for God!
Light and Life,
Candice+
P. S. Many of you have met the Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly before. But you probably remember her as the Dancing Lobster! She looks great in red!