Celebrating A Life Well Shared

Paul Davenport 1949-2016

I was brought up short about two weeks ago when I was scrolling through Facebook and saw that one of my friends who had been a counselor and advisor to me while in massage school was asking for prayers for her husband, the co-owner and director of my massage school. I immediately lifted his name and spirit and hers in prayer, but I wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

As time passed that day and into the next, the news began to filter out through third parties: Paul Davenport had had a heart attack and his wife, Josie, had found him and was able to use CPR to revive his heart. But he was in the ICU at a Gainesville Hospital. And the prognosis did not look good.

It is so strange sometimes that people who have touched my life in some important and profound way re-enter my conscious thinking when there is something going on with them. I had had such an occasion of Paul as I was working with a client. They were having an issue in the area of their armpit, or the anatomically-correct term, at the axillary. I recalled Paul's quirky way of helping us learn body parts with his stories that would always end in a really bad pun. In this case, it was the Volvo mechanic who is pointing out to Paul the problem with Paul's car as its up on the lift. The mechanic's name was Larry, as signified by the name badge on his left side above his heart. As Larry pointed to the axle of the Volvo, Paul couldn't help but notice the large sweat stain at his left armpit. And it made him think: "Axle+Larry=Axillary." We would then have to repeat that...and forever have this image seared into our memories.

I kept up my prayers for both Paul and Josie and the entire Florida School of Massage community. I asked to add Paul's name to the Prayers of the People at St. Thomas. And I would periodically check to see if Josie had put out any more information.

Tuesday afternoon of last week, I learned that Paul was being taken off life support. His chance of survival was such that the best thing was to let him go and have his spirit move on from this realm to the next. I wept. There are just some individuals whose hearts were so large that its impossible to imagine that their heart will give out. Apparently, though, Paul's had been giving him problems for the past seven years. He had bypass surgery in 2009 which forced him to slow down. But even in the slowing down, he kept up with playing music and being the man so many of us had come to know as the warm, compassionate presence of love and kindness.

He finally breathed his last on Thursday morning.

I've noted before here on this blog that the labyrinth cut into the grass in the back of the Florida School of Massage property has been an important "thin place" for me to go when I need quiet contemplative time with the Holy. My spouse and I took our separate trips along the winding path this past Saturday following Paul's Memorial service at the school. As per usual, I stood at the opening and took a moment with each of the statues that greet visitors to the labyrinth. One instructed me to look for wisdom. The other gave me the word "joy." And so my walk began. Wisdom and joy...joy and wisdom..

The more those words traveled back forth in my mind with each step, the more I realized that Paul's influence and the school's philosophy had really planted a seed for my overall spiritual growth. He did, after all, inform all of us that we were being ordained into the royal priesthood of the PHLANGES! (this must be done with a step forward, arms raised, and fingers to the sky). The fact that he put in a labyrinth on the grounds was a nod to an ancient prayer practice and an encouragement for those attending FSM to see that touching the body makes us the carpenters and caretakers of the house for a person's soul. The regular mantra at the beginning of each month when we'd receive our calendar of instruction--"Changes will be made"--was not only a reminder that, sometimes, we'd have to go with the flow on any given day but it was the inherent promise that the deeper we went into our practice and the more we worked on the body, the more likely it was that changes were going to happen.

I reflected again on the many silly stories and puns and Paul's inviting and playful smile. I thought about the way that I have approached my own study and reading of the Bible, and how so often a bad pun has come to mind or I've delighted in a play on words in Scripture that helps to open a new and different understanding. It's as if my learning of Scripture bears the mark of Paul's constant presentation that we can all change with a little more love. How Jesus of him! My walk on this hot midday afternoon came to an end with my two statues and the culmination of where "wisdom" and "joy" had led:

"Wisdom and Joy
Joy and Wisdom
The Holy Spirit blows in love
And it travels to the heart,
And once it has settled into the heart
The heart will pump out love into the veins
which exude love through every part of the body.
The learning is in the experience.
You get it now?"

At Paul's memorial service, we heard the prayer that he penned and that he and Josie would say as part of their regular meditation. Paul, who had a Methodist background, never ascribed to any particular religious path although he was highly influenced by the Dalai Lama and Buddhism. He took a Buddhist prayer and put his own interpretation on it.

With the wish to help all beings to be free from suffering 

I will always go for refuge

To the purity of all phenomena

It's direct perception 

And it's manifestation

Enthused by wisdom and compassion 

Today in the presence of enlightened awareness

I generate the awakened mind

For the benefit of all beings

For as long as space endures

And sentient beings remain

May I too abide

To dispel the misery of the world

------------------------

From my precious teachers 

And the pristine nature of existence 

I take the open path

With myself clear

As a vessel for wisdom and compassion 

I present my offering 

Following teachings of kindness and right livelihood 

I remain committed to purity of thought speech and activity

Enjoying the fruits of study and practice 

I benefit others 

With the giving of shelter sustenance guidance and love

------------------------

May the supreme jewel Bodhicitta

Arise where it has not arisen

And may that which has arisen

Never diminish but increase more and more 

Due to all these merits may all the father and mother sentient beings have all happiness 

And may the lower realms be empty forever

Wherever there are bodhisattvas, may their prayers be accomplished immediately 

May I cause all this by myself alone

May people be happy and their years be blessed

May crops grow well and may religion prosper

I pray that all happiness arises for everyone

And that whatever they desire shall come to pass

Seeing God in the Other: a sermon at United Church Tallahassee

Scripture used:

1 Kings 8:22-23; 41-43;  Psalm 96 1-9; Luke 7:1-10

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the Naturalization Ceremony at the United States Federal Courthouse. I was there to show support for my friend, Beatrice, who after living in the country for thirty years was finally becoming a citizen. She didn’t want anyone to come and, of course, my wife and I, being her friends, heard this request…and ignored it. This was a big deal…and we were going to be there whether she wanted us to or not! That’s what friends are for, right?

Not only was this a big deal, it was a HUGE deal. Seventy-one people….from France, England, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, Vietnam, Palestine, Iraq, China…and so many other countries were taking an oath and pledging their allegiance to the United States of America. They were smiling (how many people are happy to be in a federal court room?) Family members and friends were snapping photos. Each of the petitioners was given a short moment to express the meaning of this day to them. Over and over we heard “thank you!” “What a privilege!” “I am so happy to become an American!” As a native of this country, I was in awe to witness this joy, and to hear people with various lilts and accents speaking with pride about becoming one with me as a citizen of this nation.

I don’t often think about what it means to be an American, let alone think about citizenship as a privilege or something that makes me feel grateful and happy. More often than not, I see America’s flaws and where we have failed to be a great nation that takes care of its poor, its hopeless, and its lost and lonely people.  I sat next to a woman wearing a hijab. She was there because her husband was becoming a citizen. She pledged allegiance to the flag. She recited the oath of citizenship along with everyone else.  And, as we stood and listened to a man with a magnificent baritone voice belt out the national anthem, I felt myself overcome with the emotion of this moment. We were welcoming the foreigners into our land of the free and home of the brave.

Welcoming, and including foreigners is a central tenet of our Judeo-Christian tradition. We hear that clearly in the reading we had from First Kings. Solomon has just finished building the Temple and in his prayer of dedication he calls on God to hear the prayers of the foreigner “who is not of your people Israel” when they come to this house and call upon God.  Jewish law required them to show hospitality to the strangers in their midst, and Solomon went so far as to intercede to the God of Israel to pay attention to the foreigners and give heed to their pleas in the same way that God would hear the prayer of an Israelite. In this way, the foreigner might come to know the God of Israel and become part of the crowd.  The ceremony on Tuesday reflected that same generosity of spirit toward these newest citizens. Besides all the documentation that they now possess that proves their citizenship (and their desk-sized American flags) the presiding judge and speakers could not emphasize enough that the most important right of citizenship was to register to vote. And don’t you know that our Supervisor of Elections had three members of his staff on hand ready to help sign them up! Many of the petitioners mentioned how excited they were at this opportunity to vote in the upcoming election. And those of us in the room contemplating the current political state of affairs in the country likely all had the same collective thought of, “Oh, I bet you are happy to vote!”

Which brings me to the Gospel lesson we heard this morning from Luke about the Roman centurion seeking help from the Jewish Jesus. Remember that in this time, Rome was an occupying force and the Jews felt under the thumb and oppressed by the presence of the Roman soldiers. This centurion, however, was viewed a little differently. He had been kind to the Jews and had even built their synagogue. He petitions Jesus to please heal his sick servant. When Jesus comes, the centurion, aware that Jewish law forbids Jesus from entering the house of a Gentile, urges Jesus not to come under his roof.  Just say the word…he pleads…and heal my servant. And I can almost picture this moment: Jesus…stunned by what this Gentile Army General has said and just how deeply this man “gets it”…turns around to the people following Jesus and says…to take some liberties with text…,“Whoa! Now THIS is what faith looks like!”

I go back to that Naturalization Ceremony and all those people who desired to become part of our country and take part in our right to vote. Even my friend made her first act as a citizen registering to vote so she could have a say in the governance of this state and the nation.  Think about that for a moment. People…who have had to jump through hoops and drive to Jacksonville and Miami and swear an allegiance to the United States…are relishing this opportunity to vote. They believe and have faith in this as a democratic society where voting does matter and does make a difference. And then consider the conversation---if you can even call it that—that seems to be happening on social media sites such as Facebook. I don’t know what you’re seeing and reading from your friends, but on my timeline it seems everything about the system is rigged and the will of the people is being thwarted. Democracy is a sham.

I don’t believe that. Democracy is messy. Democracy means that I win sometimes and I lose sometimes. If there is anyone who has cause to feel that the system is rigged, it’s those for whom guarantees of access through the Voting Rights Act are being threatened. And, despite the undue influence of money in our political system, I still have faith that my vote…and the votes of real people and not corporations…matters.

Now…before you think this is only a sermon on voting...let me bring this back to the matter of faith and the foreigner. Because just like the messiness that is our Democracy…this idea of who is a beloved child of God is also not so clean cut. It would be so much easier and convenient if we could say that if you look like me, talk like me, and worship in the same church as me…then you’re “of God” and everybody else…is not. But that certainly isn’t what Solomon was saying in his prayer of dedication of a temple he built to the glory of God. And it isn’t the lesson we’re getting from Jesus this morning about the one who is outside of his own flock of followers, and yet had more faith in Jesus’ healing powers than what the Son of God had found in all of Israel. Perhaps what we’re called to hear in all of this is that God’s grace is abundant, God’s mercy is everlasting, and God’s faithfulness can be found in those who are “the others” in our society. It could be that God is calling us to see in those who are not just like us the hope and the joy of what it means to be citizens not only of a country on earth but a country on earth as it is in heaven. Embrace the faith. Be kind to one another. And let us all say, “Amen.”

Respecting the Dignity of Every Human Being

On Thursday of this week, I put up a friendly message as my status: "Happy Beltane to all my dear Pagan/Wiccan friends!  May those traveling to FPG (FL Pagan Gathering) arrive safely."  Several of my Pagan buddies hit the "like" button.  But what was striking was the comment from one of my devoutly atheist friends.

"You are awesome! You are the perfect example of being accepting, not hating!"

I appreciated the comment, and it made me stop and think a little.  First, about what kind of Christians this person has encountered in her life.  I've heard it said that the leading cause of atheism is Christian intolerance and bigotry.  The other thing it made me think about is the pledge that all of us in the Episcopal Church make when there is a baptism.  We are asked to renew our Baptismal Covenant, which begins with stating our belief in the nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And then we are asked five questions about how we will take responsibility, with God's help, to live out our lives in following the teachings of Christ.  The last of those questions being:

"Will you strive for justice and peace among all peoples, and respect the dignity of every human being?"

Again, we all answer, "We will, with God's help." 

Respecting the dignity of every human being, for me, includes recognizing that my path of Christianity is an excellent one for me, but God may have other paths and other plans for other people.  Not everyone is going to be an Episcopalian.  Not everyone is going to be Christian.  But this doesn't make them wrong and it certainly doesn't negate the real possibility that they, too, are entering into a life of seeking and finding the Universal Love that exists all around us.  My theology is confirmed in the recent readings we've been doing in the EfM program.  Year Four has been assigned a book called, "My Neighbor's Faith," which is a collection of essays from people of many different faith backgrounds as they encounter people from other traditions and enter into dialogue with them.  Sometimes, these are chance meetings, and sometimes they've occurred in more structured environments like a spiritual retreat.  And pretty much always, the dialogues will highlight a revelation to the author of a long-held prejudice against "the other" that gets turned on its head.  Love will do that.  One of the essays, written by a rabbi who happened to get into a cab driven by a fundamentalist Christian in Syracuse, New York, captured the attention of both me and one of the other members of our group.  In this discussion, the rabbi was asked pointedly by his cabbie what he thought about Jesus (the driver had already spotted the man's kippah).  The rabbi tried to get by with saying he thought Jesus to be a great teacher.  But the cabbie pushed him: if that's true, then why didn't he believe he's the path to salvation?  The rabbi's answer was brilliant:

"I can believe that Jesus is a great teacher without believing that he's God's son and the only path to salvation. One truth doesn't negate the other.  I can love Jesus in my way.  And you can love Jesus in yours. There is room for both of our understandings of Jesus.  I don't believe you have to be wrong for me to be right."

Like the cabbie in this story, my eyes popped open and I was so thrilled to read such a succinct and wonderful statement of what I believe to be the awesome Truth.  My belief in Jesus does not make someone else's non-belief wrong.  We're just looking at the life and witness and glory of Christ through different lenses.  If only we could all relax into that idea, I believe that there would be less strife and less demand to be right.  And ultimately, I think it could ease so much tension in the world, at least around this very contentious point about religion.

Perhaps, then, I would seem a little less awesome to some when I accept and love those who follow the Divine in their own way.

Love is All Around: Pride Interfaith 2014

It's the second week of April; must be time for LGBTQ Pride! 

Yes, I know. Pride is supposed to happen in June, perhaps in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day.  But Tallahassee's organizers decided a while ago that they wanted to grab the "early bird" designation in deference to the students at FSU, FAMU and TCC, as well as holding our celebration when it isn't the sweltering sauna of Tallahassee summer.  And so, we are all geared up for Pride, and it's theme of "Feel the Love."

One of the hallmarks for our local pride celebration is the annual interfaith service, dubbed "Colors of Faith."  Representatives from various traditions come together to craft a liturgy, and lead a celebration of the Spirit for the community.  This year, our combined efforts came from the Unitarian Universalist Church (who hosted), Gentle Shepherd MCC, United Church of Christ, Red Hills Pagan Council, Temple Israel, Unity Eastside and the Episcopal Church.  The program was mostly music mixed in with readings and stories of our history as LGBTQ people who have faced many obstacles in our path toward acceptance as part of the human family.  While we acknowledge that many have suffered from difficulties encountered with families, friends, even our houses of worship, what this service provides is a sacred space where no matter who you are or what your individual story may be, you are invited in to meet the Holy.  And for those most deeply wounded by their faith family, this may be the one chance to feel truly embraced in the arms of Love.

For our Episcopal part, we offered up a reading our Bishop Gene Robinson's book, "God Believes in Love: Straight Talk about Gay Marriage."  We didn't get into the marriage equality issue.  Instead, the excerpt discusses the nature of God in the work of creation and how that fits with the spiritual selves of LGBTQ people:

“In creation, God does an amazing thing.  God creates humankind and gives us free will.  We are free to love God back—or not.  This is an astoundingly vulnerable action on God’s part: to create humankind, to desire a relationship with us, indeed (if Scripture is to be believed) craving a relationship with us, and at the same time giving us the freedom to be in relationship or not.  Just think of human parents, and how we desire a good, right, and loving relationship with our own children—and how vulnerable and sad we feel when it doesn’t happen.  So too God has made God’s self  vulnerable in creating us free.  In doing so, God is disclosing who and what is at the center of all that is…..

It seems to me then that vulnerability and self-disclosure are at the heart of what we understand about the nature of God.  And the reason I believe gay and lesbian people are spiritual people is that we too have participated in vulnerability and self-disclosure, especially in the process of coming-out.  When someone shares with you who they really, really are, it is a special offering. To do so when it risks rejection is a profound, holy gift.

Someone who comes out as gay puts himself in a very vulnerable position, not knowing how that new knowledge will affect relationships.  It may destroy a friendship.  It may cause a parent to throw her own child out onto the streets.  It may cause a child to reject her gay dad.  But it is an act of self-disclosure that makes true relationship possible.  This kind of vulnerability and self-disclosure  I would label “of God”  That is, it participates in the very deepest understanding of what we know about God.”—pp107-109

To punctuate this passage, we used these lines from the First Letter of John:

“God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also."

Songs of praise of love, and the earth, Adonai  God were also all part of the celebration.  The best part: we didn't waste time with introducing ourselves and saying who we were and how wonderfully open and affirming our congregations are, etc. etc.   We don't need to say these things.  We just need to be with one another.  Interfaith work reflects true faith when we can find our common language to work side by side for Love.  It felt good to see that come together in our service this year.

 

Celebrating Pride in Faith; The Call to Action

I know what you're thinking: Pride Week? In April?   These are the accomodations the community makes in Tallahassee where there are three college campuses, and June is so hot and humid that to own a sauna is really kind of redundant.

One of the highlights of the week for me has been the interfaith service.  The one in Tallahassee is truly INTERfaith: Jewish, Evangelical Christian, B'hai, Pagan, Quaker, Lutheran, Episcopalian, MCC, United Church of Christ, and Unitarian Universalists all gathered under the roof of Temple Israel as one call to recognizing the LGBT spirituality in all of those (and many more) traditions.

Again, I participated to make sure that the Episcopal Church was present and accounted for in this assembly.  As you may recall from my post "Wanting Memories," I basically went to the mat with my clergy to be allowed to represent our parish in the service.  It was a really ugly fight, from my standpoint, and one which so deeply hurt me that I couldn't bear going through that hell again. So, rather than asking any of the local Episcopal clergy to participate, I offered that I would stand in, along with with Mtr. Phoebe of the Church of the Ascension in Carrabelle, and do a portion of the service.   I shared all of this with my spiritual director who, after many questions, finally took out the two-by-four and asked if she was allowed to "come play."

"Oh, you want to take part in the service?" the directee asked, stupidly.  And after getting whalloped by the two-by-four, offered that I would check with the group, and that I was sure they wouldn't mind.

The service had three sections.  The first was presenting and celebrating our past and standing on the shoulders of giants.  The second was our present time, and seeing where there were still pockets of resistance to the recognition and respect of all people.  And the third was lifting up the giants of our future. 

The "Episcoposse," as I like to call us, were to start the section on the present.  My charge was to lay the foundation of the section as a "call to action" or "what can people of faith do to lift up those being laid low by laws and prejudice."   Many people had enjoyed what Mtr. Phoebe and I presented last year but I didn't want us to do a repeat of the same thing.  I knew we needed something to engage the congregation; it is not the Episcopal liturgical way to let people sit and be passive.  And so, after some thought, I proposed that we steal a page out of Morning Prayer and offer suffrages with a concluding collect.  And, after some prayer and stillness, I took a first crack at what would be our offering which then my spiritual director, Mtr. Galen Mirate, spruced up and nuanced. 

Finally, and again after prayerful meditation and listening to the guidance of the Divine, I wrote out my opening "homily" which preceded the suffrages and collect.  Here's what we presented:

 

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;

These words from the prophet Isaiah were the same ones that Jesus read from the scroll in the presence of many at the Temple.  They are the call to action for all people of faith as we encounter our world of haves versus’ have-nots.  Equal rights for some but not others.  And the real dangers of LGBT people living in countries where governments, with the backing of religious authorities, enact laws that threaten our lives with imprisonment and even death.

Giants, such as David Kato in Kampala, Uganda, who led the group Sexual Minorities of Uganda, have been killed in the cause to bring freedom to the oppressed in his country.  He dared to be outspoken, and to stand up for what was his right… and the rights of all people to be treated with respect and dignity.  His death must not be in vain.

The countless numbers of transgender people who are sometimes brutally killed that we remember each November are a reminder that gender identity and living outside the binary understanding of male and female poses a threat to some.  Their deaths must not be in vain.

Immigration laws that threaten to divide binational LGBT couples are another casualty of our growing hodgepodge of laws on the issue of who can be married in this country.  Inequality under the law must not continue.

We have come a long way, but we have so much further to go.   And it will take all people of faith to put on the mantle of light and the prophet and speak truth to power… both in the houses of our government and our houses of worship.  It is our calling to allow our mouths and our bodies to become the vehicle through which Love can cast out the fear that keeps us down.

May this calling to courageous acts of Love be fulfilled in your hearing.

 

 

Mtr. Phoebe: We pray in peace and call upon the Spirit to whom all hearts are open, all desires known: silence

Mtr. Phoebe: Comfort and succor those who have suffered rejection from their family, friends and faith communities

All: May they forge new bonds of affection here on earth and be nourished by the unconditional love of the Almighty from heaven.

Mtr. Galen: Protect those who suffer violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, both here and abroad

All: Shield and defend them from the forces that seek to do them harm, and turn the hearts of those who would oppress them.

Mtr. Phoebe: Grant courage and strength to those who live in fear of revealing their true selves

All: Give them hope in their struggles and assurance of your great love.

Mtr. Galen: Empower those allies who stand with their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters

All: That they are uplifted and inspired by the Spirit Who drives them to cry out for justice.

Mtr. Phoebe: Preserve all people who have entered into loving and committed relationships

All: And direct the nations of the world to recognize marriage equality for all.

Mtr. Galen: Lead all of us from prejudice to truth, from blindness to clarity, from apathy to compassion

All: And melt our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, as we strive to become instruments of Divine transformation.

A Collect for Action

Almighty God of our many understandings, you have called us to follow your example of love and bind the wounds of those who have suffered rejection in your name; place in our hearts the power to love; place in our mouths the power to enlighten; place in our minds the power to understand. Let our knowledge of your truth give us the wisdom and strength to turn bitter injustice into loving acceptance, and guide the people of the world towards the path of greater inclusivity, where all may live in peace. In the Name of your great love for us, we ask it all. Amen.

The service concluded with the Pagans leading those who wanted to do it in a chant and spiral dance to raise the energy and send it out into the world.  May that carry us forward to keep doing the courageous acts of Love that will change the hearts and minds of many more people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gnosh on This: Images from The Jewish Food and Culture Festival

Amidst our season of Lent comes a wonderful respite from self-denial: The 4th Annual Jewish Food and Culture Festival at Temple Israel!   How can you resist a real New York Deli-style pastrami on rye with cole slaw and a sour pickle spear?  Or a real New York cheesecake from Carnegie's?  Or real, homemade stuffed cabbages?  Or real knishes?  And don't forget the Galilean wines that are kosher for Passover?!

Answer: you can't!  And lots of Tallahassee made the trek up Mahan Drive, following their noses and good senses that said, "Matzo Ball Chicken Soup is good for the soul!"

The kitchen crew was on task bright and early on this first Sunday of Daylight Savings Time to get the yummy food out to the masses.  Knishes, Pastrami and Corned Beef sandwiches, homemade Hamantaschen and Rugelah, stuffed cabbage, tabouli, kosher hot dogs, bagels with cream cheese and lox and capers and onions, Dr. Brown's Cream Sodas, and music, music, music in the tents outside.
My partner roused me early to help schlep the volunteers from their cars, parked off-site, to the Temple for their crazy day of keeping up with the feeding frenzy. 

By 2pm, almost all the food was gone.   Clearly, Tallahassee is hungry... especially for the real deal in Jewish Deli fare.  And so we must wait until next year to get our fix of pastrami with the fixin's!

Grace in Fourteen Minutes

Several of us attending Georgia's Diocesan Convention in Tifton this weekend were anxious as the delegates moved swiftly through resolutions on changing the date of their next annual church meeting to November, the budget, the suggested tithe to The Episcopal Church, parochial reports. Luckily, the morning began with the youth of the diocese giving testimony in song, story and video, about their camp experiences to keep the adults in the room grounded in what's important to their future. And I noted how many times the teenagers talked about their time at Honey Creek camp for what is called "Happening," as a period when they could be themselves and not have to pretend to be somebody they are not.

What a perfect prelude to a vote on Title IV Canon 1: Ethical Standards, also known as, "that" canon.

Back in the days when the election and consecration of Gene Robinson to the episcopate meant that all other dioceses went haywire and needed to protect themselves against maybe calling a gay person in New Hampshire to be a bishop, Georgia responded with adopting Title IV Canon 1 which read:

"Marriage between a man and a woman or abstinence from sexual activity are the only forms of acceptable sexual behavior for Deacons, Priests, or Bishops."

The intention of this canon was clear. It was a way to keep out the LGBT faithful and tell God who God was allowed to call to ordained ministry. Any gay person that God might call into "the process" would have to vow celibacy or lie and pretend to be somebody they are not. Not exactly a Happening experience, if you know what I mean.

On Friday, the delegates looked at the proposed change to the canon. There had been one more edit made in the language that was not in their prepared packets. If there's one thing Episcopalians can do, it's argue over the words and the meaning of words, so the addition definitely caught folks attention. The amended proposal read:

"Deacons, Priests, and Bishops in the Diocese of Georgia are called to be wholesome examples to the Church exhibited in the teachings and virtues of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In their personal lives, those called to chaste singleness must abstain from sexual intimacy; those not so called must manifest faithfulness, monogamy, life-long commitment, mutual caring, and healthy caring for themselves and their families. Their public lives must show financial honesty, confidentiality as required, respect of interpersonal and professional boundaries, and the avoidance of fraud, deceit, and deliberate misrepresentations."

Here endeth the proposal... Thanks be to God!

Debate swirled around what was the meaning of "monogamy." Some wanted to know why all the categorizations "financial honesty, healthy caring, etc. etc." At dinner, I was with a group of folks from Integrity Georgia. We were all wondering, "Why do they need all of this language anyway? There's a national canon on ethical behavior; why not go with that?"

Clearly, we were not the only ones having this lightbulb moment.

When the convention finally reached the point of discussing this proposed change it was 9:54AM. The rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Savannah, Rev. Sam Buice, made a motion chock full of "Whereas" clauses, all to get to the main idea:

We have a national canon. We have a Commission on Ministry. They aren't idiots. Let them follow the national canon and let's just strike this whole ethical standard and follow the one set by our Church's governing authority.

It was one of those moments where you could feel the whole room shift its collective thinking and realize that there was elegance in simplicity.

I say, "whole room," but there were detractors. Some really felt that they needed to hold onto the standard as it was currently written. There was even a motion made to delay any vote on the matter until the next convention, which would be in November 2014. That was easily defeated by a show of hands.

Back to the "strike-all and insert nothing."

A priest from Augusta went to the microphone, and called the question. Seconded. Bishop Benhase explained again what it meant to vote Yes or No. Rather than a voice vote, it was done by a show of hands. The No's had about a dozen. The Yes's were a veritable sea of phalanges. The motion to strike the whole thing, and accept the national canon was accepted. It was 10:08AM.

In fourteen minutes, the Diocese of Georgia opened its gates to those who have stood waiting on the other side. My body trembled in amazement at witnessing the event. And just as quickly as I absorbed what had just happened, I knew what I would have to do.

My spiritual director had sat between me and a priest named Gavin from Savannah. Rev. Gavin had voted No on the resolution. And I knew this development likely troubled him greatly.

"Excuse me," I said to him, "My name's Susan Gage. I know you voted No on that resolution. I just want to thank you for being here, and for voting your conscience, and" placing my hand lightly and briefly on the left lapel of his jacket, "following your heart."

"Thank you for your graciousness," he said.

"You're from Savannah?"

"Yes, St. John's in Savannah."

"I know you've gone through hell there..."

"Yes, it has been very painful."

"I'm from St. John's in Tallahassee, Florida. We've experienced that, too. So I know what you are talking about."

"Thank you."

"God's peace be with you," I concluded.

"And also with you. Thank you."

And again, grace occurring, and this time in one minute or less between two strangers who were clearly on opposite sides of the issue. My prayer is that Gavin, and the other Gavins in the Diocese of Georgia, not walk away, but continue to stay with the diocese. They, like me, are members, together, in this greater thing called The Body of Christ. And it takes all parts of the body functioning in order to propel it forward in motion.

The fact that Gavin allowed me to talk to him, I hope, is a good sign and evidence that God is working God's purpose out as year succeeds to year at least in the Diocese of Georgia.

Believe in Miracles

I know today was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and it was also the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, our nation's first African-American president (because Clinton was NOT). 

The significance of those two events coinciding on this day is not lost on me.  And just as big was the President saying, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law... For if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal, as well.”  He further went on to make the link between various civil rights struggles for women, African-Americans, and the LGBT community by bringing up Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall.

I got teary-eyed hearing this.  For the first time, a President of the United States had connected the dots that I, and so many other gay people, have been connecting together for years, only to be growled at for daring to equate our struggle for equality with that of our black brothers and sisters.  Now it was our black brother, the ally-in-chief, making our case for us.   And, for once, this wasn't just some Democratic politician saying all the right things to get us to open our pocketbooks, so we could be ignored and left behind... again.   President Obama has shown he means it.  He has repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell; his Justice Department has refused to advocate for the Defense of Marriage Act.  And his own significant move came last year when he told Robin Roberts in a sit down interview that he had "evolved" on the marriage issue and he didn't have a problem with people of the same gender tying the knot.  That statement rippled out through the African-American community, and it opened the door for blacks who have quietly supported LGBT rights to step up and become more vocal... especially from the pulpit.

So, what in the world does any of this have to do with miracles?   Because, much like the moment in yesterday's gospel, when Jesus performs the first miracle at the wedding in Cana by turning nasty undrinkable water for purification rites into a never-ending flow of the best wine ever, I am seeing a similar moment of "Wow!" in the President's remarks with regards to the LGBT community. Jesus' miracle, done not for show but as a teaching moment about God, clearly the blew the minds of those present to witness what he did. 

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Ca'na of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.--John 2:9-11

Believing is the first step in having faith.  Having faith is then the motivator for engaging the world in the ongoing effort to bend that long moral arc of the universe toward justice. 

At our service yesterday, we had a guest preacher, Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel, who noted that the miracles that occur in Scripture don't happen without the willingness of human beings to act on our faith.   The advancements that LGBT community, and any other minority group, has seen in history has not come by us waiting and praying for a change to occur and waiting for God to do "God's thing."  It has happened because we have been actively working toward change.  And a "Wow!" has arrived in the words of the President in his second inaugural address.

This "Wow!" that has the potential to continuously "Wow!" for the months and years to come.  May it be so.    

For Only In You Can We Live in Safety

As the Grateful Dead might say, "What a long strange trip it's been."

This Sunday we are arriving at time when the disciples have seen their risen Christ, been amazed and overjoyed that he has conquered death.  And then, last Thursday, he took them up to the mountain and told them, "OK, now I'm really outta here.  But you'll be getting another boost from a close buddy really soon!"  And off he went, ascending to sit at the right hand of the Father.

I don't know about you, but I'd probably want a stiff drink at this point!

He's gone.  Again.  And now they're left.  Again.  And the world isn't getting any kinder or gentler or easier.

Jesus was aware of what his friends would be enduring in his absence.  In this morning's gospel, we find him in prayer.  John's gospel gives us a glimpse into the Jesus who is preparing to be put to death and making a petition to God on behalf of the disciples:

Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.--John 17: 11b-18

Imagine, for a moment, that this prayer is being cast out many thousand years into the future on our behalf as well.  In many ways, those of us who take solace and gather strength in coming together at the Lord's table every Sunday in the Eucharist are facing our own trials once we walk out of the church.  Like the disciples, we, too, enter into a world that doesn't necessarily believe in Christ, or--worse-- claims the mantle of Christ but betrays his ethic of Love to assert themselves as the moral superiors to everyone else.  They say they believe in Christ, but actually saying and doing things that reflect Christ's love?  Well, y'know...  

Like the disciples, we may find ourselves feeling left behind and wondering how to carry on in the face of hostility, and indifference.  Remember, to be Christian, to really live and abide in Christ, is to be counter to a culture of consumption and climbing the corporate ladder.  It is a life that requires us to extend ourselves in Love to people with no expectation that we are going to gain anything in return.  That's not the normal way of your every day human being! 


When I think of this prayer of Jesus' in John's gospel, I am reminded of the petition we make in the daily office:

V: Give peace, O Lord, in all the world
R: For only in you can we live in safety

This seems to sum up what Jesus is saying.  In God, we have peace and only in God's peace can we live in safety.  We have choices in how we respond to the many challenges we face in our daily lives.  If we choose to respond from a place of thinking that we must "solve" and "fix" everything in the world then we are circumventing the power of God who is the one who gives us the ultimate peace if we will relax and listen to the wisdom and give the control to a force greater than ourselves.  It is through God and being in relationship with God that we have what we need to experience the sense of  freedom and calm that comes with eternal life.  And it is from this place of freedom and calm that we can respond to the world.  If we so choose to live in that way.

And we have to be able to do this without the physical Christ looming over our shoulder, and being able to pull Jesus out of our pocket.  Much in the same way the disciples must rely on knowing that they have been given all the tools they need to carry on without Christ being right there with them, speaking in parables and offering clarification.  Our experience of Christ can come in a variety of ways, but its baseline for most of us is that moment or moments when we have intentionally allowed ourselves to be in contact with God.  We must remember those words after Communion that, having been fed with the spiritual food of Christ's body and blood, we are now sent into the world in peace to love and serve God with gladness and singleness of heart, a way of being that comes from having shared in the Eucharist.  We are given the opportunity now to take our counter cultural Love to meet the world as we experience it.  The more willing we are to allow that Love that flows from each of us to come out, the more we become the agents of something radical that builds up and transforms the world as we know it.  Are we ready for that challenge?     

Greet Our New Rector

If this is the day after the Rapture, and the congregation of St. John's Episcopal Church is still here, then that must mean God intends for us to enjoy a new heaven and a new earth with our new rector, Rev. David Killeen.

It is a new day for St. John's, and a happy one.

I met with Fr. Dave a few weeks after he arrived as our Priest-in-charge along with another member of the congregation who identifies as a gay man.  Our intent was to welcome this new guy, and to let him know that there are many LGBT people that sit in the pews, sing in the choir, serve at the altar both as altar guild and in Eucharistic Ministry.  Much to my surprise and delight, Dave was not only OK with gay people, he had noted with interest that our church serves as a home to the local PFLAG chapter.  He knew what PFLAG was, had attended some PFLAG meetings while working at St. Bart's in New York City, and was completely at ease talking to us.   This was a huge shift.  There was no defensiveness or a need to explain why outreach to the gay community was unnecessary in our "welcoming" congregation.  Dave has been willing to be present at interfaith AIDS gatherings, and to have our church listed as an active participant in the LGBT Pride service.   He understands that in order for the gay community to know they are welcome inside the doors of St. John's, St. John's needs to practice that welcome outside in the community. 

As we met with him, Dave inquired about the past sins committed under the roof of St. John's against the LGBT community.  I was not present for that period because I had walked away from the church. I read about it in the form of newspaper reports and that was enough to convince me to stay away.  Stephen, my compatriot on this mission, was a member and described the pain suffered by LGBT people who kept their heads down so as to not get them chopped off as the then-rector preached poison from the pulpit.  Dave listened intently to this discussion and acknowledged what that must have been like.  He didn't try to patch things up.  There's no way he could.  But what he could and did offer was an openness to all people, and a desire to see folks who identify as LGBT become active members of St. John's along side their straight brothers and sisters.

Today's celebration is the beginning of the ministry that emerges with his leadership and our gifts coming to fruition.  It's the ministry that we display and put into practice in every day living in Tallahassee.  My hope is that it will be a dynamic outreach to a world that deserves to hear about the liberation offered through Christ.

Almighty and everlasting God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, send down upon Dave and the congregation committed to his charge, the healthful Spirit of your grace.  Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

A March for Martyrs

We don't often hear about martyrs in our modern times, but today in Hayneville, AL, there is a march and commemoration of those who sacrificed their lives for the civil rights movement in the 1960s... including Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Ruby Sales, who was the 16 year-old girl that Daniels died to protect from a shop owner with a shotgun, is among those taking part in today's pilgrimmage. You can read more about it on the Diocese of Alabama website
HERE.


I'm glad they're holding this celebration in Alabama. I'm glad that the actions of one Yankee in pursuit of God's desire are not being forgotten, but being honored and recognized not only as martyrdom but as reconcilliation. Daniels had reached that in his own life before his death. His is a story worth remembering in the Church... and in the world.

Happy Valentine's Day Birthday...some pictures

I am awaiting the photos that were taken by friends at my birthday party Saturday night. When they arrive, I will share. I know Gena took a really nice one of the Tiger on parade. These are some pictures I took of my "creative arts". Since this party was doubling as a fundraiser for noble queer causes (Queer As Faust, PFLAG-Tallahassee, and Integrity Uganda), and I had developed a silly survey on my invitation that at least 38 people filled out... I wanted to award my guests with some prizes. So... as an example... to those who answered my question about "What's the most pressing question facing the LGBT community today?", I drew the names of five people at the party... and they each received their very own "Do Ask, Do Tell" rainbow army!

The other exciting moment of the evening was the parading of my Chinese New Year tribute... my paper mache tiger head... or as I call it "The Tiger Dragon". Here's documentation of the effort.... before I attached the long red train, and gave the eyes some more color.

But probably the most important element of the party were the people, my friends, who joined with me to celebrate the day of my birth (even if we were doing it a little earlier than the actual Valentine's Day). A couple I knew years ago just happened to be in town, having escaped the snow in DC, and threw lots of party energy into the room... and another former Tallahassee couple actually drove over from Jacksonville to take part in my fundraising fete. And as I looked around the room at one moment, I was reminded of the time in my trauma training class in massage school when everybody put their hands on my back and I was to lean back and let them hold me. It was the most awesome feeling of support I'd experienced. And seeing so many faces in the room smiling and laughing and having fun, I appreciated again not only the feeling of support, but the feeling of love... an incarnated love... in the room.

My fundraising was a success, too! Altogether, my friends offered $1,100 for my three charitable causes. Not bad for 40 people... many of them with the same limited financial resources that I have! Truly, a marvelous occassion. Happy Birthday to me!

Preparations for A Party

Sunday, I will be turning 42. But since Sunday is Sunday... and Valentine's Day is never a good day to have a party... I will be gathering with friends the night before for revelry and raising the roof for good causes!

Yes, you read correctly... raising the roof for good causes. It is my choice and desire that my birthday take on a theme of breathing life into queer organizations that need as much help as they can get.

And so, this Saturday, I will be throwing a "Queer Carnival" celebrating my birthday, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, and the Chinese New Year all into one crazy, creative, costumed fete! The Chinese are celebrating the Year of the Tiger starting Feb. 14th... and so, provided the weather holds... we will take our tiger energy into the street and fearlessly proclaim the goodness and rightness of equality for all! I've been busy creating the Tiger head that we will carry along with our noisemakers. Pictures to be posted in the future! That's the fun part.

But what about gifts? Isn't that what birthdays are about? Yeah... sure. But I have been given lots of gifts already... ones that I feel inside the marrow of my bones. And so, with the money one would have spent on a gift of some extravagance... I'm asking my friends to put those dollars and cents into the donation jars for three excellent causes:

*Queer As Faust 3: the Mickee Faust Club's now annual gay pride festival during June. Our theatre troupe has put all our money into a major renovation project... and so QAF3 needs some seed money to afford to put on the programs we want to bring to Tallahassee.

*PFLAG-Tallahassee: our new little chapter that could is building momentum, but has a very meager bank account. We could use some extra cash to purchase materials, books and DVDs for our library.

*Integrity Uganda: talk about folks who need our help NOW! LGBT people in the African nation are living in fear as are those who want to bring services and affirmation of their worthiness to them. I'll have "Voices of Witness: Africa" playing in one room for people to see the folks they will be helping with their donations.

I was hoping to include some donations to Haiti, but sadly the group that was collecting on behalf of the gay community has chosen not to respond to requests for information. And past experience tells me that if someone won't respond to an email, or a phone call, they don't want the money. Sad, but there it is.

Meanwhile, the Integrity folks were all over my request for information. In fact, I received a very nice email proclaiming, "Thanks be to God for Susan!" Awww, shucks. :)