Volume 16, March 30, 2020
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We have turned the halfway point through Lent towards Easter. I confess I am looking to Easter with a new-found longing this year as I try to lift my head from the ever distracting and anxious meditation on mortality that these days have brought to all of us.
Easter. I keep kicking around in my head a little story or anecdote that I first heard some thirty years ago by a wonderful Welsh school chaplain, Ron Lloyd. The setting for the story is during the immediate years following the revolution of 1789, when the whole of France stirred with all sorts of ideas in politics, sociology and religion.
Amongst the most prominent of the revolutionary leaders was a man called Bishop Talleyrand. One day the bishop was approached by a friend who complained, ‘After enormous effort and considerable thought, I have produced a new religion, which, in my opinion is far superior to Christianity. But, try as I may, no one takes any notice of what I have to say. How can I persuade them to accept this new faith?’
Talleyrand sympathized with his friend.
‘Starting a new religion isn’t easy,’ he said. ‘Such a venture is riddled with all sorts of difficulties’.
‘I realize that,’ cried his friend, ‘that is why I have come to you for advice. After all, you are the expert in religious matters!’
Talleyrand looked at his friend for a few moments and reflected on the matter, and then he quietly replied.
‘There is a plan you might just try, which could achieve the sort of response you are looking for.’
‘What’s that?’ asked the friend.
‘You could try being crucified and rising again on the third day.’
May we all look towards Easter, as we complete the Lenten journey and Holy Week, with our eyes turned to Christ, upon whom, with the comforting strength of the Holy Spirit and God our Father, all our hope is founded.
Yours sincerely,
Douglas Dupree
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For a steadfast heart
Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give me an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give me an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Amen
St Thomas Aquinas,
1225-74
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Here are some wise words below from the Benedictine Sister Catherine Wybourne, also known for her internet presence as the Digital Nun. She has persevered for a remarkable number of years with cancer and has given courage and strength to many through her column. Most recently, in her March 24
th
column ‘Embracing Uncertainty’ she writes:
People often say to me, ‘Your faith must help your cancer.’ To which, if they will listen, I generally reply, ‘No, cancer helps my faith.’ What I mean by that is that my experience of cancer has impressed on me the fact that we are not in control, and control isn’t the most important thing in life anyway.
You can follow her at this link:
https://www.ibenedictines.org/
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Of the Desert she writes:
At the beginning of Lent we were invited to go into the desert with Jesus. The desert is a place of silence, demons, strange contests, immensely important to the monastic tradition as an image of the spiritual quest on which we are engaged. It is the place where Israel learned to love the Lord, where the Covenant was made, where the sabbath was given and where Jesus triumphed over temptation. The ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 takes many of us further into the desert than we ever expected. Let us go into it with faith, hope and joy, knowing that where we go, the Lord has gone before.
Dame Catherine Wybourne, OSB
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Dominion:
The Making of the Western Mind
By Tom Holland
The keynote speaker at the Spring Clergy Conference at Camp Weed February 27-28 was David Zahl, author of
Seculocity,
a thought provoking look at contemporary society through the lens of the Gospel. I was surprised, and very pleased, that David Zahl ended his final talk by informing us that he had scheduled the very fine historian of the ancient world, Tom Holland, to speak at an upcoming conference he would be hosting in New York. Zahl had read Holland’s latest book
Dominion
and as I am in the middle of it, I was delighted to find someone else enjoying it so much as well.
Before coming to write about Christianity as the single most enduring influence on the shaping of the West, Tom Holland had penned a goodly number of distinguished (and highly readable) histories of ancient Greece and her war with Persia; the Roman Empire; the origins of Islam; the Middle Ages and Anglo-Saxon England.
Dominion
tells the story of how Christianity shocked and shook the ancient world and how it is yet the most compelling worldview shaping our contemporary life whether we be believers, agnostics or atheists. Holland himself probably belongs to the middle of those categories.
A predominant attraction of the book, to my mind, is that Holland does not attempt to present a straightforward chronological narration of the history of the Christian Church. Rather, he selects aspects or ‘currents’ of Christian influence that have spread most widely and that have been enduring into the present day. One of these, charity or almsgiving, is the subject of chapter five. I was amazed to learn how the general understanding and theology of almsgiving and supporting the poor and vulnerable in society evolved and shifted emphasis in the early Church.
Holland’s book opens with the most vivid scene and description of the impression the death of Jesus made on the imagination of the Roman world--- that a form of death the Romans utilized for rebellious slaves and so hideous that they refrained even from writing about it—would become the emblem not only of ‘suffering and shame’ but an emblem of redemption in which one might glory.
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Tips & Resources from Dale Beaman, MPH, PCC, Executive Coach & Leadership Development Expert
The Covid-19 virus has disrupted our lives and work with breathtaking speed. In just a week, organizations across every sector have sent millions of employees home to work remotely.
It’s challenging enough to manage
yourself
in quarantine without face-to-face human interaction and the structure of a typical workday. Now add to that, the task of leading
teams, volunteers and congregations
under these unprecedented conditions, especially when you’ve never done it before. It’s daunting.
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With massive change, heightened uncertainty, and an overall sense of dislocation, it is critically important to stay connected more than ever. Together, we can work through challenges, see new possibilities and find new creative ways to conduct our lives and the way we do business.
Here are a few simple strategies and tips to navigate through this pandemic
1. Stay connected through daily video huddles. Be in frequent touch with each member of your team. Hold a video huddle each day where you can check -in, discuss challenges and begin finding creative solutions.
2. Assign buddies and peer partners. Add a layer of mutual support. Form peer support where you check in daily and assess overall engagement and well-being with your staff and team.
3. Model hope, optimism and possibility. Leaders who demonstrate hopefulness and confidence in the future are better able to help others find meaning and purpose especially under stressful conditions. Ask others: What new possibilities do you see today? What are the good things you see happening around you?
4. Update even if there’s no update. Uncertainty fuels anxiety. The more that you communicate and share, the less chance there is to develop an information vacuum within your team and congregation. Communicate regularly even if you don’t have new information to share.
5. Continuously gauge stress and engagement levels. Take time to monitor your team’s engagement by periodically asking each team member two quick questions. First, start by asking on a scale of 1-10, rate the level of stress you currently feel. Second, ask, what do you need now?
The Center for Creative Leadership
is among one of my favorite resources. Check out this article for additional solid strategies to navigate these times of epic change. Click on the link below:
How to Lead Through a Crisis
- the article is based on the book by Gene Klann,
Crisis Leadership
, “During a crisis, your goal is to reduce loss and keep things operating as normal as possible.” Especially as organizational leaders face the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated disruptions in the global economy, Klann recommends 5 actions to prepare and respond.
Reflections:
· What is your greatest challenge right now? What do you need?
· What are the new possibilities that you are seeing in this massive change?
· What new ways can you help your team and congregation deepen connection?
In these very uncertain times, I wonder how God is calling each of us to rise up and lead this transformation that will change us forever.
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Becoming the Beloved Community
In Honor of Absalom Jones
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The Second Conversation
Sponsored by the Father Sidney B. Parker Chapter of Black Episcopalians
This day of conversation and learning took place Saturday, February 29, 2020 at St. John’s Cathedral, Jacksonville, courtesy of the Dean, the Very Rev. Kate Moorehead and under the aegis of the Bishop’s Institute. Some sixty-five or more were in attendance from churches around the Diocese.
The conference, that ran from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., opened with the Eucharist in Cummings Chapel after a warm welcome from the Dean. Fr Hugh Chapman from St Michael’s and All Angels, Tallahassee celebrated and Canon Wiley Ammons from Redeemer, Jacksonville, gave a stirring homily.
The Atlanta based author and racial healing consultant, Dr Catherine Meeks, was the keynote speaker and facilitator for the day.
The morning session included opening exercises in which all were encouraged to take stock of their hopes and fears for the church and society and to make a personal inventory of one’s life in the light of the challenge to live according to one’s baptismal covenant and as disciples of Christ. There were two video presentations: ‘White Like Me’ and ‘A Girl Like Me’.
After a delicious lunch prepared by members of the UBE chapter and other volunteers, the afternoon session included a lecture by Dr Meeks entitled ‘Inner and Outer Journey’ and an opportunity for participants to make a verbal commitment to continue to work for racial harmony in our churches and in our community. The meeting closed with remarks by Edward Wright, Vice President of the Father Sidney B. Parker Chapter and a blessing from the Rev. Carrie English of Resurrection, Jacksonville.
Special thanks go to Mrs Linda Belton, President of the Father Sidney B. Parker chapter; Mr Edward Wright, Vice President of the Chapter and Senior Warden, St Philip’s Church; Mrs Jacquelyn Wright, St Philip’s (luncheon coordinator); Ms. Barbara Lee, St Philip’s Church Parish Secretary and Mrs Sue Engemann, Diocesan Office Administrator and Assistant to the Canon Theologian.
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