The View from the Orchard

This month, I had the honor and privilege of attending Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Indianapolis for a 10 day retreat. This was the fourth visit (of seven) of The Women Touched by Grace Program which is attended by 30 women Protestant pastors from all over the United States and Canada. The purpose of this 31/2 year program is to support women pastors in their ministries, deepen their spiritual commitment to God in Christ, and to teach them spiritual tools in order to enhance their prayer lives and the lives of those whom they serve. This time, we were invited to enter into six days of silence where we practiced the spiritual disciplines of meditation, prayer, study, simplicity, solitude, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.

Each day, we participated with the Benedictine Sisters, in the recitation of the daily offices of morning, noon, & evening prayer, and ended the day with the office of Compline. On the first day of my arrival, we sang a version of the Magnificat (see Luke 1:47-55). Over 100 voices in the chapel sang out with joy and praise, many of them, breaking into different harmonies. It touched my heart and soul. I decided to make this song "my mantra" during my six days of meditation and silence. Meditation is simply listening to God's voice ("all ears") in order to inform oneself of the ethical dimensions of transformation (i.e. obedience to God). The first verse of the song goes as follows: "My soul doth glory in your love O Lord. My soul doth glory in your love O Lord. For you gazed on your servant with compassion. And you reached out and took me by the hand."

Over and over again, I allowed the words and tune of this song to fill my mind, body, heart, and soul. Sometimes, I would walk over to the small chapel and play the cords of the song on the keyboard. Over time, I felt the Spirit of God breaking in. What came out of this meditation? First, I was filled with a sense of gratitude for music, voices of praise, being part of a community of faith, and for following the Christian Path whose stories include such profound prayers as the Magnificat. I was filled with gratitude for the people of St. Jude's and for those who gave of their time and energy in leading or participating in the Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter observations. I felt God's love and I experienced being taken by the hand, lifted up, and healed of wounds of the past. But most of all, I felt grounded in a Trinitarian faith which has such truth, strength, and substance, to heal, transform, and to sustain us through the darkest and most challenging times in life. For this, I give great thanks.

On May 8th at the Adult Forum, I will be speaking more about my experience at the monastery. But in the meantime, I want to encourage you to continue in the practice of the spiritual disciplines: Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration. We are in the midst of the Easter Season, a time of joy and thanksgiving, celebrating the power and presence of God in resurrecting new life out of the ashes of destruction. Our secular world does not support us in celebrating the true nature of this season, so we need to get our support from "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." The spiritual disciplines are the tools which help us keep focused on the path of love & hope. Practicing them on a regular basis is the way we deepen our experience of God in our lives and open ourselves up to God's transforming grace and love.
Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia.

Spiritual Retreats: Getting In Touch with Soul and God
The Rev. Mary Blessing

As I write this article, I am preparing to be Spiritual Director for HAPPENING, a teen spiritual retreat weekend held in the Santa Cruz Mountains. As soon as I wrap up with the HAPPENING team on Sunday, I will drive down the mountain to board a plane to fly to Virginia to attend a CREDO clergy retreat. CREDO stands for Clergy Reflection, Education, Discernment Opportunity. I’ll spend 10 days in a comprehensive spiritual retreat for clergy, providing me an opportunity to reflect on major aspects of my life—spiritual, vocational, health and financial. It will not be a vacation, but a working opportunity to reflect on how God would evaluate and direct my life and ministry for the benefit of not only myself, but the people where I minister—with you at St. Jude’s.

Retreats like HAPPENING and CREDO are not quiet introspection. They are designed to help people get out of “normal” everyday life and assess the spiritual well-being of the soul. It is both exciting and exhausting to be on the team that creates the retreat environment (if you’ve been on a Cursillo Team, you know what I mean!). The interaction of people all gathered together to seek Christ in the midst of their lives brings a new presence of the Holy Spirit—one that is often tangible, filled with powerful energy. The challenge is to stay open to hearing the word of God in a new way, to open one’s heart to new feelings of God’s presence, and to rejoice in the awareness that God yearns to reveal Godself again, and again, and again. When we come down the mountain we may be changed into a new image of God—an image that we pray will reveal God in a new way to those who did not get to go up the mountain with us.

If you get a chance, take the opportunity to “go up the mountain”, or to “sit at the feet” of Jesus, and reflect on where God is in your life. To do so is to bring new life to your soul and the to the souls of those in your sphere of influence.

Congratulations to the many who took part in the annual Spring Cleanup Week. Many found time to stop by and take part even with busy family schedules. Thanks are extended to those unable to join in the camaraderie, but who signed up to shorten the task list. Saturday focus projects included driveway repair, weed barrier installation, and outdoor lamppost wiring repair along with our traditional Pew Patrol.

Our Space Sponsors have been busy with spring weed and feed chores while applying their creativity toward maintaining an attractive campus for all. Several spaces are still without sponsors and would welcome tender loving care.

Look for the new classroom storage that anticipates the restroom refurbishment project now targeted to start in June.

In The Fierce Goodbye: Living in the Shadow of Suicide, which will begin airing Sunday May 22 at the discretion of local NBC TV affiliates, The Rev. Chester (Chet) Watson of Concord, Calif., chair of the The Episcopal Mental Illness Network, and co-chair of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Faith Net, is among the clergy addressing theological and pastoral issues surrounding suicide.

While mental illnesses wreak havoc on a family and individuals who suffer from one of dozens of diagnosable and treatable mental illnesses, the church has not always lived up to its promise of offering a community of respite, support and hope. The new documentary for ABC-TV, produced by Mennonite Media, will examine the impact of mental illnesses on individuals and society.

The Commission on Mental Illness of The Diocese of California states as its mission:

The Commission on Mental Illness, seeks to educate ourselves, clergy and laity to the profound MISUNDERSTANDING, discrimination and stigmatization that the mentally ill, along with their families endure in our church, PARISHES and society. The church has been a part of the problem in the past and must now become a part of the solution. This is a justice and moral issue, that the church must face.

Over four million people a year in the U.S. mourn the tragic suicide deaths of family members. Suicide devastates family members for many years, and family survivors are at greater risk of suicide themselves. The pain ripples out to entire communities.

Viewers will hear from family members how the unrelenting stress, frustration and pain of dealing with a relative who is suffering depression, mental illness, or threatening suicide destroys all normalcy. But the families also share encouraging stories of how they began to find healing and hope, and the role of faith.

"We know now that [mental illness] is not bad parenting. It’s genetic. It’s a chemical imbalance in the brain," says Watson in the program.

Folksinger Judy Collins hosts the documentary and Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychologist and professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.) and author of many books on mental illness, is the key mental health expert on the program. Both have personal experience with mental illness and suicide.

Full information on the stories, participants, and many additional resources helping families and churches struggling with the aftermath of suicide, is available at www.fiercegoodbye.com

It is airing on NBC through the cooperation of the National Council of Churches and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission in NBC’s "Horizons of the Spirit" series.

The Episcopal Commission on Mental Illness invites you to join us in sponsoring the first ever historic walk in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, on Saturday, May 21, 2005, at 8.30 am for the benefit of the mentally ill and their families

Check out our website at www.namiwalksfbayarea.org and join us. Our goal is 4000 walkers and you are invited to form a team and join the WALK. For more information call Fr. Chet Watson at 925-682-7195 or email at watsoncord@aol.com.

Social Justice/Outreach Meeting Guest Will Feature Youth And Family Support
Judy Whittier of the Bill Wilson Center

Judy Whittier, Director of Community Resources for The Bill Wilson Center in Santa Clara, will discuss the many effective programs that support and strengthen the community by serving youth and families through counseling, housing, education, and advocacy. Two programs that St. Jude’s has already been involved with, The Restorative Justice Program and Contact, are now under the Bill Wilson umbrella.

Come and find out how you might continue to serve our young neighbors in need and their families. Learn more at http://www.billwilsoncenter.org/

I had a very meaningful experience in the parish hall in early April. I was privileged to meet and hear the stories of four of these young men who face life with such courage and determination. As I understand it, Trinity Cathedral in San Jose sponsors 62 of these students. This is not a diocesan effort folks-this church does it on its own. We had a slide show about the ongoing tragedy in Southern Sudan, then discussion about their lives. Their mentors, Marge and Roger Lobbes, helped present. They all work one or two jobs to support themselves and mentors are there to guide them through the invariable rough patches and situations as they adjust to life here. The opportunity to come face to face with hope, kindness and faith in action was through our Social Outreach committee that meets on the first Tuesday night of the month. As a member of the Adult Education committee, I'm going to propose an Adult Forum so all of St. Jude's will have an opportunity to know about this effort.

First, Liz Jones presented the financial report for the first quarter of 2005 as well as the 2004 Parochial Report to the Diocese. All reports are available for review by parishioners. Liz also reported that estimates for maintenance work were more than originally expected. The Vestry approved additional funds for much needed refurbishment of the classroom bathrooms and repair of the parish hall roof near the heater.

Secondly, Pastor Karen led the Vestry in a discussion of the Parish’s long-range goals. The discussion focused primarily on the goal of turning our physical plant into a spiritual oasis. Pat Coles, chairperson of the Site Plan Committee, reported input from parishioners received thus far. The Vestry then discussed means of organizing the input to create a number of site plan drawings to present to the congregation for review and to elicit further input.

For those who missed this article last month, if you have old cell phones and you aren't sure what to do with it, we now have a couple of boxes at St Jude's where you can drop them, one in the Farmhouse the other in the Parish Hall. If the phone or pda is still usable they will be refurbished and donated to people who need them for security purposes, e.g. battered women's shelters, etc. If they are unusable they will be disassembled for parts. Be sure to remove any of your private information from them prior to dropping them off!

This is first an environmental project but the proceeds will be given to help fight breast cancer. For more information go to http://www.recycleforbreastcancer.org/index.htm.

Reminder: Even though you can put ink cartridges in the cell phone container, St Jude's benefits financially if you put your ink cartridges in the INK CARTRIDGE box.

If you are new to St. Jude's and have young children, there is childcare in Room 5 starting at 9:00.

July 4 is a day for St. Jude’s to have some all-American activities and everyone is invited! Friends and neighbors are welcome. Share food and fellowship. Bring your own meat to grill and a salad, bread, or dessert to share. St. Jude’s will provide a charcoal grill, tablecloths, plates, and utensils.

Bring the kids for piñatas, games, and other activities. This holiday event is a good opportunity to introduce new people to the community of St. Jude’s.

On a rainy Sunday evening, almost 200 children, women and men of diverse faiths and ethnicities gathered in Cupertino to pray for peace. At a Community Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace on March 20, at St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, strangers, neighbors, families and friends marked two years of war in Iraq and the end of the “100 Hours of Conscience” for Darfur with a voice of unity.

“I am a link in the Buddha’s Golden Chain of Love that stretches around the world. . . May every link in the Buddha’s Golden Chain of Love become bright and strong, and may we all attain perfect peace.” With these words, 7-year-old Meiko Flynn-Do of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple introduced the tone of the service – personal responsibility for peacemaking and a vision of hope for the world.

The themes of global responsibility, peace and light were emphasized through sight, sound, song and scripture as well as prayer.

After a Call to Worship From the Four Directions by bell, drum, gong and singing bowl and a welcome by The Rev. Mary Blessing of St. Jude’s, the congregants recited the Global Ethic while encircled by a Ribbon of Names. Stretching mid-level around the entire perimeter of the sanctuary and punctuated with votive candles, the lists represented individuals who have died in the Iraq war since March 2003, including more than 16,000 civilian Iraqi victims and 1696 U.S. and Coalition casualties. In addition, the many people killed in the massive crisis in Darfur, Sudan were represented by the Unity Statement of faith-based, humanitarian and human rights organizations along with a list of the signatories.

Wisdom from Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions formed the basis of the call for peace. After readings by both children and adults, including Matangi Rajamani, Hein Do, Jonathan Majewski, Andrei, Anton and Elina Whaley, Rabbi Daniel Pressman, and Samina Sundas, founder of American Muslim Voice, the congregation was invited to light a taper candle from one of the votives along the wall as a prayer for those who have died from any kind of violence within the human family and as an offering of peace. The mood was relaxed yet reverent as all moved about singing the Taize refrain, “O Lord, Hear My Prayer,” each in his own language. Young children asked to be lifted up to see the names. People for whom walking is difficult were determined in efforts to place their candles in one of the six bowls of sand around the church.

With candles blazing around them, the congregation began a Time of Prayer by singing the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Make Me A Channel of Your Peace . . . where there is hatred let me bring your love, were there’s despair in life let me bring hope, where there is darkness only light . . . “

Throughout the service, after each offering of scripture or prayer, the deep vibration of the “singing bowl” permeated the space and connected each heart in prayer.

At times the sanctuary was filled with driving rhythm, clapping and finger snapping, as in the South African Freedom Song, “Siyahambe,” which was marked by Rick Austin’s drumbeat. At other times, Laura and Allison Green on piano and flute promoted deep contemplation as they suffused the sanctuary with sounds of beauty and peace on such offerings as “The Prayer” and “Spirit Song.” Echoes of “peace, my friends” resounded as all joined in singing the traditional Hebrew, “Shalom Chaverim” in a round.

The St. Jude’s Children’s Choir, led by Irene Kwok and accompanied by Kathy Disney on piano, offered a heartfelt rendition of the African American spiritual, “I’ve Got Peace Like a River,” while adult volunteers from St. Jude’s Choir and the Fun Times Singers of Campbell sang the stirring “Song of Peace,” based on a Chopin etude.

In conclusion, The Rev. Roger Wharton of the Campus Ministry at San Jose State encouraged the community to go forth shining the light of peace and justice. And The Rev. Mary Blessing dismissed the gathering with the words of the late Rev. Ward McCabe:

     We are people of God
     And therefore servants of all Creation
     So go forth into the world in peace
     Return no one evil for evil
     Instead forgive
     Support those who are shy or hesitant
     Accept a part of the burden of anyone who is in pain
     or feels overburdened
     Give dignity to all people
     Remembering that the power of the Great Spirit enables us to do many things
       which we cannot do by our own strength or wisdom AMEN

And although there was homework yet to do, preparations to be made for the next work day and schedules to keep, people seemed to take their time leaving, still feeling the reverberations of the heartbeat of ancient faith, delighting in a new sense of community and savoring the glow of a renewed vision of peace.

St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church

A Spiritual Oasis Where Lives are Transformed