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July 13: Conrad Weiser, Witness to Peace and Reconciliation, 1760

Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.

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Conrad Weiser

Conrad Weiser was an eighteenth century American diplomat who

worked for peace and reconciliation between the European settlers and

the native peoples of Pennsylvania. Of Lutheran descent, he was the

father-in-law of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (October 7).

Born in Germany in 1696, he immigrated to the United States as a

child. At 17, Weiser went to live among the Mohawks in New York

in order to learn their language and culture. He later made his way to

southeastern Pennsylvania where he learned customs and language of

the Iroquois.

Weiser eventually settled in the area that is now Reading,

Pennsylvania. He designed the layout of the city of Reading, is

numbered among the founders of Berks County, and served a long

tenure as the local judge. Like many people of his time, he had to

work at a variety of occupations in order to care for his family:

farmer, tanner, merchant, and real estate speculator. For a time Weiser

was enamored with the Seventh Day Baptist movement and took up

residence at Ephrata Cloister.


His knowledge of the Iroquois language and his natural diplomatic

gifts made him invaluable during the years of the settlement. He

negotiated land deeds and other treaties not only between Native

Americans and European settlers, he also did diplomatic work

between the various tribes of Native Americans and was often, but

not always, successful in keeping the peace among them. He advised

William Penn and Benjamin Franklin on matters related to Native

Americans and played an important role in keeping the Iroquois

sympathetic to the British cause during the French and Indian Wars.

At the time of Weiser’s death, an Iroquois leader was heard to remark,

“We are at a great loss and sit in darkness…as since his death we

cannot so well understand one another.”

Collects

I Almighty God, of thy grace thou didst endue Conrad

Weiser with the gift of diplomacy, the insight to

understand two different cultures and interpret each to the

other with clarity and honesty: As we strive to be faithful

to our vocation to commend thy kingdom, help us to

proclaim the Gospel to the many cultures around us, that

by thy Holy Spirit we may be effective ambassadors for

our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the same Holy

Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

I Almighty God, of your grace you gave Conrad Weiser the

gift of diplomacy, the insight to understand two different

cultures and interpret each to the other with clarity and

honesty: As we strive to be faithful to our vocation to

commend your kingdom, help us to proclaim the Gospel

to the many cultures around us, that by your Holy Spirit

we may be effective ambassadors for our Savior Jesus

Christ; who with you and the same Holy Spirit lives and

reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Lessons

Job 5:8–9,20–27

2 Corinthians 5:16–20

John 16:33–17:5


Psalm 122


Preface of the Epiphany

Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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Conrad Weiser-Related Links

Conrad Weiser Homstead

We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

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July 12: Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala and Ecumenist, 1931

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About this commemoration

Nathan Söderblom

Born in Sweden in 1866, Söderblom attended the University of
Uppsala and was ordained a priest in the (Lutheran) Church of
Sweden in 1893. From 1894-1901, he served as Pastor of the Swedish
Lutheran community in Paris, during which time he took his doctorate
in theology at the Sorbonne. He returned to Uppsala in 1902 to teach
and lead the School of Theology at the university. He was a highly
respected scholar and teacher, a prolific writer, and an early proponent
of the study of comparative religions.

To the surprise and dismay of many, he was appointed Archbishop
of Uppsala in 1914. It had been centuries since the senior bishops of
the Swedish Church had been passed over for the appointment, and
particularly notable since Söderblom was not a bishop. He served as
Archbishop of Uppsala until his death in 1931.

Söderblom took a great interest in the early liturgical renewal
movement among Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans. This
coincided with his deep commitment to the unity of the churches
of Christ and his passion for ecumenical advancement. In 1925 he
invited to Stockholm Episcopalian/Anglican, Reformed, Lutheran, and
Orthodox leaders and together they formed the Universal Christian
Council on Life and Work. Because of his effort and his tireless
advocacy of Christian unity, Söderblom is numbered among the
ecumenists whose efforts led eventually to the formation of the World
Council of Churches in 1948. He was a close friend and ecumenical
ally of Bishop George Bell (October 3). It was Söderblom’s advocacy
for church unity as a means toward world peace that earned him the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1930.

Archbishop Söderblom saw a profound connection between liturgical
worship, personal prayer, and social justice. A rich cohesion of these
elements was, in his mind, the foundation of a Christian commitment
well lived.

Collects

I Almighty God, we bless thy Name for the life and work
of Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, who
helped to inspire the modern liturgical revival and worked
tirelessly for cooperation among Christians. Inspire us by
his example, that we may ever strive for the renewal of
thy Church in life and worship, for the glory of thy Name;
who with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit livest and
reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

II Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and work
of Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, who
helped to inspire the modern liturgical revival and worked
tirelessly for cooperation among Christians. Inspire us
by his example, that we may ever strive for the renewal
of your Church in life and worship, for the glory of your
Name; who with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lessons

2 Kings 22:3–13
1 Corinthians 1:10–18
John 13:31–35

Psalm 133

Preface of Apostles

Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.

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July 11: Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, c. 540

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About this commemoration

Benedict of Nursia

Benedict is generally accounted the father of western monasticism. He was born about 480, at Nursia in central Italy, and was educated at Rome. The style of life he found there disgusted him. Rome at this time was overrun by various barbarian tribes; the period was one of considerable political instability, a breakdown of western society, and the beginnings of barbarian kingdoms. Benedict’s disapproval of the manners and morals of Rome led him to a vocation of monastic seclusion. He withdrew to a hillside cave above Lake Subiaco, about forty miles west of Rome, where there was already at least one other monk. Gradually, a community grew up around Benedict. Sometime between 525 and 530, he moved south with some of his disciples to Monte Cassino, midway between Rome and Naples, where he established another community, and, about 540, composed his monastic Rule. He does not appear to have been ordained or to have contemplated the founding of an “order.” He died sometime

between 540 and 550 and was buried in the same grave as his sister, Scholastica.
No personality or text in the history of monasticism, it has been said, has occasioned more studies than Benedict and his rule. The major problem for historians is the question of how much of the rule is original. This is closely related to the question of the date of another, very similar but anonymous, rule for monks, known as the “Rule of the Master,” which may antedate Benedict’s Rule by ten years. This does not detract from the fact that Benedict’s firm but reasonable rule has been the basic source document from which most later monastic rules were derived. Its average day provides for a little over four hours to be spent in liturgical prayer, a little over five hours in spiritual reading, about six hours of work, one hour for eating, and about eight hours of sleep.
The entire Psalter is to be recited in the Divine Office once every week. At profession, the new monk takes vows of “stability, amendment of life, and obedience.” Pope Gregory the Great wrote Benedict’s “Life” in the second book of his Dialogues. He adopted Benedict’s monasticism as an instrument of evangelization when in 596 he sent Augustine and his companions to convert the Anglo-Saxon people. In the Anglican Communion today, the rules of many religious orders are influenced by Benedict’s rule.
Collects
I Almighty and everlasting God, whose precepts are the
wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the
teaching and example of thy servant Benedict, to walk
with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s
service; let thine ears be open unto our prayers; and
prosper with thy blessing the work of our hands; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II Almighty and everlasting God, your precepts are the
wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the
teaching and example of your servant Benedict, to walk
with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s
service; let your ears be open to our prayers; and prosper
with your blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Proverbs 2:1–9
Philippians 2:12–16
Luke 14:27–33
Psalm 119:129–136
Preface of a Saint (2)

Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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Links Related to Benedict of Nursia

Order of St. Benedict

St. Gregory’s Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan

Friends of St. Benedict

We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.

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July 6: John Hus, Prophetic Witness and Martyr, 1415

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About this commemoration
John Hus
John Hus

John Hus (1372-1415) was a Czech priest who became leader of the Czech reform movement, which called for a return to scripture and living out of the word of God in one’s life. As preacher at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, he talked to the people in their native language. Hundreds gathered every day to hear his call for personal and institutional reform.

Clerics he had offended had him exiled from Prague, but he continued his ministry through the written word. Hus took the radical step of appealing directly to Christ rather than to the hierarchy for the justification of his stance. When the Council of Constance opened in 1414, Hus traveled there hoping to clear his name of charges of heresy. Hus had been given a pledge of safe conduct from the emperor, but his enemies persuaded council officials to imprison him on the grounds that “promises made to heretics need not be kept.” Although several leaders of the Council of Constance were in favor of moderate church reform, the council’s prime objective was the resolution of the Great Western Schism, which had produced three rival popes at the same time. The council therefore tried to secure a speedy recantation and submission from Hus. He maintained that the charges against him were false or twisted versions of his teachings, and he could not recant opinions he had never held. Faced with an ultimatum to recant or die, Hus chose the latter. As he approached the stake on July 6, 1415, he refused a last attempt to get him to recant and said: “The principal intention of my preaching and of all my other acts or writings was solely that I might turn men from sin. And in that truth of the Gospel that I wrote, taught, and preached in accordance with the sayings and expositions of the holy doctors, I am willing gladly to die today.”
His death did not end the movement, and the Czech reformation continued. Hus’ rousing assertion “Truth will conquer!” is the motto of the Czech Republic today.
Collects
I Faithful God, who didst give John Hus the courage to
confess thy truth and recall thy Church to the image
of Christ: Enable us, inspired by his example, to bear
witness against corruption and never cease to pray for
our enemies, that we may prove faithful followers of our
Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
II Faithful God, you gave John Hus the courage to confess
your truth and recall your Church to the image of Christ:
Enable us, inspired by his example, to bear witness against
corruption and never cease to pray for our enemies, that
we may prove faithful followers of our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lessons
Job 22:21–30
Revelation 3:1–6
Matthew 23:34–39
Psalm 119:113–120
Preface of All Saints


Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.

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July 2: Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden, and Jacob Riis, Prophetic Witnesses, 1918, 1918, 1914

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Walter Rauschenbusch
Jacob Riis

About these commemorations:

Born the son of a German preacher in upstate New York, Walter Rauschenbusch’s childhood was steeped in traditional Protestant doctrine and biblical literalism. While attending Rochester Theological Seminary, he came to believe that Jesus died “to substitute love for selfishness as the basis of human society.” For Rauschenbusch, the Kingdom of God was “not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming life on earth into the harmony of heaven.”

In works such as Theology for the Social Gospel (1917), Rauschenbusch enumerated the “social sins” which Jesus bore on the cross, including the combination of greed and political power, militarism, and class contempt. In 1892, he and some friends formed the Brotherhood of the Kingdom, a group whose mission was to open the eyes of the church to the reality of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Like Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden’s ministry was dedicated to the realization of the Kingdom of God in this world. Gladden was the acting religious editor of the New York Independent, in which he exposed corruption in the New York political system. Gladden was the first American clergyman to approve of and support labor unions. In his capacity as Vice President of the American Missionary Association, he traveled to Atlanta where he met W.E.B. Dubois and he became an early opponent of segregation.

Washington Gladden

Though not a pastor like Rauschenbusch and Gladden, Jacob Riis’ “muckraker” journalism did much to awaken the nation to the plight of the urban poor. Born in Denmark in 1849, Riis arrived in New York City in 1870 as multitudes of immigrants flooded the city seeking work following the devastation of the Civil War. Riis found a job as a police reporter for the New York Tribune, and his work took him to the poorest, most crime-ridden parts of the city. Teaching himself photography, he combined word and image to display the devastating effects of poverty and crime on so many in New York. His work led future President Theodore Roosevelt, then City Police Commissioner, to close down the police-run poor houses in which Riis had struggled during his first months in New York.

Collects

I Loving God, who dost call us to do justice and love

kindness: we offer thanks for the witness of Walter

Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden and Jacob Riis,

reformers of society; and we pray that, following their

examples of faithfulness to the Gospel, we may be ever

mindful of the suffering of those who are poor and work

diligently for the reform of our communities; through

Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and

reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


II Loving God, you call us to do justice and love kindness:

we thank you for the witness of Walter Rauschenbusch,

Washington Gladden and Jacob Riis, reformers of society;

and we pray that, following their examples of faithfulness

to the Gospel, we may be ever mindful of the suffering of

those who are poor and work diligently for the reform

of our communities; through Jesus Christ, who with you

and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and

ever. Amen.


Lessons

Isaiah 46:8–11, James 2:14–18 Matthew 7:7–12

Psalm 72:12–17

Preface of the Epiphany

Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

If you’d like to participate in the official online trial use survey, click here. For more information about the survey, click here.

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July 1: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Writer and Prophetic Witness, 1896

Welcome to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog! We invite you to read about this commemoration, use the collect and lessons in prayer, whether individually or in corporate worship, then tell us what you think. For more information about this project, click here.

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

For more information about Harriet Beecher Stowe, you might visit:

http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/

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About this commemoration:

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811, and from an early age was influenced by the humanitarian efforts of her famous parents. Her father, Lyman Beecher, was known for his zealous preaching and involvement with the temperance movement, while her mother, Roxana Foote Beecher, ran a school for girls and publicly advocated for the intellectual development of women. Her sister Catharine led the women’s opposition against the Jackson administration’s Indian
Removal Bill.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an outspoken critic of slavery, an institution that she believed to be fundamentally incompatible with the theology of her Calvinist upbringing. An author of many works, she is justly famous for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), a sermonlike work that chronicled the life of a slave family in the south. In particular, it recounted the tragic consequences of slavery on families, consequences that were for Stowe to be counted as one of the worst evils of slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the bestselling book of the nineteenth century, and was influential in both America and Britain.

Stowe’s book inspired anti-slavery movements in the North and provoked widespread anger in the South. Her work intensified the sectional conflicts that would eventually lead to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, was alleged to have said, “So this is the little lady who started this great war!”

Stowe’s book, together with her public anti-slavery work, was largely responsible for bringing the evils of slavery to light not only in America, but in Britain, Europe, even Russia. Tolstoy greatly esteemed her work and her moral courage, heaping lavish praise on her. She was renowned then, as now, for her boldness and willingness to expose the harsh realities of slavery to the public eye.

Collects
I Gracious God, we offer thanks for the witness of Harriett
Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with
compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved
peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences
of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive
for thy justice, that our eyes may see the glory of thy Son,
Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with thee and the
Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now and
always. Amen.

II Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of Harriett
Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with
compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved
peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences
of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive
for your justice, that our eyes may see the glory of your
Son, Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with you and
the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now
and always. Amen.

Lessons
Isaiah 26:7–13
1 Peter 3:8–12
Matthew 23:1–12

Psalm 94:16-23

Preface of Advent

Text from Holy, Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints © 2010 by The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

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We invite your reflections about this commemoration and its suitability for the official calendar and worship of The Episcopal Church. How did this person’s life witness to the Gospel? How does this person inspire us in Christian life today?

To post a comment, your first and last name and email address are required. Your name will be published; your email address will not. The first time you post, a moderator will need to approve your submission; after that, your comments will appear instantly.

Holy Women, Holy Men Trial Use Evaluation Survey

Updated December 14, 2010

In response to Resolution A096 of the 2009 General Convention, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music is encouraging trial use of the commemorations in Holy Women, Holy Men. Our friends in the Church Pension Group’s Office of Research have created an online survey to help us gather responses from around the church.

In December 2010, the survey format was revised. The new survey is available here. At the top of the page, you’ll enter the name of the person(s) being commemorated, then respond to a few questions about the commemoration. A box for your comments  is at the bottom of the page. Click “continue to next page,” and you’re done!

Official trial use extends from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. You may begin the survey at any time during this year, and you may comment on any commemoration at any time. You do not need to comment on all of the commemorations in order to participate.

If you have questions or comments on the content of this survey, please contact Dr. Matthew Price, Director of Analytical Research, or Susan Erdey, Data and Research Products Specialist, at the Church Pension Group. If you have technical questions, please contact the Rev. Joseph Stewart-Sicking, Ed.D., or Rochelle Pereira, MS, at Loyola University Maryland.

The old survey worked this way: You’ll sign in to the survey using your e-mail address and a password you create. When you start the survey, we’ll ask you some demographic information, which will be kept confidential and used only in aggregate. Then the survey will lead you through the calendar day by day, asking you to respond to a few questions and giving you opportunity to add your own comments about each commemoration. After you enter your responses about a commemoration, save your survey and return the next day to respond to the next commemoration.

Commission asks input on Holy Women, Holy Men

From the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs:

[July 1, 2010]  As mandated in General Convention 2009 Resolution A096, The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) is soliciting views, opinions and feedback on Holy Women, Holy Men, a major revision of Lesser Feasts and Fasts.

The Rev. Ruth Meyers, Ph.D., Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific and SCLM Chair, explained that Holy Women, Holy Men is currently in trial use, and comments are welcome through the SCLM blog.  “We want to hear about people’s experiences with Holy Women, Holy Men,” she said. “It’s important that everyone have an opportunity to review and provide input on this major work. That includes individuals as well as congregations and dioceses.”

An online survey to assist in gathering feedback is available July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011: https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=139265.  More information about the survey is available here.

After compiling the data derived from the survey, SCLM will prepare a comprehensive report on the usage and people’s experiences with Holy Women, Holy Men for the 77th General Convention in 2012 in Indianapolis, IN.

As noted on the SCLM blog site: Holy Women, Holy Men…is the official worship book which includes biographies of saints who are commemorated in the calendar of the Episcopal Church, along with the collects (prayers) and scripture readings appointed for worship on these feasts. Over 100 new commemorations were approved at the 2009 General Convention…The General Convention called for trial use of these commemorations, giving opportunity to pray with this new material before a final decision about whether to add each commemoration to the calendar of the Book of Common Prayer.”

For more information on Holy Women, Holy Menhttp://www.churchpublishing.org/

Also available at Episcopal Books & Resources: www.episcopalbookstore.org

Communicating with SCLM

SCLM is committed to communicating with the wider church. To do so, a special email address has been established for all correspondence, to offer ideas, or to contact a SCLM member: sclm@episcopalchurch.org

The SCLM blog is here: http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com .

A Spanish-language Holy Women, Holy Men is in production.

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations.  The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Episcopal Church Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music: http://generalconvention.org/ccab/mandate/2

The Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org

IamEpiscopalian: http://www.iamepiscopalian.org/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/episcopalian

Twitter: http://twitter.com/iamepiscopalian

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TECtube

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The Nature of Blessing

The 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church directed the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for blessing same-sex relationships (Resolution C056). The Commission is eager to engage the wider church in theological conversation as one among many sources that will inform our work.

The reflection below was submitted by the Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the task group preparing theological resources.

Read more about this project.

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Prior to teaching in a seminary, I served as a parish priest in the suburbs of Chicago, where a good deal of my time each spring and summer was spent on weddings. Regardless of how active a given couple may have been in church life, the theological and spiritual portions of the pre-marital counseling sessions were usually the most challenging.

I always began the first of those sessions with what turned out to be a deceptively simple question: Why do you want to get married in a church? I can recall only one out of more than a dozen couples responding with anything like a theological or spiritual answer to that question. Only a few of them had considered the difference between a legal contract and a liturgical blessing. And none of the couples had pondered what role their invited guests would play during the service or in their relationship. All of this offered a rich opportunity for theological reflection in those preparatory sessions, which certainly enhanced the liturgical experience for the couple; I often wished all of the participants in those liturgies could have engaged in those sessions as well.

In my view, the work now underway by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music in gathering resources for the blessing of same-sex unions offers a similarly rich opportunity for theological reflection from which the whole church can benefit. Not least, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the nature of liturgical blessing itself, as well as the spiritual character of committed or “covenantal” relationships. Why, for example, would a faith community wish to “bless” a couple in a committed relationship? What does such a liturgical blessing mean and signify? How does a committed relationship in turn offer a “blessing” to the faith community in which they participate?

A good way to begin addressing those questions is by reflecting on one’s own relational commitments. Have you discerned any spiritual gifts emerging from your relationship that you may not have recognized apart from that commitment? As you observe and interact with covenanted couples, have you noticed particular gifts that their relationship contributes to the wider community? How does the presence of committed relationships, in all their various forms, shape the spiritual character of your own congregational life?

Most congregations would likely find their shared faith deepened by engaging in this kind of theological reflection. It suggests, for example, ways of thinking about committed relationships in terms of vocation and ministry, and in at least two respects. First, how might we think about entering into covenantal relationships as a divine calling, as part of our larger vocation as Christian people? And second, how can the spiritual gifts of such relationships contribute to the church’s ongoing ministry and Gospel witness in the world?

Jay Emerson Johnson, Ph.D.
Chair, SCLM task group on theological resources

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We invite your participation in this dialogue about blessing same-sex relationships. Your responses and observations here will help inform the work of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music in our work of developing theological and liturgical resources for such blessings. We hope that this conversation will also be a way to renew and enliven a shared vision of the church’s mission in the world.

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Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music announces task force group leaders

From the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs:

[June 28, 2010] The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) is addressing its duties to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings, as charged in General Convention Resolution C056, through three main task forces and by establishing communication tools to solicit responses from the wider Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Ruth Meyers, Ph.D., SCLM Chair, pointed out, “We are following the direction outlined in C056: To share some of the ideas being considered as task groups develop theological and liturgical resources. To encourage a conversation about the theological, liturgical, and pastoral principles for blessing same-sex relationships. To offer and invite theological reflection about this work.”

To accomplish these tasks, SCLM has established three task groups to focus on particular areas: a liturgical resources group; a pastoral/teaching resources group; and a theological resources group.

Resources

Resources and important information posted on the SCLM website are:

– Member lists for the three task forces

– GC09 Resolution C056 Liturgies for Blessings.

– Response of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music

Resources available here: SC_L&M_2010_May_TFC056.pdf

Episcopal Church Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music: http://generalconvention.org/ccab/mandate/2

Meet the task group leaders

Liturgical resources task group: The Rev. Patrick Malloy, Ph.D., of the Diocese of Bethlehem.  He is the H. Boone Porter Chair in Liturgics at General Theological Seminary in New York City and is a former member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music. The rector of Grace Church, Allentown, PA, he is the author of Celebrating the Eucharist (Church Publishing, 2007) and a forthcoming second volume, Celebrating the Pastoral Rites and the Daily Office.

Pastoral/teaching resources group co-chair: The Rev. Canon Thaddeus A. Bennett of the Diocese of Vermont. He is the part-time Canon for Transition Ministry and part-time rector of St. Mary’s-in-the-Mountains Church in Wilmington, VT. Previously, he was the Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He is one of the authors of the Episcopal Church’s Fresh Start resource and serves as a vocational faculty for CREDO. He helped found three HIV/AIDS organizations, including the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, and co-authored a number of resources for HIV/AIDS education and ministry.

Pastoral/teaching resources group co-chair: The Rev. Canon Susan Russell of the Diocese of Los Angeles. She is the Senior Associate at All Saints Church in Pasadena and is the Chair of the Program Group on LGBT Ministry for the Diocese of Los Angeles. In 2008 she convened the task force responsible for creating a diocesan pastoral response to both the May California Supreme Court decision on marriage equality and the November Proposition 8 ballot initiative.

Theological resources task group: The Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, Ph.D., of the Diocese of California.  He is a member of the core doctoral faculty in theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, and coordinates the Certificate in Sexuality and Religion program at Pacific School of Religion (PSR) where he serves as Senior Director of Academic Research and Resources at the school’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry.  Since 2006 he has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Theology and Sexuality and he is Book Review Editor of the Anglican Theological Review. His first book, published in 2005, was Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope. He serves as associate clergy at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley.

Communicating with SCLM

Meyers, who served as a GC09 deputy from the Diocese of Chicago and is the Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, explained that a blog has been established for easy communication. She noted, “SCLM and the task force groups welcome comments, suggestions, and ideas.” The blog site is http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com .

SCLM is committed to communicating with the wider church, Meyers stressed. To do so, a special email address has been established for all correspondence, to offer ideas, or to contact a SCLM member: sclm@episcopalchurch.org

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations.  The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Episcopal Church Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music: http://generalconvention.org/ccab/mandate/2

SCLM Mandate: http://generalconvention.org/ccab/mandate/2

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