Sometimes we put someone in a position and leave them there until they are used up. When volunteers are excited about doing good work for God, they begin like a freshly struck match. Their flame and energy are intense. Too often, though, we leave them burning in one spot for so long that their flame can sputter and die. Expiration dates can protect us from burning out volunteers.
I have been asked to bless . . . undertakers’ offices, local and county councils, a church toilet, pilgrims, new babies, gardens, a shoe shop, the dying, pets . . . why is the C of E leadership seeming to be so unwilling to allow clergy to bless civil partnerships?
The Café’s own Dean Nick Knisely and Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix AZ, thriving in the city:
As part of the settlement, the Church of Our Saviour will voluntarily disaffiliate from any connection to CANA, ACNA, or the ADV.
“Gargoyle” is from the Old French word “gargouille,” meaning “throat.”
“We are, of course, pleased with last week’s decisions,” said Coleman. “We hope it may hasten the day when our building at Burnett Street and Tenth will be returned to our use.”
At the same Dallas address, St. Matthews’s Episcopal Cathedral, that once held an Episcopal college for young women of wealth and privilege – among them Lady Bird Johnson – low-income Hispanic women now prepare to take the GED.
Tom Ehrich, a well known nationally syndicated columnist and Episcopal priest, writes this month’s column on Vestry practices. He makes a pretty serious call for change in the way we operate.
Any clergy out there interested in sharing their initial experiences in their first post-seminary assignments? Any lay folks interested in sharing their experiences with newbie priests?
Even if they maintain their ministry tasks, they are absent from worship and other spiritual formation activities. Their spiritual identity is based solely upon their responsibilities and no longer in their relationship with Christ.