• About

Seeking and Serving

~ seek and serve Christ in all persons

Seeking and Serving

Tag Archives: encounter

On Finding God in Community…

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bubble, building, church, community, conversation, encounter, God, home, meet, moments, people, property

724_meeting-new-people

Photo credit:  https://www.spottie.com/blog/meeting-new-people-30

One of the quirks of being a priest is that my work is often outside of the church.  Whether I am meeting a newcomer for coffee, catching up with a parishioner over lunch, or visiting someone in the hospital, I am more often out in the community than sitting in the church office.  The challenge with that mode of operating is that I sometimes find myself with an extra hour here or there between commitments.  So I often take work with me – catching up on emails, reading for a class or sermon, or doing some writing.

Lately, that pattern has meant having all kinds of interesting encounters.  The other day I met someone who was a former parishioner of my church while buying a cup of coffee.  While responding to emails, someone who recognized me from barre class introduced herself to me, realizing we had never formally introduced ourselves, but that she had seen me around town several times.  While doing some writing while waiting for routine maintenance in the local car dealership, one of the salesmen came over to say he was one of my neighbors and we had not yet met.  Sometimes you even have to leave your home to meet those closest to your home!

Research tells us in order to grow your church community, you need to get off the property.  If you want to get to know the people who are not joining you every Sunday, you need to go where they are on the other days of the week.  Of course, just drinking coffee does not mean you will magically meet people – you do actually have to engage others in conversation – even if it is about car brand loyalty, or your favorite new drink on the coffee menu.  Getting off the property allows us to meet people where they are – and to see God in all the wonderful, myriad places God likes to hang out.  Though there are other ways to do that in reverse – holding a Fiber Festival, welcoming a school to your property – you really have to do both to have those God-moments.

All that being said, I confess, I sometimes have an easier job of talking about God.  The collar is dead giveaway.  But my invitation to you is the same.  Take a moment to get out of your bubble.  Go to an event to which you wouldn’t normally go, linger in a coffee shop you do not regularly frequent, or get even more bold, and take your committee meeting off campus and go public.  If you need some Hickory Neck gear to break the ice, I can help you out.  But my guess is you will find those God moments just by being you.  I cannot wait to hear about who you meet and what you learn!

On Gifts and Giving…

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

challenge, Christ, church, encounter, gifts, God, Holy Spirit, listen, ministry, new, passion, talent, time, volunteer

etno-garden-plitvice-lakes-team-building-ruke

Photo credit:  https://www.plitvice-etnogarden.com/team-building/

As every year of ordained ministry passes, I become more grateful for my work before ordination.  For about six years, I was the Director of Volunteer Services for a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Delaware.  Coordinating over 2000 volunteers a year, a major part of my job was helping people find just the right volunteer position based on their gifts.  Most volunteers that came my way expected that volunteering at Habitat meant wielding a hammer.  And sometimes that was true.  But sometimes you were hanging drywall, or painting, or putting down flooring.  Sometimes you weren’t doing construction work at all.  Volunteers were needed in the office, partnering with families as they worked on their sweat equity hours and financial training classes, helping raise funds, and serving on the Board.  Sometimes the gifts of a person were a perfect match for what we needed, and sometimes volunteers wanted to try something totally out of their comfort zone.  Figuring that out took time, listening, and a little bit of experimenting.

The same is true in churches.  We all come to church with many gifts, and sometimes those gifts are just what is needed:  the elementary music teacher who takes on the pageant, the architect who takes on property management, the financial planner who serves on the endowment board.  But sometimes, church is where we want to find and use other gifts:  the engineer who is also great relating with kids, the military officer who is also great with technology, or the construction worker who is a fantastic listener and discernment partner.  And sometimes, the things we think we would never be able to do we discover we can do through service at church.

This week at Hickory Neck, we are spending some time discerning our gifts and how we might use them to build up the church.  For some, this is a time to renew our passion for a current ministry we serve, and rededicate ourselves to making that ministry more powerful.  For others, we need a break from serving in one capacity, and want to try something new.  For others, we have yet to commit to serving the church and are nervous to step forward.  What the church reminds us during this time of connection is each of us has gifts, and the church is better when we gift those talents and our time to the church.  The church knows that when we give of that time and talent, we get so much more back.  We learn, we grow, we make new friends, and we come closer to God.  Whether it’s picking up sticks on a cleanup day, making meals for the homebound or new parents, or editing a newsletter, in those activities we have holy encounters with Christ.

I cannot wait to hear how you will give of yourself this year at Hickory Neck.  I cannot wait to hear how you are challenging yourself, and listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit.  I cannot wait to hear in the coming year the ways in which you bump into God, even in the most unlikely places.  When each of us tends to our gifts and our journey at Hickory Neck, the community as a whole benefits.  We all get a bit closer to God when we simply show up and use our gifts.  I look forward to hearing about your journey in time and talent this year!

Sermon – Luke 9.28-36, Transfiguration, YA, August 6, 2017

09 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Sermons, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

coincidences, community, dismiss, dramatic, encounter, fantastic, feast, God, God winks, incredulous, invitation, Jesus, light, revelations, Sermon, shine, synchronicity, Transfiguration, voice

Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.  Now, normally, we celebrate this feast on the last Sunday of Epiphany, right before Lent begins.  This is the last celebration in a season of days meant to celebrate the ways Christ is made manifest to us.  And what a feast!  What better way to close out Epiphany than to use one of the most glorious experiences of Christ’s life – Jesus shining brightly, wonderfully transfigured for an elite group of disciples?  But we are not in the season of Epiphany.  In fact, we are right in the heart of the season of Pentecost – or what we call “ordinary time.”  As we amble our way through the end of summer relaxation, the placement of such a magnificent feast day seems out of context.  This is not the season of the year when we come to church expecting drama and flair.

And yet, I wonder if this is not the perfect time to talk about dramatic revelations of God.  Just in the past two weeks, I have been a part of two different conversations that talked about how we notice God in the small, seemingly mundane moments of life.  The first was a conversation with a study group.  We were talking about the concept of synchronicity as coined by Carl Jung.  Jung defined synchronicity as “meaningful coincidences” – those events that on the surface seem like coincidences, but upon further reflection the event carries much meaning.  The group could think of countless times when a particularly meaningful song came on the radio at just the right time or someone called you just when you needed the call.  The second conversation I had was with a group of friends, a few of which had read a book about what the author called “God Winks.”  These were little moments when something innocuous happens, but upon further reflection, they may have been moments where God was trying to communicate, affirm, or comfort.  Examples included seeing a bird just after the death of a loved one, or seeing a flower bloom in an unexpected place.

I loved the convergence of these conversations because I think they get to the heart of why the Transfiguration is sometimes hard for us to fully appreciate.  You see, in Luke’s gospel, the text is quite dramatic.  In the midst of prayer on the mountain, suddenly Jesus’ face and clothing becomes a dazzling white.  Two of the greats of our faith, Moses and Elijah, not only appear, but are talking to Jesus.  And when Peter speaks to try to make sense of this fantastic moment, a cloud rushes in, blocking their sight and booming into their ears the very voice of God.  And then, just as quickly as the light and sound show begin, they are left in silence with Jesus as if the event never happened.

We love this story.  And yet, there is a way in which this story is so fantastic, we cannot really relate to the event.  I imagine very few, and maybe none of us, have ever experienced an encounter with God where we saw blazing lights, an appearance of the fathers of our faith, and heard the voice of God.  Occasionally, we will hear stories of someone who dies and is revived, who then tells stories of a bright light.  But for most of us, those kinds of moments are beyond our faith experience.  They are so fantastic that they feel fictional, or at least inaccessible.  The danger with that kind of conclusion is that we can conclude that Jesus himself is also inaccessible – at least in meaningful ways to us.  Unless God talks to us with Bose-quality sound or Jesus shines before us like the lights of Las Vegas, we must be doing something wrong.

Episcopalians can be especially susceptible to this kind of dismissal.  As a people who value the mind, and who celebrate the gift of our post-Enlightenment era, we are skeptical when people share their mountaintop experiences.  I had a friend from high school who went to a pretty conservative, evangelical school for college.  Though she herself was somewhat theologically conservative, even she found herself to be in unfamiliar territory.  You see, at her school, there was an expectation that people share stories of how they heard God speaking to them.  I am not sure why, but apparently the student body had dramatic encounters with God – so much so that not only were you expected to have them yourself, but also they almost became a point of pride or one-upmanship.  The whole practice was like Christian bullying from my friend’s perspective.

But the danger with dismissing other’s dramatic God moments or even the Transfiguration is that we can end up dismissing encounters with God altogether.  Since we do not live in the time of Jesus, I do not expect that any of us will ever witness what Peter, John, and James do.  And since most of us will not have near-death experiences, I do not think we will encounter bright, shiny Jesuses or disorienting, booming clouds.  But we will experience God in tangible ways.  We will have those moments of synchronicity or God Winks.  We may not hear the voice of God directly.  But even if we do not hear a distinct voice whom we believe to be God, God is speaking to us all the time.

I cannot tell you the countless times I have talked to someone who said they felt an odd compulsion to call a friend they had not spoken to in a long time.  When they acted on the impulse, they found a friend in desperate need who needed a good word.  I cannot tell you the number of times someone was clouded with anxiety and the sun shone beautiful rays of light through the clouds, a rainbow appeared, or a creature crossed their path.  I cannot tell you the number of times someone has gotten off their routine – a missed bus, a forgotten item in the house, or a traffic jam, only to then have an encounter they never would have had if they had been on time.

I do not think those are mere coincidences.  I think, knowing how incredulous our information-overloaded minds are, God finds new, brilliant ways to speak to us all the time.  They may not be moments filled with light, but when we realize how we saw God in a person on a particular day, we feel like a light has shined into our minds and hearts.  Those moments may not be clear words spoken into our minds by God, but they may be clear words spoken by a stranger that are as disorienting as God’s own words.  You see, God is showing God’s self and speaking to us all the time.

Our invitation in light of the Transfiguration is two-fold.  First, God invites us to hone our senses.  God invites us to let go of all our human-created incredulity, and to be open to those God Winks or meaningful coincidences.  In order to do that, we are probably going to have to start sharing our crazy stories, knowing that we may be judged or doubted.  But the more we share those experiences, the more we create a community of people looking for tangible signs of God in everyday life.

Second, God invites us to shine light and be God’s voice for others.  About the Transfiguration, scholar Cláudio Carvalhaes says, “Unless we get out of the fortress of our worship spaces, and rebuke the unclean spirits of the powers that be, and shed light into the lives of the poor of our communities, we will never know what transfiguration means.  Glory will be an unknown word and experience.”[i]  Carvalhaes argues that sensing God’s voice and light in our own lives is not enough.  Our work is to come off the mountain, as Jesus and the disciples do in the verses following our reading today, and be agents of healing, care, and wholeness.  The Transfiguration “was never meant as a private experience of spirituality removed from the public square.  It was a vision to carry us down, a glimpse of the unimagined possibility at ground level.”[ii]  In sharing Christ’s dazzling light, and God’s booming voice, we also find our lives transfigured – changed through encounter with others.  We create space for those God Winks and meaningful coincidences to occur, and in so doing, make space for God in us, through us, and around us.  Amen.

[i] Cláudio Carvalhaes, “Commentary on Luke 9:28-36, (37-43),” February 07, 2016, as found at http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2756 on August 2, 2017.

[ii] Lori Brandt Hale, “Theological Perspective,” Feasting on the Word, Yr. C, vol. 4 (Louisville:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 456.

On Snow Globes and Other Deceptions…

21 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blessed, deception, encounter, need, prayer, pretend, protection, reality, Savior, snow globe

snow-globe-tree-with-snow

Photo credit:  www.balsamhill.com/Christmas-Tree-Musical-Snow-Globe-p/4000824.htm

When I was growing up, we used to have a Christmas snow globe.  If you wound it up, it would play a lovely Christmas carol.  But you could also shake the large globe and snow would delicately swirl around the Christmas tree.  Something about the snow globe was mesmerizing.  I would wind up the music, shake the globe, and just stare into the glass.  There was something so peaceful about that globe – like a perfect world inviting me in to the snowy calm.

Of course, there were no snow blowers, plows, or ice melt in the snow globe.  There were no grumpy people shoveling out sidewalks and cars before the snow gets too heavy or the snow turns to a thick layer of ice.  No one was slipping on ice, sliding into a car accident, or shivering without shelter.  No, the snow globe does not invite that kind of realism.  The snow globe only captures the magical moment of freshly fallen, untouched snow, and dreamy winter.

Too often, we choose to keep gazing at snow globes, or to create our own snow globes.  We stare into snow globes because the destruction, hate, and violence of the world have caused compassion fatigue.  We create our own snow globes to insulate ourselves from the outside world so that we do not have to encounter the other.  Today our church delivered holiday gifts for seven families who live in a large public housing development.  As soon as we parked our car to drop off the gifts, I knew we were not in our snow globe anymore.  As a priest, those in need often come to me.  Today, I stepped onto their territory and it was a helpful reminder of how insulated my world can be if I create a globe around it.

The funny thing is that once I stepped out of snow globe, I did not slip on the ice.  I did not feel a sense of burden or dread.  Instead, people greeted me – making sure that I saw them.  Instead, a resident saw my colleague’s clergy collar and asked him to pray with him.  His friend said, “Well, while you’re at it, can you pray for my daughter too?”  Before I knew it, six of us were holding hands in the middle of this housing development, praying for health, wholeness, and the birth of our Savior.  I don’t know about you, but that’s better than any snow globe I can create.  What snow globes have you been looking into or what snow globes have you inadvertently created?  Join me this week as we pull our gazes away from the world of pretend protection and into the world of blessed encounter.

The Power of Stories

18 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

church, connect, encounter, meet, power, sacred, stories, stranger

Story

Photo credit: coolerinsights.com/2016/04/how-to-tell-winning-brand-stories-on-social-media/

Last week we started our Meet and Greets at Hickory Neck.  I knew that I wanted to get to know the people of the parish in a more meaningful way than just shaking hands in the receiving line after church.  And so, we are gathering in small groups of 10-12 people, and taking time to tell our stories.  The gatherings have already been a tremendous blessing.  I am learning about the varied ways that people found their way to Hickory Neck, their loves and passions, and their hopes and dreams.

What I particularly enjoy about the gatherings is the reminder of how powerful our stories are.  Each person in our community has a unique story, with elements that are quite familiar to us, and elements that are totally foreign to us.  I think that fascination with stories is why I have been attracted to efforts like Humans of New York or StoryCorps.  Those efforts are hoping to capture the everyday nature of our stories, while demonstrating the powerful ways that we connect through our stories.  Our stories have the ability to bring others joy, to elicit empathy, to bring us to tears, and to open up new worlds.

Too often, we are tempted to ignore the depth of those stories with strangers.  We are busy about our business, trying to accomplish tasks, or stick to a schedule.  In that routine, we forget that there are people all around us who have rich stories and whose lives may have something to teach us.  From that man who snapped at you in line, to the child who fell asleep in school, to the mom out in public in her pajamas, to the teen engrossed in social media, each person has a story behind their behavior – and the story may be much different than a quick glance allows us to assess.

If you have not joined a Meet and Greet, I encourage you to sign up at church.  In fact, even last night someone commented about how much they were learning about people they had known for quite some time.  But beyond our work within the community, I invite you to start looking at those outside of our community with a different eye:  the eye of someone who sees the unique and sacred stories we all have.  I look forward to hearing how your encounters go.

Taking a seat…

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by jandrewsweckerly in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

conversation, encounter, God, Holy Spirit, stranger

On the last day of my spiritual retreat last month, I headed down to the river toward my favorite bench so that I could watch the water and be silent with God one more time.  As I approached the bench, I noticed a woman sitting in a camping chair beside the bench.  I thought about going somewhere else, but I figured since we were still on the monastery grounds, maybe she would not mind just continuing to be in silence next to me.  When I quietly asked her if I could sit at the other end of the bench, she politely agreed.

The silence only lasted about five minutes.  She asked me what I was doing there, and slowly, despite my best efforts at being quiet, she drew me into a conversation.  The conversation that unfolded was surprisingly deep.  We talked about commonalties of geography, faith, and family.  A lapsed Roman Catholic, she had never met a female priest before.  There were many questions about the Episcopal Church – including what she called our “recent controversies.”  I cautiously proceeded, wondering what exactly she thought about our Church, assuming the “recent controversies” she mentioned were about our struggles around our relationship with our LGBT brothers and sisters.  I realized we were both being cautious with one another when, an hour later, she finally began talking about her gay son and how their relationship has evolved over the years.  Toward the end of our conversation, she showed me a devotional book she had been reading.  I asked her if I could write down the title, and before I knew it, she was insisting that I take the book.  She even gave me a bookmark with her name on it so that I would have something by which to remember our conversation.

courtesy of http://imthelittlemissfit.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/a-random-ball-pit-and-two-complete-strangers/

courtesy of http://imthelittlemissfit.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/a-random-ball-pit-and-two-complete-strangers/

I left that conversation, feeling more buoyant than I had for much of my retreat.  In fact, that conversation reminded me of a video from the website, Soul Pancake.  Take five minutes to watch the video by clicking here – trust me:  it is worth your time.

I realized if the people from that video and I could have such a random, meaningful, spiritual conversations with a total stranger, surely I could do the same at home.  So that has been the encouragement for getting myself and our parishioners out into the community to do just that.  Of course, the work is harder than it seems.  I have done the first step – getting myself into non-church public places where I can at least encounter strangers.  The next step – figuring out how to start the random conversations – is a bit trickier.  My hope is that if I keep placing myself in situations where encounter can happen, perhaps I will listen a little more intently to the nudging of the Holy Spirit to join someone on a bench or in a ball pit.  Who knows what can happen?

Recent Posts

  • How long, O LORD?
  • Sermon – John 13.31-35, Acts 11.1-18, E5, YC, May 15, 2022
  • Sermon – Acts 9.36-43, John 10.22-30, E4, YC, May 8, 2022
  • Sermon – John 21.1-19, E3, YC, May 1, 2022
  • Sermon – Luke 24.1-12, EV/ED, YC, April 16, 2022

Archives

  • May 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012

Categories

  • reflection
  • Sermons
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Seeking and Serving
    • Join 342 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Seeking and Serving
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...