Welcome in the name of Jesus Christ!
We would like to welcome you to the web site of Calvary Episcopal Church in Underhill, VT. On it is information about who we are, when we hold our services, and some of the activities that we undertake at Calvary and in the community.
Our mission statement seeks to capture who we are:
"The mission of Calvary Episcopal Church is to be a loving, caring Christian community, living and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our neighbors."
Announcements
• On Saturday, June 27 at 3:00 pm, Fr. Harrison and Pastor Dagmar Rosenberg of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will jointly celebrate a Blessing of the Animals service at Mills Riverside Park....time to be announced. The blessing will be open to the public. Invite your friends and neighbors and please bring your pets, large and small, furry or winged, slick or scaly, as we bless and give thanks for "all creatures great and small." Please come, even if you do not own a pet!
• This summer we will celebrate two services of "Mass in the Grass," an outdoor Holy Eucharist with a pot-luck lunch to follow: at the home of John and Barbie Koier on July 12, at 10:00 am and at the home of Jeff and Laura Hill on August 9 at 10:00 am.
• Bishop Tom Ely will make his annual visit to the parish on Sunday, August 2. Those parishioners who may wish to be "received" into full membership in the Episcopal Church, or reaffirm your baptismal vows (see pages 412-419, Book of Common Prayer, Service for Confirmation and Reception), may do so on that Sunday. See Fr. Harrison (soon) for more details.
Thoughts from Fr. Harrison
Pentecost, 2009
Dear Friends,
These days, the physical plant of Calvary is very much on the mind of her people.
With a generous grant from our diocese the roofing project will soon be underway.
That has prompted even more interest in the long delayed maintenance and beautification
projects of our building. Almost daily now many email messages between vestry
members regarding the building and its needs go through my inbox (thank you
for including me in what’s being discussed). We’ve got a lot of
information and opinions regarding the building’s needs to sort through,
much to consider, and a fair amount of money to raise ourselves (at least half
of what is needed to complete the project) beyond folk’s pledges and usual
giving, but I have no concern that Calvary is not up to the task.
Thanks to good leadership and stewardship within the vestry and the congregation’s
trust in their ministry, folks are staying connected and forward movement is
obvious. And me” Well, I’m staying connected to our “Advocate,” the
Holy Spirit, that we may hear what she has to say in all this. While we are “seeing
visions” and “dreaming dreams” of our building projects completed
and paid for, someone has to keep connected to that which provides all we really
need: the Holy Spirit. That’s my most important role in all this…keeping
us focused, keeping our faces turned toward that which makes possible what we
cannot do on our own…The Holy Spirit.
From time to time you may hear me say, “I don’t like doing the ‘business’ of
the Church.” I am more of a “the Holy Spirit will provide all we
need, just you wait and see,” type of person….that’s at least
partially why you called me as your rector, however, in my own defense, I do
recognize that the church has business that needs to be addressed….and
as your rector, I promised to take on and lead that charge.
Like so many businesses, Churches today must place an emphasis on leadership
development as part of their ongoing and changing strategic plans. Many of those
plans will model corporate business practices, and capital raising campaigns.
Indeed, there are gains to be had in doing so. I know discerning and taking
the gift of leadership seriously and diligently then developing it for a particular
locale can be advantageous to a church's health and future. But using a business
model alone as the dominant way of doing church “business” also
raises questions.
Successful business practice includes collecting data, analyzing it, thinking
through application formulas, then using it to develop, implement and evaluate
winning strategies. Companies achieve their goals largely on the strength, intelligence,
and foresight of their leaders. God does not need to show up for them to accomplish
their plans and purposes….. “there’s no place for God in the
board room!”….unless of course you’re one of the “big
three” auto makers, right now.
The church is different. Church leaders (ordained and lay) must invite God into
their business deliberations. Every vestry meeting could begin with at least
a short study of scripture (rather than the gratuitous “let us pray…” Bible
study can set the tone and allow space for God into the entire purpose and process
of any gathering. Vestry members could wonder and seek to know “what would
the spirit of Christ-like love say about this issue/matter,” before business
is discussed and acted upon. Putting off making decisions about very important
matters until the “next meeting after the current discussion,” could
allow for deeper listening and prayer… for the Spirit to have her say.
When it comes to doing business in the church, I believe, it is more important
to understand the basics of the Gospels above any leadership strategy; more important
to take the risks the apostle Paul did than the advice of Timothy Geithner (Sec.
of The US Treasury); more important to be familiar with Jesus’ teachings
about money (the human need he had more to say about than anything else throughout
the Gospels) than with the successful business strategies of Google.
Scripture gives a very different model of how the church is to operate. According
to scripture, success does not depend on a personal achievement, subscribing
to the latest best investment practices, or the ability to master business strategies.
It depends on God….and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. But on the other
hand, the people we know of from scripture are often failures (personnel defect
number one). Many appear to be inconsequential and insignificant, cast away,
marginalized people, (unemployable). And the secret of their success is their
radical reliance on God and their faithfulness in following God's lead, (spiritual
nut-cases, unreliable).
Truth is, doing business in the church does not have to be an either/or. Church
business decision makers can study scripture and business principles together.
Most likely, some principles that succeed in the marketplace will work in the
church as well. But that doesn't mean we should uncritically adopt them as matter-of-fact
in the church. We must ask, “What does the Holy Spirit have to say about
this practice?” before or as a business practice is adopted.
Human nature often dictates that one system is going to have to be dominant,
and be the foundation on which we approach all else….someone or group will
want to “win the argument.” I prefer listening to the Holy Spirit
and consulting Scripture, in the stories it tells, the approach to God it teaches,
and the history it invites us to be part of as the foundation in all we decide
to do in the church.
These three questions for now:
1). How is God renewing our lives and this church in these building projects
we prepare to take on?
2). What is God doing in our life and church that we are now enabled to take
on these tasks after only talking about them for so long?
3). Scripture, discernment, prayer, and deep listening will keep our sacred place
as it is meant to be, sacred…where do they fit into our plans now?
fr.harrison@gmail.com
Peace and joy,
Fr. Harrison †