The Sunday Sermon: Sowing Hope, Seeking Justice

In the summer of 1995, as part of my ordination process, I was required to spend ten weeks working full time as a hospital chaplain. The program included several overnight shifts as the on-call chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital. At the time my sons were nearly 5 and nearly 8. My husband had a demanding job, and we had to figure out childcare that would include some very early mornings. Eventually we decided to send them to England, to stay with their beloved grandparents for most of the summer.

On the appointed day we drove down to JFK Airport in New York City and took them to the gate (security wasn´t nearly as tight in those days). When it was time to board, a burly male flight attendant appeared and led the two little boys through the door to the ramp. As we watched them disappear I could feel my heart cracking, but I tried to wave cheerfully as they went off quite happily on their adventure. The next morning we called to make sure they had arrived safely, and my younger son commented on the funny face I had made. Letting my children go, even knowing they were going to people I loved and trusted, was the hardest thing I had ever done, and I still get emotional remembering. There is no worse feeling than seeing your child taken into the hands of strangers.

This sermon was going to be about suicide, about how we can´t see beyond the surface of people´s lives and only God knows what is in the heart, about friends I have lost to suicide and about what we might do to shine a light or sow a mustard seed of hope for those who are deep in darkness. But this week´s media coverage of migrant children separated from their parents and imprisoned has overtaken me, and the spectacle of people, entrusted with the care of the vulnerable, claiming Biblical authority for heartless and abusive actions compels me to speak out in condemnation and in defence of our God and our Scripture. I am outraged, and if you aren´t outraged too, we need to talk.

The Bible doesn´t tell us to take a nursing baby from its mother. The Bible doesn´t tell us to trick a parent into giving up his child on the pretext of being taken into the next room for photos. The Bible doesn´t tell us to ship young children across the country to be locked up in what amount to cages, while their distraught parents are detained elsewhere with no knowledge of where their children are or whether they will ever see them again.

Here´s what the Bible does tell us: ¨When immigrants live in your land with you, you must not cheat them. Any immigrant who lives with you must be treated as if they were one of your citizens. You must love them as yourself.¨ (Leviticus 19) And in the Gospel Jesus says, ¨Just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.¨ (Matthew 25). And yet we hear our national leaders saying it´s Biblical to take young children from their parents and lock them up, as a deterrent to those who might think to bring their families to the States for a better life. Abuse as deterrent. While there are examples of such behavior in the Bible, they are not held up as role models.

In the Bible stories we´ve been hearing most recently, children are the heroes. Two weeks ago, we heard about the boy Samuel, called by God to reform the religious institution of his day. Today we heard about David, the little shepherd boy, overlooked because he was just a sweet, rosy-cheeked child, but nonetheless chosen and anointed for kingship. These two boys went on to be two of the greatest champions in our story of faith.

Size and maturity are not indicators of value in God´s eyes. The tiny mustard seed can grow into an abundant shrub. The last shall be first. The Lord does not look on appearance or stature but upon the heart. God calls children to important ministry: think of the boy with the five loaves and two fishes, or Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. They are not assets to be used or withheld for political gain. Our children are our future, and the way we treat them has longterm consequences for our world.

We have seen the consequences of children being separated from their families before. Those seeds will bear a bitter fruit. I know families who adopted children from orphanages in Eastern Europe, institutions where the children had been rarely held or spoken to. These families face enormous challenges, because the children have great difficulty learning to love and trust anyone. In some cases like this, children grow into violent sociopaths, unable to empathize or form attachments.

Decades ago the US government had a policy of rounding up migrant kids from Central America, putting them on airplanes, and dumping them in their countries of origin without making any provision for their care at the other end. The kids banded together and formed gangs, which grew into murderous organizations such as MS13, and which fomented hatred of the nation that had abandoned them so callously. That´s how terrorists are formed.

Recent research has demonstrated that the brain of a baby who isn´t nurtured and cuddled in the first weeks of life doesn´t develop properly, and the trauma of separation can have a lasting effect on mental health and academic potential. Children are meant to be in loving families.

Today is Fathers´ Day, a day for families to gather. Some of us cannot or choose not to be with our fathers today. Fathers´ Day is a poignant day for me because I lost my father when I was 12, and the father of my children died five years ago. Maybe it´s complicated for you too. Maybe you have a difficult relationship with your father. Maybe he is no longer living. Maybe you have lost touch with him.

On this Fathers´ Day I pray for all those who cannot be with their fathers because they have been separated by powers beyond their control: those whose fathers are in prison; military kids whose fathers are serving their country far away; LGBT kids who have run away from home or have been thrown out because of their identity. And of course those migrant children who are being abused for political purposes.

While there are times when the image of God as Father doesn´t work for me, on this day I hope that all those children are gifted with the conviction that they have a heavenly father who loves them unconditionally, even if their human fathers are absent or inadequate.

Where is the good news today? The good news is in the Gospel. The good news is the seed that can grow into nourishing grain. The good news is the tiny mustard seed that contains within it the potential to be a lifegiving and abundant home for all the birds of the air. The good news is our continuing commitment to support Vida Joven, the foster home in Tijuana that provides a safe haven for children who have lost their families.

The good news is the small donation that each of us can make to organizations that work to reunite families separated by war or famine or poverty. The good news is the letter we can write or the phone call we can make to an elected official demanding that, in the words of today´s collect, they administer justice with compassion. The good news is the mission of our own Camp Stevens, providing a safe and enriching summer experience for the youngest refugees in our community. The good news is the mustard seed of hope that we can sow in our neighbors´hearts, even if we have no idea what will grow from it.

So much of our ministry is about sowing seeds. A parishioner recently suggested a ministry of writing encouraging phrases on Post-its and placing them on benches and lampposts around the neighborhood. A single word can land in someone’s heart like the mustard seed landing in good soil. It can change or even save a life. When we do Ashes to Go, when we march in the Pride parade or bless the marathon runners, we don´t know if our actions will make a difference. We sow the seed and leave the rest to God.

But as people who belong to the God of love, who revere the Scripture that tells us to care for the stranger and the vulnerable, to love our neighbor, and to stand up for justice, our ministry must also include speaking truth to power. When we see abuse perpetrated as national policy and our own sacred book mocked, we are to take seriously the words of today´s Collect, asking God for the grace to proclaim the truth with boldness and minister justice with compassion. We are to call our elected representatives and demand change in the name of God. We are to do the hard work of sowing the seeds of change.

And because we are people of faith, people who know who God is, we can be confident that God will take those seeds and grow them into a world where all people will flourish, loved and nurtured in the new creation of God´s triumphant kingdom.

June 17, 2018
The Very Rev Penelope Bridges

Faith to Go: a new connection online for families

At St. Paul’s and in a growing number of churches, Sunday mornings bring an unforeseeable number of children and families to church each week. For some, regular attendance means showing up monthly, for some it means quarterly, while for some it still means weekly. As a result, on any given Sunday, it is almost impossible to know who will be at church. This makes it hard to continue doing Sunday School as we have for the last 50-plus years; and it means that if we don’t adapt to the changing lives of the families, there are large holes in their faith formation.

At St. Paul’s, while we have an average of six children in Godly Play class per Sunday, 30 different children have taken part in the offering since September. This means that each child is coming an average of once a month, or even a little less. But this does not mean that these children and their families are not looking for faith formation. Rather, it means that their lives and schedules allow for this frequency of attendance, as more and more extracurricular activities outside of church take place on Sunday mornings. While it may be tempting to wish that people aren’t so busy, instead we can take this as an invitation from God to transform the way we understand what faith formation for children and parents looks like in the 21st century. Through this rapidly changing cultural landscape, God is calling us to move outside of our comforts zones, outside of our walls, and utilize the tools of the 21st century that are at our disposal. Today it is our job to bring the faith formation to them and to fulfill our mission of supporting the formation of disciples by responding to the world around us and taking advantage of the technology at our fingertips.

St. Paul’s will always have programming for children and families on Sunday mornings, but now we also have faith formation resources for families that do not require their attendance at church. In responding to this call, we have spent the last year crafting a faith formation offering that goes with families wherever they go, and meets them where they are instead of requiring them to come to us. This offering is called Faith To Go.

Faith To Go is a digital and online collection of resources that includes age appropriate videos, reflection questions, at-home liturgies, discussion questions, activities, and articles for three different age ranges (0-4, 5-10, and 11-18). These resources are found on our website (www.stpaulcathedral.org/faithtogo) as well as in a weekly email that anyone can sign up to receive. The resources are all based on the gospel reading for each Sunday, so no matter how often their family attends church, they are taking part in the same lectionary rhythm as the rest of the congregation. The resources also include a podcast (Faith To Go Podcast), which is available on iTunes and prepares parents to discuss the week’s vital themes of the gospel reading.

If you are interested in receiving the weekly email, you can sign up by clicking this link, and you can subscribe to the podcast by searching for Faith To Go Podcast in iTunes and clicking the “Subscribe” button or by clicking this link on your mobile device. You can also visit the website (www.stpaulcathedral.org/faithtogo). We are very excited about this new opportunity to cultivate community and faith formation in these new digital and online spaces, and we are thankful to all the families here at St. Paul’s and for all of the ways that God is inviting us to transform and to explore new ways of doing what we are called to do as a community of faith in the world.

David Tremaine

Introducing our Newest Faith Formation Staff Members

As your Director of Outreach and Faith Formation I am excited to announce the hiring of two new members to the St. Paul’s Cathedral staff and Faith Formation team.

 They are Maya Little-Saña and Abigail (Abby) Creager.

Maya Little-Saña, a San Diego native and St. Paul's parishioner for three years, is a student at San Diego City College pursuing an Associate’s Degree for Transfer to SDSU in Religious Studies. She believes working at St. Paul's with the youth will help her discern her vocation and "where her deep gladness and where the world's deep need" meets. She enjoys poetry, the beach, and dancing at local punk rock concerts. Maya officially joined the staff as our new Youth Minister on August 1st, and has already begun brainstorming new and exciting ways to cultivate community amongst the youth at St. Paul’s.



Abby Creager, from Monterey, CA, is the Cathedral's new Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries. After recently moving to the San Diego area, Abby began working as a Sunday School coordinator at La Jolla Presbyterian Church. She has extensive experience in church ministry, played violin in her church's worship team for eight years and participated in mission work in Mexico. Abby earned her degree in violin performance from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has been playing and performing for the past 18 years. She loves working with families and kids, and is so passionate about helping others through ministry. She is excited to be at St. Paul's and is thrilled to serve the community.

Together, the three of us will make up the Faith Formation team here at the cathedral. We will work together to bring the community multifaceted intergenerational faith formation offerings as well as strive to cultivate a sense of community around these various offerings.

As Director of Faith Formation, I am overjoyed to welcome Maya and Abby onto the staff and so excited to see what we can do together. Please welcome Abby and Maya as you see them around campus this week, and make sure to let them know the ways you would like to get involved with Children, Youth and Families ministries this year.

 Peace,

David Tremaine
Director of Outreach and Formation

Meet our New Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries

Dear Friends,

I am honored to accept Dean Penny’s invitation to serve as the next Director of Children, Youth and Families Ministries. When my husband and I began attending St. Paul’s seven years ago, I could never have imagined that God would eventually call me to collaborate with the kids and families of St. Paul’s to meet the growing needs of this treasured community. My personal faith journey, combined with my professional experiences, has formed my passion for the faith development of children and youth in a profound way.

As a research Program Manager at UCSD for over a decade, I was responsible for the design, implementation and monitoring of children’s mental health research initiatives. While this work was intellectually stimulating and challenging, the serious illness of my second son as an infant forced me to step out of academia. During my nearly two-year break, God’s plan for my life began to evolve and take on new dimension. As my son recovered, and our lives began to stabilize, I was able to involve myself in various aspects of Cathedral life. Through participation in a number of community outreach and ministry programs at St.Paul’s, including membership on the Vision 4 Mission committee, Episcopal Community Services liaison and participation in the children’s Godly Play program, I began to see a path of spiritual enrichment being laid out in front of me. When we learned that the youth program that our family valued so dearly was in transition, we were overwhelmed with sadness. Our knowledgeable, supportive and compassionate Christine was stepping down. As unsettled as I felt, I also understood that Christine needed to follow the path God was creating for her and her family. Through prayer and thoughtful consideration, I felt called to apply for the position of Director and was blessed with the offer to serve.

I have had the privilege to be in community with this church family in many ways. But the joy, amazement and fulfillment I have experienced with the kids and families at St. Paul’s has been unparalleled. I am excited for the future of this dynamic and growing program, and honored to be part of youth religious formation in this faith community.

Thank you for allowing me to join with you as we collectively explore God in our midst. I look forward to what the future has in store for us!

Robin Taylor

Overhearing Godly Play: The Exodus

November 2, 2014: Lesson 5 - The Exodus

In this week’s Godly Play lesson, the story of the Exodus gave us another way of understanding how God’s people experience His elusive presence, and how we continue to use ancient biblical stories to sustain us when we feel lost or far from God.

The story includes difficult imagery: the People of God suffering from famine in Canaan, enslavement at the hands Pharaoh, death of eldest sons. Danger, fear, oppression and death are heavy topics for any of us, let alone the youngest among us. But during the “Wondering” segment of the lesson, a truly remarkable thing happened: The kids were able to see past the scary and intense images of the Exodus and reflect on the heart of the story – our ability to listen for and hear God’s voice even when it seems like it’s not there.

There is a passage in the storytelling narrative that is suggestive of Moses’ conversation with God and his resultant ability to part the Red Sea. It reads, “God came so close to Moses, and Moses came so close to God that he knew how to take the people through the water into freedom”. When asked, “I wonder what part of the story you liked best?” one child said, “When he parted the water. Because God is above us, God is below us, God is inside of us and God is outside of us. He’s all around us”. To that, a younger learner responded, “But you can’t see God!”. Others jumped in, adding that the People of God were our ancestors, and because of that, everything that happened to them, by default, happened to us. This fantastic theological discussion about understanding God in our midst started among children ages 4-7! Awesome! I felt so privileged to be part of that wondering, and to hear those voices bouncing ideas off each other about God’s eternal presence in our lives.

I hope you all will feel encouraged to sit in on Godly Play from time to time and hear what St. Paul's budding theologians are coming up with!

 
Godly Play is a creative approach to Christian formation of children, and an important part of our family programming. Overhearing Godly Play is a blog series by Robin Taylor that puts Godly Play in a context we all can relate to. Robin is a member of St. Paul's Cathedral, and a contributor to various cathedral activities. She particularly enjoys learning more about Faith and God from a child's perspective.

Overhearing Godly Play: The Holy Family

Did you visit the Godly Play room at Sunday's forum? Godly Play is a creative approach to Christian formation of children, and an important part of our family programming. Overhearing Godly Play is a new blog series by Robin Taylor that will put Godly Play in a context we all can relate to. Robin is a member of St. Paul's Cathedral, and a contributor to various cathedral activities. She particularly enjoys learning more about Faith and God from a child's perspective.

Godly Play Lesson 9/28 - The Holy Family

The focus of today's Godly Play lesson was the Holy Family. The curriculum uses the Nativity set (Mary, Joseph, Christ child, shepherd, sheep, donkey, three kings) throughout the year as a way of introducing the central tenant of our faith as Christians: Birth-Death-Rebirth. We introduced the Holy Family today as a way to begin the new church-school year, and set the tone for the mysteries we have yet to explore.

I had the privilege of being the storyteller for this lesson and observed first hand the creative, dynamic minds we have represented in our GP kids. They were prompted with a few different "wondering" questions. The first, "I wonder what part of the Holy Family you like best" elicited such great responses. Some said the donkey, for its hard work in bringing Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. Others said the shepherds because they were the first to hear the news of Jesus's birth.

The second question, "I wonder if you have ever seen the Holy Family in our church", was a bit less inspiring for the kids, but that's ok too. Because it got me thinking about the multiple ways you can interpret that question. Literally or figuratively, concretely or metaphorically. I asked myself if we aren't all part of THE Holy Family (as members of the Christian church in general and St. Paul's in particular), and simultaneously members of our own individual Holy Families. And all of these Families are just as motley a crew as that first Holy Family - with neighbors, tradesmen, wise people, parents, kids and animal friends all contributing to the whole, and helping each other better understand the mind-blowing truth of Birth-Death-Rebirth in our lives.

Nursery update: before and after!

Thank you to all who participated in buying items to update our nursery!  It looks wonderful!

Here are pictures of what it looked like before,

And here are the pictures of what it looks like now!

Parenting as Partnership: the Presentation of Jesus

Last Sunday in the Godly Play room we explored the Presentation of Jesus. This is when Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus into the temple to celebrate his name and dedicate him to God. This was a custom for Jewish families dating back to Moses. It was one of the guidelines handed down to Moses by God so far back in history and now Jesus was following in that tradition.

It is a lovely ritual, similar to our baptism ritual, in that it reminds us that this new child belongs to God and that we have been entrusted to care for, love and protect this wonderful creation. In the midst of the crazy parenting years, long after the baby days are over, it is really good to take this time after Christmas to remember that we have been trusted with a very important job. God is calling on us to help this little part of his creation to grow and flourish in the best way that it can.

What an amazing partnership to have with God. Listen to his guidance and be open to the unfolding that comes with parenthood.

Christine D'Amico

St. Paul's First Saturday Night Service and BBQ!

On Saturday, August 3rd at 5:30 p.m. we invite you to a special Eucharist in the Great Hall. The space, the music, and the order of worship will be a little different, but the warmth of the St. Paul's community will be the same. This service welcomes the full participation and presence of babies, children, teens, parents, grandparents and families, and ANYONE who is interested in (or curious about!) a more informal eucharistic celebration.

After the eucharist we'll head over to Balboa Park for a potluck BBQ picnic. Meat and veggie options for the grill will be provided -- please bring a side, salad, or dessert to round out our meal together. Depending on interest, we hope the Saturday Night Services and potluck dinner will become a monthly tradition. Please join us for the inaugural event! Sign-up online by clicking here.

What: Saturday Night Service & BBQ Dinner

When: August 3rd, 5:30 p.m.

Where: The Great Hall

Who: Families, young or old -- and anyone who's up for a little chaos and community!


SIGN-UP ONLINE HERE

Questions? Contact Laurel Mathewson at mathewsonl@stpaulcathedral.org, or (619) 298-7261 x 357.

The fierce love of a parent

Hello Parents

The story of the release of [Israeli soldier] Gilad Shalit to his family left me thinking of how much it is a part of being human to want your children safe, happy and nearby. Every parent in the whole world could relate to that feeling, that need, of this young man's parents to get him released. No matter where you live, what you do, or what beliefs you hold, if you are a parent you can feel a part of this instinctual drive to get your child out of danger and back home where he or she is safe.

I was really struck by the measures this family went to meet this need. They hired a PR person to get the nation's support behind their son's cause. They camped out in front of state buildings for 18 months - slept there for 18 months. That is almost hard to imagine. They held marches and rallies and did anything they could think of to pressure the government to aid in the release of their son. This became the focus of their lives. Their whole life became shaped by this need to get their son home, out of danger and out of captivity.

It made me realize how this feeling to save our children at all costs connects all of us parents around the globe. It left me thankful that my children are safe, free to live as they choose and are still close by. It reminded me of the power of persistence and the human drive to make something happen. It made me think about the fact that there are many other prisons that can "steal" our children away such as drug addition, alcoholism or even anger or hurt feelings. We, as parents, need to keep our eyes open for those societal captives that can lock our children away just as powerfully as a prision. What does persistence to save a child look like in these situations?

This story demonstrated to me the drive to keep loved ones safe and close as one so strong it cuts through everything else. Was the release of this young man a smart move for the country? Was the deal they struck too high? Those are questions I cannot answer. But in the eyes of his family those questions don't seem even relevant.

A bit of Gilad's story is listed below. What does all of this mean for you ... and your family ?

Looking pale, thin and emotional, Gilad Shalit was reunited with his family Tuesday after more than five years in captivity. Now he faces what is likely to be a bewildering few days, weeks and months as he readjusts to a life of liberty. While no one yet knows exactly what he went through, other captives' experiences give an insight into his likely state of mind -- and suggest that although he has his freedom, other challenges lie ahead. Only 19 at the time of his capture in June 2006, Shalit was known to few outside his circle of family, friends and fellow soldiers.

Christine D'Amico