Ember Thinking

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine
providence you have appointed various orders in your
Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are
[now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so
fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with
holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to
the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy
Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen. --Collect for Ember Day I, BCP p.256

This week in many Episcopal Churches, prayers are ascending for those who are responding to God's call to minister. Typically, a bishop will set the ordination services during these Ember Days, and welcome new deacons and priests into the church. Also, at this time, seminarians usually write a letter back to their sponsoring bishop to reflect upon their call and their ministry.
Ember Days, to me, are not just about those in the ordained priesthood, but also the baptised ministers. The laity are the ones who are like the Episconinjas, serving God not only with our lips but in our lives and without a lot of fanfare, and no dog collar to give us away. As a lay person, I have no obligations to correspond with my bishop. But if I did, these are a few of the things I'd say about my ministry up to this point:

God is never far from head or my heart. Whether that presence always makes it out of my mouth, I can't say "Absolutely!" I am human, and I do stumble.

Speaking of stumbling, I keep trying to do my part to remove the blocks that have caused some not just to stumble, but to fall and roll away from God. I have been blogging for more than three years now. And while I am not the most-widely read blogger on the internet, I have a fairly steady stream of folks who come here, and I keep this place honest, and reflective of my understanding of God's love for all people. If you've ever been told the lie that God hates you, bookmark this blog and come back over and over to read how much God loves you.

My ministry seems to follow along the lines of the prophets. I seem to find myself in situations where I am speaking truth to power whether it be on behalf of LGBT people in "the world" or in the church. I have grounded this work in prayer, both through the practice of doing the daily Morning Office readings and through a newer practice of centering prayer. I am learning to listen and to respond in a way to keep the message from getting lost in viciousness. This requires taking a step back sometimes and going quiet. I think the centering prayer is helping me with that.

My prophetic ministry is complimented by my service as a Eucharistic Minister and co-mentor of my EfM group. This, too, requires me to be quiet in my own head as I listen to what is being said in the group, and guide discussion. As an EM, I take care in my contact with my fellow members as we connect over the chalice, and if I am asked to lead the prayers or read the lessons, I prepare ahead of time, so the words I speak can be heard clearly. I know how important it was to me as I re-entered the church to hear the lessons and reflect on how God was reaching me through the Scriptures. I assume that there are others like me out there in the congregation with that same need. Likewise, my very small shared ministry of recording the services provides a way for those unable to attend to still have the experience of the service, or just the sermon, through our website and CDs.

Finally, you may have heard about the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, the international bloggers, that formed to write opinion pieces on the proposed document currently on the table in the various parts of the Anglican Communion. It is true that I oppose the covenant because I think it will have the opposite of its intended effect to unify and strengthen bonds in the Anglican Communion. Such a plan will more likely result in upping the gay and women-bashing that happens in some parts of the Communion while sanctioning the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada. Again, going back to my prophet status, I think its important for those who have concerns to raise them now (as we have been doing for awhile) rather than wait until its too late and we're in a hole.

So, that would be my report to my bishop. Too bad laity aren't encouraged to write more often!