[ecm] Maundy Thursday greetings!

[Rob Lundquist]

Maundy Thursday greetings!

 

            I hope you are finding the time to reflect on the life and death of Jesus this week, in community and on your own.  

 

Tonight, 7 PM:           We remember the Last Supper w/ the washing of feet, holy communion, and the stripping of the altar in preparation for Good Friday.

Tonight 8 PM – tomorrow 7 AM:  All-night Vigil with the Sacrament (the consecrated bread and wine).  Come any time – someone will be here all night.  In the library.

Tomorrow 7 AM:  Good Friday liturgy with communion from the reserved Sacrament.  Liturgy at Noon, Liturgy at 7 PM with music

Saturday 8 PM:  The Great Vigil of Easter.  Way cool!  Candles, incense, prayers, holy communion & great music.  A major celebration.

Sunday 7:30 & 10 AM:  Easter Celebrations with music.  Easter egg hunt @ 9 PM (YOU can watch – leave the eggs for the little kids…   :-)   )

 

 

And after that…

April 22, 8 PM:            Bowling!  Meet @ St Paul’s, we’ll go from there,

April 30, 5:30 PM:          Our monthly dinner will be hosted by Dr & Dr Woody at their home.  We’ll carpool from St Paul’s…

May 4, 9:45 AM:                     God & Coffee in the lobby of the CSU library.

May 6, Noon – 6ish:       “Retreat” to John Roberts’ cabin in the mountains.  Hang out, cook out, veg out.

May 7 – 11, 7 – 11 PM:   Exam Week Open House @ St Paul’s.  A QUIET place to study, w/ snacks & bevs.

 

            I had 2 interested in attending a Rapids game in the near future.  Let me hear from you if interested – we’ll be putting together a date soon…

 

            New pix up on our site:  http://www.stpauls-fc.org/College_ministry.htm   Check out Sarah, Matt, Meg, Eric, Elyse & others…

 

 

 

 

            Some interesting articles came my way this week:

 

The Rev. Malcolm Boyd was the founding priest of St Paul’s.  This is from Tidings, the monthly newspaper of the Diocese of Indianapolis.

 

Four by Malcolm Boyd: Some Books (and His Life) Reviewed

A St. Timothy’s Parishioner Shares the Hoosier Roots and Work of the Famous Author and Activist

By Steve Polston, St. Timothy’s, Indianapolis

 

The Rev. Malcolm Boyd, the last rector of St. George’s parish in Indianapolis, revealed himself in 1977 to be gay, and was the first prominent openly gay clergyman in a mainstream Christian denomination in the United States. He has been a civil rights activist, university chaplain, film and TV pitchman and noted author. He also has been controversial, sometimes raging in public about sleights and insults from those within establishment religion, and sometimes conciliatory to the same people. He has seemed, as one reads four of his books, to be torn between many different self-images, imposed images, and a very rich interior life. All the while, he is social critic and prophet, poet and priest. The books I’ve recently read include his very popular Are You Running With Me, Jesus?; the autobiography As I Live and Breathe, Stages of an Autobiography; Edges, Boundaries and Connections; and Prayers for the Later Years. Much of the material in this article is according to a biography by Caryn E.

Neumann, writing for GLBTQ: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Culture. Additional material is quoted liberally with notation from Boyd’s own works. Other statements are my own. You probably can find Neumann’s biography on the Internet, as I did, by Googleing “Malcolm Boyd + St. George’s.” Finding Boyd’s books was a little harder than his web biography, but the helpful Indianapolis-Marion County Library system relinquished three books easily; the Rev. Donna Olsen, a diocesan deacon, came up with a fourth title on Amazon.com

 

Ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1955, Boyd has been a priest for 50 years, almost as long as the closing of the old St. George’s parish in Downtown Indianapolis in 1959 and the opening of the new St. Timothy’s parish in the Marion County suburbs. In fact, Boyd served both churches for awhile, noting in his autobiography As I Live and Breathe, Stages of an Autobiography. “On Sundays, prior to the deconsecration of St. George’s, I had to conduct double services: one at the old parish and another in the suburban neighborhood where the new church, St. Timothy’s, would be built. Sunday mornings after my first Eucharist at St. George’s, the ladies of the Altar Guild would fill an enormous lunch basket with vestments, the chalice and paten, bread and wine—everything needed for the second Eucharist. People living near the rectory would see me going off late every Sunday morning in my car, carrying this immense picnic basket, filled to the brim. It was a private joke within the parish that the neighbors who were not members of our church obviously thought St. George’s priest was living high off the hog.”

 

Boyd’s way of writing about his experiences can be charming, especially when he laughs with others laughing at him as the joke. But his two-year tenure at St. George’s was also fraught with tension and he did not make the transition to the new parish. Instead, he moved to the campus of Colorado State University in 1959 to be the Episcopal chaplain. Regarding the tension in Indianapolis, a couple of noteworthy incidents are relayed in his autobiography. At his first St. George’s Vestry meeting, Boyd called the roll of the vestry and lay leaders. When he called for the leader of the women’s auxiliary, “No lady stood up. I found that I had two women presidents—the result of a political altercation within the group after the annual bazaar. The friction had not healed. When I asked the bishop what to do, he advised me to disband the women’s auxiliary for a time, and instead, institute a pro tem women’s organization called the St. Mary’s Guild; I was to act as its president. All this was very ticklish business for a young, uninitiated priest, but I followed the bishop’s advice. The dissension healed after some six months. Meanwhile, brother priests offhandedly referred to me as Madam President.”

 

It is a disservice to throw down Boyd’s life in this article with such short shrift, but perhaps necessary to illustrate some of his work that might be helpful or interesting to Diocese of Indianapolis parishioners. Between ordination and his first church job at St. George’s, Boyd had studied and worked in Europe for awhile. He had gained spiritual insight and formed a spiritual ethos that perhaps made him as unwanted for work in a parish as it made him suitable to be a priest among people. This comes as close as I can understand to defining much of his later experience in the last 45 years. After Boyd left Indianapolis, he went off to Colorado and was known for conducting coffeehouse chats with students. These became controversial and, as he attempted to bring a spiritual community to students and the students to a sense of community, he was lauded and damned in the national media, eventually losing the support of his bishop. What followed were several decades of involvement in civil rights activism, high-profile writing, service to black Episcopal parishes in Washington and at Wayne State University, the Freedom Ride movement in the South, and world travel. He wrote and performed many plays about racism and gained greater notoriety, which he writes about with wonder and amusement. How Boyd got to where he is today, perhaps, comes from a sense of spiritual poverty that he experienced as a young man. Of course, he also has been formed by many, many decades of being involved with all sorts of activists, spiritual seekers and people who are on the edge of society, and even people in the midst of society. After graduating from college in 1944, Boyd moved to Hollywood and obtained a job as an advertising copywriter, and later became a writer and producer for Republic Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Productions. He developed a strong friendship with film stars Mary Pickford and Charles “Buddy” Rogers, according to Neumann’s Internet biography. Boyd has had a rich and varied life, always wanting to be open to “the other” in people, the “other” as God, and “otherness” in himself. This openness to experience is evident in his books of prayers and meditations, which I find quite enjoyable in their language. Boyd strives to write prayers and meditations that communicate with God in familiar terms, all the while respecting God’s holiness and Incarnation.  Some samples and citations follow from his books, which I recommend: From Are You Running With Me, Jesus?: “Here I am in church again, Jesus. “I love it here, but, as you know, for some of the wrong reasons. I sometimes lose myself completely in the church service and forget the people outside whom you love. I sometimes withdraw far, far inside myself when I am inside church, but people looking at me can see only my pious expression and imagine

I am loving you instead of myself. Help us, Lord, who claim to be your special people. Don’t let us feel privileged and selfish because you have called us to you. Teach us our responsibilities to you, our brother, and to all the people out there. Save us from the sin of loving religion instead of you.”

 

>From Prayers for the Later Years: “Stewart has fought the battle of low self-esteem for as long as he can remember. He could never seem to measure up to his father’s demands of achievement or his mother’s unrealistically lofty expectations Worse, his siblings were stars while he wasn’t. His brother was popular, an athlete, and president of his class in school. His sister was a beauty queen and smart enough to be awarded a college scholarship. Stewart did the best he could but never earned recognition, honors, or stood out in a crowd.  Now in his sixties, Stewart seems unaware that the greatest obstacle to fulfillment or peace is his search for perfection in life. Yet he demands it of others, especially his children and associates at work. Saddest of all, Jesus, he demands it of himself, and invariably considers himself inferior, inadequate, a failure in life. “Please help Stewart to accept himself as he is—a man whom you accept and love, Jesus.” From Edges, Boundaries and Connections: To a Prophet Dying Young “It wasn’t easy knowing you, or even hearing you. I felt, in fact, that you were often strong-willed, uncharitable, and impolite. I saw you pouring out your life. I resented that, too, as I safely clutched my own. But I did see you, though I sometimes didn’t want you to know it. Yes, I heard the criticism—and joined in. At times I thought I hated you, because of what you said and did cut so painfully against my mask, my security, my being. I miss you very much. Thank you—for who you were and whose you were. You wouldn’t want me to wish you ‘peace,’ and I could never think of you in any misalliance with a false truce or easy compromise. But I do, with all my heart, wish you peace with deep restlessness, a cock crowing at dawn to announce battle, and love to heal the necessary wounds.”

 

 

 

 

Religion is crucial to collegians, survey says

 

By Jennifer Martinez

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

 

Washington - A majority of U.S. college students say religion is important in their lives and that they're concerned about the country's moral direction, a finding that could influence the way they vote in upcoming elections, according to a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll released Tuesday. In a telephone survey of 1,200 American college students, seven out of 10 said religion was somewhat or very important in their lives, and one in four said they'd become more spiritual since entering college. Fifty-four percent said they were concerned about the moral direction of the country. 

            Students who were surveyed said abortion policy, stem-cell research and gay marriage provoked questions of morality. In a finding that surprised the institute, 50 percent said the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina raised questions of morality. Sixty-two percent of students who identified themselves as Republicans said religion was losing its influence on American society, while 54 percent of Democrats said it was increasing its influence. Most agreed, however, that a candidate's religion wouldn't affect how they voted.  Collegians could play a major role in upcoming elections. Eighteen- to 24-year-olds cast 11.6 million votes in the 2004 presidential election, 3 million more than in 2000, the institute said. 

 

 

 

 

 

Episcopal News Service

 

April 13, 2006

 

Toward Columbus: Youth, young adults add their perspective to Convention

 

by Daphne Mack

 

[ENS] General Convention will also offer young adults ages 18-30 the opportunity to connect with peers from around the country at the Young Adult Festival, which will take place June 12-19. 

 

With the themed “Invitation,” participants are invited to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist, how to manage their time and fit God in their life, how to fill in the gap in their church and attract the young adults in their community, and how to experience church.

 

“The festival is an opportunity for young adults to listen to their peers,” said the Rev. Douglas Fenton, staff officer for the Office of Young Adult and Higher Educational Ministries. “It gives young people a place to be in community for thinking, dialoguing, and for spiritual development.” 

 

According to the Young Ministries website (http://www.episcopalchurch.org/49662_68209_ENG_HTM.htm), beginning June 13 and concluding June 17, participants can attend morning educational dialogue sessions including, “Minding the Gap,” “God Happens in Our Everyday Lives,” “Living Wi$ely,”  “Place in the Church,” and “Living our Faith out Loud.”

 

Afternoon sessions such as “Roaring Lambs,” “The Still Small Voice and the Rule of Life,” “Responding to God’s call to love justice and do mercy,” “Be Open to all the Possibilities,” and “What Sabbath?” will serve as spiritual exercises.

 

“The hope is that this will be an opportunity for young adults to gather and find out what’s going on in the church,” said the Rev. David Umphlett, 28, of the Diocese of East Carolina.

 

Umphlett, who was part of the festival planning team, said the “idea is for participants to take in as much or as little of the sessions as they like.”

 

“Every generation and age group has its appropriate work to do, and a voice to share,” said Thom Chu, program director for Ministries with Young People at the Episcopal Church Center. “Every decision that is made at every level of the church, congregational, diocesan, and church-wide, in this case, has direct effects on young people today and tomorrow. It's only right to hear and consider their voices as the church discerns and deliberates together.” 

 

--Daphne Mack is staff writer for Episcopal News Service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Mission Educational Institute

“WE’RE CALLED”

Has a mission trip changed your life or do you have a passion for mission?

Are you 18 to 26 years old?

If you’ve had or desire a transforming experience in a cross-cultural setting, YMEI is for you.

Come to the Youth Mission Educational Institute           

Kenyon College, June 7-9, 2006

            (Travel days June 7 and 10)

Come and 

*      Celebrate your experience with others

*      Reflect on your experience

*      Plan the next step you will take

Lodging - Lodging will be provided for YMEI participants in a residence hall at Kenyon College. YMEI participants will share rooms. 

Meals - Wednesday Dinner through Friday dinner will be provided. 

Registration Fee – $75.00 fee includes the program, lodging, meals (as outlined above).  Transportation to and from Kenyon is not covered. 

Enrollment – Enrollment to the Youth Mission Educational Institute is limited.  Participation is based on a first come first serve basis. 

 

Let me know if you want to know more about YMEI.  Looks pretty good to me.  It’s being sponsored by the Global Episcopal Mission Network, an organization I’ve worked with before.

 

 

 

Resurrection joy!

 

Rob+

 

 

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The Rev. Robert Lundquist, Priest-in-Charge

St Paul's Episcopal Church

1208 W Elizabeth St, Fort Collins, CO  80521

   970-482-2668                  FAX 970-482-8318

www.stpauls-fc.org

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