The late, great Archbishop Ted Scott talked a lot about ‘unity in diversity.’ The former primate of the Anglican Church of Canada had a keen awareness of who we are as church. The defining feature for Archbishop Scott was really all about diversity. Suggesting that we should all be the same to him was tantamount to failure. The very roots of Anglicanism are embedded in the rich soil of diversity. In its’ earliest manifestation the church took on the climate and culture in which it lived. For Ted Scott part of what made us so unique as a church was our ability to embrace the notion that we did not all need to be the same. Archbishop Scott was a visionary and was instrumental in the freeing of Nelson Mandela and also was Primate of the church when we began the ordination of women in Canada. Ted Scott saw the importance of diversity in the church. Sameness is not always a good thing.

Sally Morgenthaler is an innovator in Christian practices and has written about the need for an end to the CEO model of ministry in churches. She has contributed to the book AN EMERGENT MANIFESTO OF HOPE, which I have been reading throughout Lent. Here is what she has to say about sameness. "…sameness is eventually terminal. Ask any biologist and he or she will tell you that diversity and the adaptability necessary to sustain it are exactly what is required for living systems to thrive. Eliminate even a few species from an ecosystem, and the system begins to fail. So it is in human systems. We need difference, not because it looks good to the outside world, not because it is mandated at some denominational level, but because it is healthy. We think, work, learn, respond, and create better in the midst of a rich tapestry of the human family." Now this is a fresh approach indeed. It occurs to me that we need to heed these words as a community. Part of what makes any congregation or any church effective is the radical acceptance of the diversity of gifts and talents in it. At the same time, it also means embracing the attitudes and theologies that are inherent where groups of people are collected together. The church has tried hard over the years to force people into homogeneous groups and it has failed – miserably. It is time to look to embrace the heterogenous nature of the people of God. 

Morgenthaler goes on to quote a man named James Surowiecki who wrote a book entitled, THE WISDOM OF CROWDS. There is some great wisom in this book and I intend on picking it up to read as well. In it he says;

"Groups that are too much alike find it harder to keep learning because each member is bringing less and less to the table. Homogeneous groups are great at doing what they do well, but they become progressively less able to investigate alternatives . . .[They spend] too much time exploiting and not enough time exploring … But, if you can assemble a diverse group of people who possess varying degrees of knowledge and insight, you’re better off entrusting it with major decisions rather than leaving them in the hands of one or two people, no matter how smart those people are."

The possibilities for who we can be as church are endless when we embrace this idea. I think we can see in our institution how our zeal for a homogenous and in many ways unvarying church has given rise to exploitation instead of exploration. I am convinced that if we explore the bedrock of our communities we could discover mineral deposits rich with Christian talent and soil teeming with seeds of good leadership. On this 29^th day of Lent I am praying for the courage to be a leader who will look to tap into those rich deposits of grace that are alive and well in our communities. I am praying that we as church would embrace the idea that it not what is the same in us that we should celebrate, but the diversity that we bring to the table.

I love the wonder of a child. On Sunday I was so happy to see our little Godson Peter at church. He is such a precious treasure. Having even a few minutes with Peter is a gift. Have you ever noticed that being with a child does something special to us? Oddly, children help us but our inhibitions aside. It seems that when we hold children, it seems that we are holding life itself. Perhaps little cuties like Peter remind us that we were children one day too. It occurs to me as I make this 40 day pilgrimage to Easter that we often forget the innocence of our childhood. Life has helping us forget that we are as precious in the eyes on God as Peter is in the eyes of his loving parents. I also think that in our earliest moments we knew better what a wonderful part of the created order we are. The quest now is to get back to knowing how beloved we are.

Take a look at this image that was taken by Peter’s Grandfather, Pat. Take a look at the sense of wonder in Peter’s eyes as he looks at his own image. There he sits in the tub totally in awe at his own reflection. I would like to think that he sees himself they way God sees him – beloved.

Henri Nouwen wrote, "But what I would like to say is that the spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says something else, that says, "You are the beloved and on you my favour rests." … I want you to hear that voice. It is not a very loud voice because it is an intimate voice. It comes from a very deep place. It is soft and gentle. I want you to gradually hear that voice. We both have to hear that voice and to claim for ourselves that that voice speaks the truth, our truth. It tells us who we are. That is where the spiritual life starts – by claiming the voice that calls us the beloved."

I want to claim that voice, don’t you? That is what came to mind when I saw the image above. When we look in the mirror what do we see? Do we smile with a great sense of wonder when we look into ourselves? God sees so much in us and wants for us to see how beloved we are. I want to see myself with the joy with which Peter sees himself in this picture, don’t you?

I was taking note the other day that I have beer in my fridge that has mountains on the label that turn blue when the beer is at the proper temperature for consummation…..hmmmmm….then I noted that my razor has a blue strip that turns white when it has dulled to the place of plucking each follicle from my tender face instead of cutting smoothly with one of its 5 blades. (By the by, having shaved with it for over a month I still cannot hit a golf ball like Tiger Woods!)…. Hmmmm….then I went off to London with over 400 friends to elect a Suffragan Bishop. I looked about the room and there were two guys wearing purple, our diocesan Bishop – Bob Bennett and Bishop Ed Liedel who is our Diocesan ‘Small Congregation Coach." All the rest of the clergy were wearing black. Well mostly…I mean some wear blue and some denim etc but for the most part the 10 candidates all wore black so for the purposes of this story – Black it is!

"So how do we get a Bishop?" I thought to myself. From my observations in the beer fridge and having just leering into the face of my Ford Fusion Razor I deduced we have to wait for the black to turn purple, and then we will know! To say that it got embarrassing, walking around staring at my colleague’s clergy shirts would be an understatement. Those shirts were black and the longer I looked at then the blacker they got. At one point when I looked at one candidate’s shirt I thought I saw a hint of purple, but upon further examination it was a stain from a Mr. Freezy consumed that morning to bring the temperature down from all the stress. It took four ballots to elect our Suffragan Bishop. The Very Reverend Terry Dance was in the lead from the start, so I looked at his shirt more closely than most. I am embarrassed now to admit that could even believe that we would tell who was bishop by a change in shirt colour.

Apparently, the way it works is a candidate has to receive 50% plus one in the house of clergy and the house of laity. After that – he/she could change his/her shirt colour by wearing purple. After four ballots, Terry prevailed. As a church we believe that electing a bishop is really about calling and about discerning the will of the Holy Spirit. At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London we prayed and sought to raise up a leader for the church in these very difficult times. My prayer now is that Terry and his wife Dianne will know the presence of God as they prepare for this transition. The Bishop is the chief pastor in a diocese and a Suffragan Bishop is a full time assistant. In some diocese, including Huron, the Suffragan Bishop is afforded a large degree of autonomy and latitude within geographical regions of a diocese. The process of choosing a person who will offer that oversight is an important one. We are now holding up a Terry Dance to be one of the chief pastors of this diocese. We have poured a lot of resource into the synod office to provide good administrative care – what we seek from Bob Bennett and now Terry Dance is strong shepherding and pastoral care of the people of God.

Terry’s shirt was still black when we left the cathedral on Saturday. I suspect that it will turn purple on June 6^th when he is consecrated as a bishop. We now trust the guiding of the Holy Spirit who has called Terry to be bishop that She will provide all that is necessary to support him on this journey. One could see how very humbled Suffragan-Bishop Elect Terry was on Saturday. We pray that Terry’s life of service to Christ in the church which has now called him to this office bear witness to the love, hope, healing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I also pray that we may be a people who strengthen the bishop in his ministry. Each priest is rector for the bishop in each parish. I pray that we may serve our people and our bishops well, by serving the One who called us to this life of humility and service.

Are we aware of how very much we are cared for by the love of God who holds us in the midst of all things?

Can we comprehend how very deep Gods love for us is?

It can be hard for us to accept that love sometimes, given our own state of being and how we see ourselves.

Yet we know that God has loved us entirely and God looks past our own shortcomings and our own fears to love us fully and without reservation. This is hard for us to accept because we are used to human love which is provided with human standards. We become accustomed to a love which sometimes lets us down and falls short of our expectations, sometimes because people fail us and sometimes because our expectations are too high. But with God we should know that the love offered is complete and it surpasses all of our human conditioning and expectation.

When we feel that the weight of the world is too much, or that no person understands what we are going through or what we are thinking we should reference the reading from Romans which is appointed for today:

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

   They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
   We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Those words are accurate and true. God loves us when we cannot even love ourselves. God loves us when we cannot let others do so. God loves us when we do not love others as we should. In short – God Loves us and has laid it on the line for us. If we take heart what is offered here that nothing, not even living or dead, nothing that is dark or light, nothing big or small can separate us from that love that God has for us, who will we become? Perhaps if we understood this better there would be less jealousy, less fighting, less envy and greed, less completion for attention and so on.

If God is with us, who can stand against us?

This note comes late for day 20 of Lent.

It is word from Henri Nouwen:

"Be still and acknowledge that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on business, teach, work in construction, make music, or organise meetings.

It is important to keep a still place in the "marketplace." This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. It also is the place from where we can speak in a healing way to all the people we meet in our busy days. Without that still space we start spinning. We become driven people, running all over the place without much direction. But with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think, say, or do."

Last spring and summer I had to put some work back into the Rectory lawns. I had something called grubs in the front lawn that pretty much decimated the lawn. In the back, things were a little better but I have developed something back there called crabgrass. I did not know a lot about crabgrass so I asked the "Weed-man" about the stubborn stuff. What should I use to get rid of it? "Forget it!" was the swift response that I got. "There is no way to rid yourself of crabgrass. It is green, it does not look bad if you look after it and keep it cut." So I resigned to the idea that crabgrass was permanent part of my life. I watered it along with the rest of the lawn and I cut it regularly and I can say that he was right. It has stayed and will stay forever and it may stick out a little – but in reality it is stronger than the regular grass. When the rest of the grass was turning brown, the crabgrass was still green and standing tall.

Why is Kevin writing about crab grass on day 19 of Lent? Well I read a quote Charles Schultz today that got me thinking all about it. "Big sisters," he says, "are the crabgrass in the lawn of life." Now that is pretty good. I have two sisters and I am not sure if either one really wants to be compared with a grass, especially one that a lot of people try to get out of their lawns. I personally think it is a good thing that our sisters are like crabgrass. I am told that Sister Elaine has made a surprise visit to NL from Alberta today. While she has been living out there now for a few months and people back east were thinking she was ‘gone away,’ she pops up like a tuft of crabgrass. And I can assure you that everyone there was delighted to see her. I would love to have been there myself to look out and say, "that crabgrass keeps coming back. Thank God!"

Sister Helen is boarding a plane with her husband Gary as I write this blog. Where is she headed? HERE! Like the crabgrass I was examining when raking my lawn the other day, she is planning on popping up in my backyard – and I could not be happier. Helen and Gary are, among other things, great fun and will be a lot of fun to have around. I have four brothers and two sisters. All my brothers have made it here, this will be the first sister to make it and Helen has been threatening to make this visit for 10 years. Today is a big day indeed.

Helen has been very close to me over the years and has provided a listening ear when I needed one. Lady Mary Montague said, "There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me." I have found that to be very true. Helen is a comforting presence for me and always a strong compass on foggy days. Now I get to have her with me from morning to night and that is a great gift indeed.

Family is really important. Mine, is a big family and despite our varied lives and interest we are close. Helen’s husband Gary is ‘the Godfather’ – to me at least. My other sister Elaine married ‘the other Godfather’ Jack. I was fortunate to be born when my sisters were 19 and 20 years old and had by then settled on men. To that end Gary and Jack have been around forever for me. That is true of Clara as well. My oldest brother was 21 when I was born and he had already started his family. There has not been a time when they have not been family for me. My other siblings all married great people as well and I have been fortunate to have a family that has loved and cared for me when I was sometimes hard to love and care for.

I guess the moral of this rambling today is rooted in gratitude. Helen and Gary’s visit coupled with daily Lenten prayer discipline has me realizing that sometimes we take our families for granted. I encourage us all to take time this week to thank our siblings, our parents, our in-laws etc and to express to them in some small way how much they mean to us.

So to Mom and Dad

And to James and Clara and:

• Roger and Debbie (Lauren and Leanne)
• Sherrie and Sheldon (Vanessa and Brent)
• Angie and Rob (Samantha)

And to Helen and Gary and:

• Gary and Annette (Leah, Becky and Andrea)
• Jennifer and Chad (Joy)

And to Elaine and Jack and:

• John and Sandra (William and Peter)
• Jason and Kristen (Gabrielle)

And to Lloyd and Jackie and:

• Christopher and Jennifer (Tyler and Hannah)
• Adam and Lisa (Ryan and Brooklyn)

And to Robert and Jo-Anne and:

• Jessica

And to Darryl and Karen and:

• Matthew
• Sarah

Please know that today I am thinking of all of you and I am grateful that I was born into this family.

Now it’s off to be ready for a visit from my crabgrass sister.

You think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us. – These words of Robert Louis Stevenson are likely true.

The truth is, I never really liked dogs. In fact I would almost say that I really pretty much afraid of dogs. I really did not care to be around dogs. Would you agree that it seems odd really when you see the guy at church this past Sunday running about with a dog as he preached? So what happened?

When we moved to Tecumseh 10 years ago we became friends of Jerry and Donna Marcotte soon after we arrived. At that time, they had a young pup named Haley. A lovely Golden Retriever. When we would visit Jerry and Donna’s house Haley made it impossible for me not to love her. She is so friendly and so beautiful and so loving that she reduced my fear, removed my discomfort and opened me to the love of dogs. A few short years ago Haley was joined by Zoe and she too is so full of life and so loving that she has become a favourite dog of mine as well. When you see how wonderfully she preached on Sunday you can understand why. I love Haley and Zoe.

My nephew Roger got a dog a few years back as well. Dryden is a beautiful Black Labrador Retriever, named after the greatest goaltender of all time. She is amazing really. She is uber-obedient to Roger or for that matter to whomever else she is entrusted when he is not with her. A visit to Newfoundland is always an opportunity to play with Dryden – something I dreamed of as a child – who did not want to play with an icon like Dryden?

My friend Bill has a sweet Beagle named Daisy. She is another dog whose personality has captured my attention and allowed me to embrace the idea that I actually do like dogs. I have always been impressed with the friendship between Bill and his canine friend. It is more than friendship really. There is a real sense of commitment to each other. I see it in Donna and Jerry and in Roger as well. What a great level of care and attention they give to their canine companion.

Holbrook Jackson said that, "Man is a dog’s idea of what God should be." I can see that in these relationships. The owners are the provider and the caregiver. A dog knows that everything that she enjoys in life comes from her master. I can see in Daisy a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving for what she receives from her master. We have watched Dryden go into a near depression when Roger has gone away for a few days. Haley and Zoe almost dance in praise in celebration of their masters. Just as we seek to find God, the Dog will seek to find the master. Dogs do a better job than humans at offering adoration and praise to their master. Dogs need the master and they know it.

Sometimes wonder if we realize how much we need our Master. Do we understand how very much God is our provider, our care giver and our protector? We have been conditioned to believe that we are in charge, that we can do anything and that we are in control. Oddly we all have had those moments in life when we find out how very much we are not in control of much. It does not seem to matter, we are often almost arrogant when it comes to our need to feel that we are in the driver’s seat.

As a part of my Lenten journey I have tried to find a way to each day pray that I might understand that I am not in control. I am trying to embrace the love that God has for me and for all and to accept that love with praise and gratitude. I have been provided for, I have been loved, and I have been nurtured but I am not so sure that I have offered back to my Master the gratitude and respect that I should. I am going to keep working on giving more thanks to God and work more and understanding that all that I enjoy comes from my Master. It seems to me that Daisy, Haley, Zoe and Dryden have lots to teach me in that department.

[I would like to add that I have also witnessed that gratitude from cats and I think they too have a healthy respect for their master – albeit offered in a more reserved and controlled manner. Cats still remind the four legged pet of choice in my household. I am just so glad that I have come to see the joy of being loved by a dog.]

You can see video highlights of Zoe’s visit to St. Mark’s this past Sunday by clicking here, or by visiting our parish webpage at www.stmarkschurch.net a little later today.

Yesterday we had an Intergenerational Mass. The kids from the Sunday School were in church and participated fully. It was GREAT to have the whole church community together. I am glad to say that we are planning to do these liturgies more often. It was really neat to have tied together what the kids have been doing with what we adults have been doing in the church. There was a great PowerPoint today of the story of Abraham and Sarah as presented by the kids. Christian Paulton did a marvellous job.

Having the children in the church participating fully in the life of the community was a real boost in the arm for me today. As each day of Lent ticks by, we look forward to the Sundays as they are feast days; days of celebration. Yesterday really felt like a day of celebration for me. Something as simple as looking at the kids, hymn books in hands singing along with the hymns gave me pause to praise God for their presence and participation. Madison was at church for the first time – at communion she was heard to say – "So this is Jesus?" I brought a visitor, to church today – Zoe who is the beautiful Golden Retriever of Donna and Jerry Marcotte. (thanks so much for your help with that) The children quite spontaneously stepped out into the aisle to greet and pet her. They joined me at the altar and they prayed with us as we consecrated the gifts of bread and wine. They lead the congregation in singing a hymn they have learned in the SS. And they were pleased as punch to see Christian present the story of Abraham and Sarah as they had lived it out in the Sunday School. All of it together was a great reflection of the ‘body of Christ’ and a reminder of how we ought to live that reality regularly, not just in church but also in our communities and in our families.

That can be a challenge for us in a world where we still often slide children off to the side and ask for their silence. Children are a very important part of the Christian Community, the wider community and of our family and need to be honoured as such. The church has for years sent children away from the community of Christ in the name of Christian Education. While it may be great that we give these kids more than they can get in church sometimes, we also have to realize that they need opportunity to participate fully in the community of faith. Christianity Today had an article a few years ago by Michelle Leise entitled Kids in Church. In it she says; "Some Christian educators believe that including children in the worship service is more than just a nice idea; it’s essential to their spiritual development. Myra Arnold, who teaches religion to 2- to 6-year-olds at Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, says, ‘Jesus intended for us to bring children into this celebration. Being part of the community of faith is the basis of us being able to live a Christian life, and children are a part of that community.’"

St. Marks offers something that I have not seen in a lot of other places. The kids love to take part in everything; at coffee hour it is not uncommon to see an eighty year old and a four year old having a meaningful conversation. I love that when there is a kid’s event that finishes up with a meal and it is open to the community people come and they participate. I want to encourage more of that. The sooner we realize that our children are no different than we are, in need of the good worship for spiritual development, the sooner we will make a better reflection the image of God in our community.

Plus we need the joy, we need the honesty and we need the humour. A few years ago, Joey Fuerth would settle in for bed and begin singing the Lord’s Prayer. Hands together we would begin, "Our Father…who is Kevin…hallowed be…etc…!" Today he noticed that I was wearing purple and wanted to know why. "I thought you might be wearing purple because the altar is purple today," Joey said. I wonder how many adults have even noticed that we have changed colours or seek to ask why?

I am so thankful for the kids in church yesterday…some Sunday we should all go to Sunday School.