Our Understanding of Creation and the Work of Sustainable Stewardship is:”

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 6th : “• our understanding of creation and the work of sustainable stewardship is:”

Try it for yourself:

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our understanding of creation and the work of sustainable stewardship is:

Materials reviewed:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  John 1

O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

BCP 259

Celebrant

Do you believe in God the Father?

People

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

BCP 304

We first discussed our understanding of Creation.

We distinguished our understanding from both Creationism and Deism. Likewise we rejected secular environmentalism as idolatry, worshiping the creation.

Examining John 1, we heard the Word speaking from Eternity into Temporality, out of timelessness into time. With imperfect understanding we discerned that the Word, spoken in eternity, continues to create throughout all time.

In this Continuous Creation we are creatures, created things, but because we share in the divine image we have an active role in creation as well.

Some time was spent in articulation of our role, with the conclusion that we reject the co-creator nomenclature in favor of sub-creators.

We reviewed the role of the human Steward as a transition to the second section of the work. Several fruitful insights were brought up from the works of J R R Tolkien, notably the Steward of Gondor inLOTR and the sub-creator discussion in Mythopoeia:

            Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light

            through whom is splintered from a single White

            to many hues, and endlessly combined

            in living shapes that move from mind to mind.

            Though all the crannies of the world we filled

            with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build

            Gods and their houses out of dark and light,

            and sowed the seed of dragons, 'twas our right

            (used or misused). The right has not decayed.

            We make still by the law in which we're made.

We discerned that a steward who has the powers of sub-creation has a greater power to make-or-mar than a simple custodian. In this discussion the parable of the talents was enlightening. Matt. 25:14

We discussed the appropriate contrast to Sustainable Stewardship. Both Wasting and Consuming were considered. It was finally decided that this was a distinction without a difference.

Since coffee was at hand, the great porcelain/styrofoam debate was briefly revisited, with the beneficial insight that, the only truly wrong position is that of thoughtlessness.

So our answer was:

our understanding of creation and the work of sustainable stewardship is:

• Creation is the ongoing work of God.
• God's love in creation, accomplished by His Word,is inseparable from His love for us in Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word.
• We have a gift of power as sub-creators, and a corresponding obligation of responsibility as stewards.
• We exercise our power responsibly only when we remain mindful of our role. 

Our Fellowship Is:

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 4th : “• our fellowship is:”

Try it for yourself:

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

•  our fellowship is:

Materials reviewed:

Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

People

I will, with God's help. BCP 304

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42

The group agreed that, fellowship is a relationship. In order to establish relationship we must begin by seeking the other where they are.

"Our Fellowship" is a web of existing and potential relationships.

These are broadly of two kinds ("orientations"):

            Horizontal - peer-to-peer relationships; and

            Vertical - Rabbi-Disciple relationships

Our exiting relationships, having come into existence organically, more often than intentionally, can benefit from reflection on their orientation, and the stresses that may have been put on the relationship by changes in orientation. 

Vertical relationships may have grown horizontal over time, and vice-versa.

Our Fellowship, modeled on the Apostle's Fellowship, is by its nature called to be a web of Intentional Relationships.

Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

So even our most natural and organic relationships must be brought to the foot of The Cross and transformed into Intentional Relationships. 

This was identified as a powerful image for the healing of dysfunctional relationships.

We then turned to the creation of new relationships to bring people into Our Fellowship.

There were several identified barriers to relationship that need to be overcome:

            The Otherness - we acknowledge that we are less comfortable engaging those who we see as less like ourselves. This is addressed by awareness that we are not drawn to the Other by our own affections, we are sent to the Other in obedience to Christ's commission. Matt. 28:19

            The Shyness - awareness of our own sinfulness and ignorance makes us reluctant to offer ourselves in the Rabbi role in a vertical relationship. This is addressed by seeing our role as guide toward a truth we are all seeking, not pretending to have possession of that truth, just knowing which way is going to get us closer to it.

            The need to initiate relationship- Those who are most in need of fellowship may be least able to articulate their need and we have to be alert to non-verbal expressions of need.

We ask: "Who do you have?" and "Where do you go?"

We answer, for ourselves, not for the Other, "When I am in need, I go ____________"

So our answer was Our Fellowship is:

• Our relationships with our rabbis who are helping us on the way;
• Our relationships with our companions on the way;
• Our relationships with our disciples who we are helping on the way.

All our relationships are called to be intentional and centered on the journey toward Christ

The SCLM is asking for feedback on the Principles for evaluating SSBs

http://bit.ly/g4BTbB

There are 2 documents .pdf Only 1 page each which is a small miracle in itself.

There is a blog for input.

I know of no other organization that invites general input at this level.

Congratulations!

The vacation in Egypt?

Stole Siblings:

Who will join me in closing the gap in Matthew Sunday by actually reading the Holy Innocents passage?

If not, why not?

Hoss+

“• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:”

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 3rd : “• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:”

Try for yourself--

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:

The reference materials consulted were:

Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

People I will, with God’s help

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

People I will, with God’s help. BCP 304

 &

Q. What is the ministry of the laity?

A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church. BCP 855

The Class identified the three themes of the statement as:

social advocacy – Calling independent and disconnected people into Community.

cultural advocacy – Calling all Communities to reflect God’s grace.

just action – Turning thought and talk into deeds.

We recognized first that human groupings are not inherently virtuous. Street Gangs and Lynch Mobs are technically “social” but are not worthy of our advocacy as Christians.

The gathering of people into community must therefore be centered on a virtuous core. The Church of Jesus Christ, sustained by The Holy Spirit is the best choice of a virtuous core to gather people into community.

All human communities, even the Church, will be in need of continuous reconciliation and reform to counteract the entropic forces of human brokenness and sin. No community is so virtuous as to be exempt from this, and no community – not even Street Gangs and Lynch Mobs -- is so corrupt that Christ cannot redeem the members.

We identified the greatest enemy to both Social and Cultural Advocacy as intimidation. When we see the right, but hesitate to speak the right and do the right, we fail. Intimidation was recognized as a species of Fear, which is the absence of Faith.

The hardest component of Just Action is not knowing what is Just or knowing when action is called for, the hardest part is overcoming intimidation and Just Acting!

So our answer was:

• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:

• v  We must call all persons (especially those unlike ourselves) to gather before the Cross of Christ.
• v  We must work, again and again, to turn every community in which we find ourselves toward the Cross.
• v  We must stand to our Faith and reject fear in order to be ready to engage boldly in Just Action.

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Our particular gift for reconciliation and peace is:

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 2nd : “• our particular gift for reconciliation and peace is:”

Try for yourself--

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our particular gift for reconciliation and peace is:

The reference materials consulted were:

• v  A General Confession p 360 BCP
• v  The Reconciliation of a Penitent p 446 BCP
• v  Q. What is required of us when we come to the Eucharist?
• A.   It is required that we should examine our lives, repent of our sins, and be in love and charity with all people. p 860 BCP

The Class identified the two themes of the statement as:

Reconciliation – the healing of the relationship between human and God.

Peace – the healing of relationships between humans.

These two were seen as being essential characteristics of a single truth.

Just as the single truth of “coin” cannot exist without both “heads” and “tails”, so it is not possible to have a healthy relationship with God while remaining intentionally broken with humans, nor is it possible to have healthy human relationships apart from God.

The truth of this integration, and its vital importance to our existence, were born out by the unity of Confession and Peace in our preparation to receive the Holy Eucharist.

We also discussed the perceived difference between how Christian Denominations view sin and judgment.

Several reported that the Episcopal Church is viewed by other denominations as “Non-Judgmental” or “doesn’t believe in sin”.

The class refuted that in the strongest possible terms.

Instead it was out consensus that TEC is, if anything, “All-Judgmental” in the sense that, being aware of our own sins and need for rescue, we are therefore kinder and more understanding of our fellow sinners (a/k/a EVERYBODY).

So our answer was:

• our particular gift for reconciliation and peace is:

• v  That we cannot be reconciled to God without making peace with people.
• v  We cannot make peace with people unless we are reconciled to God.
• v  We cannot accomplish either on our own, God’s grace is required.
• v  Our work of reconciliation and peace is never finished for any of us, because our sin continually intrudes, so the work is the work of everyone, for all of our lives.

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• our treatment of every human being is:

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 1^st : “• our treatment of every human being is:”

Try for yourself--

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our treatment of every human being is:

The reference materials consulted were:

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

People I will, with God’s help. BCP 294

Second Sunday after Christmas Day

O God, who didst wonderfully create, and yet more wonderfully restore, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP 162

Human Nature

Q. What are we by nature?

A. We are part of God’s creation, made in the image of God.

Q. What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

A. It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.

Q. Why then do we live apart from God and out of harmony with creation?

A. From the beginning, human beings have misused their freedom and made wrong choices. BCP 845

In the end the group found “dignity” to be too much a church-speak-usage to be of help with seekers.

The consensus is that, in common usage “dignity” is:

·        Most often associated with pride and with taking offense.

·        Considered something that people “have” or “loose” which is inconsistent with our view of humanity.

·        Is a self-possessed characteristic “my dignity” not a grace given from God.

Instead we chose “design” as a better phrasing for the world at large.

Will you … respect the design of every human being?

Weather in a ditch or in a palace, each person is designed by God for good and glory.

You can find someone in a ditch, or in misery - even self chosen misery, and leaving them there tell yourself (in the common sense use) that you are respecting the dignity of their choices.

You cannot give yourself the same false comfort (as easily) if you try to say “God designed all humans to live in ditches, or in misery, or in sin.”

So our answer was:

• our treatment of every human being is:

We respect every person as being designed by God for good and for glory. Our call is to help each other live into our design.

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