My dear parishioners and friends of St. Paul’s,

 

November always seems to me to be a month of contrasts. Climatically, it has always seemed rather depressing to a sun/sea/beach person such as myself, as winter begins to close in and the days get shorter and darker and colder -- a time for shutting down in many ways.

It is also a time of ingathering for our parish, as we wrap up our look at stewardship and as we begin the application of our resources to the mission and ministry to which God has called us in the coming financial year. So despite the gloom of cloudy skies and dark evenings, there is a thrill in the air:

Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding.
"Christ is nigh," it seems to say;
"Cast away the works of darkness,
O ye children of the day."

That clearly is reflected -- indeed it finds its origins -- in our liturgical observances. All Saints' Day is Monday, November 1, and, as in recent previous years, we shall be joined here at St. Paul's by our friends from Ascension and St. Agnes for the Procession and Solemn Mass at 6:30 PM that evening. Ascension and St. Agnes's rector, Fr. Davenport, will be our preacher.

The following evening, Tuesday, November 2, we shall join Ascension and St. Agnes at their church, on Massachusetts Avenue at 12th Street, for a Solemn Requiem Mass for All Souls' Day at 7:00 PM, for which I shall be the preacher.

I hope we shall avoid the pitfall that is so often the case in these joint ventures when we expect them to come to us but we don't expect to go to them! I do urge your presence at both evenings at both places!

You will find a sheet in this Epistle for the remembrance of names of your beloved dead at the altars here and at Ascension and St. Agnes on All Souls' Day. Please also note that all feria days in November become commemorations of the faithful departed (as listed each week in the parish calendar), providing us opportunities to exercise the privilege and responsibility of praying for the dead, as we know they pray for us. Please be sure to get names to the parish office in a legible and timely fashion.

A trip west
On Thursday, November 4, I and a number of our parishioners will be in San Francisco for the installation of our former music director, Jeffrey Smith, as Canon Music Director at Grace Cathedral.

While our presence there will by no means be earth-shattering, it will, I believe, be a very important sign of the happy and healthy transition of a minister from one congregation to another. I am afraid that such is increasingly rare among clergy and musicians as they make changes in the Episcopal Church, and that is why I have given this some priority in my schedule to offer our love and support to Jeffrey and his family in their new life and ministry after all they have done for us.

The Dean of Grace Cathedral has very graciously and bravely invited me to preach there on All Saints' Sunday, November 7, and I have accepted. I believe the invitation comes as a sign of affection and esteem in which St. Paul's Parish is held by a really quite large and diverse range of people. It is my hope that the Dean, Fr. Alan Jones, will be able to visit us here at St. Paul's, and I would really like that to be possible when we are studying his newest book, The Soul's Journey, in the Rector's Forum next year.

Near the end of the month
On Sunday, November 21, the Feast of Christ the King completes the Christian year.

We shall, as always, celebrate that with processions at the 9 and 11:15 AM Masses.

Thursday, November 25, is Thanksgiving Day. The usual Thanksgiving Day schedule will obtain, namely 9:45 AM Morning Prayer and Low Mass, with a Sung Mass at 10:30 AM.

Music!
On November 8, our new Music Director, Mark Dwyer, will take up his position here at St. Paul's. I know that you will give him a warm welcome and offer your unwavering support as he finds his way in our midst. He will be living in temporary housing initially as he looks for permanent housing for his family. We can expect him to have to make some visits up to Albany as he sells his home there, as well as looking forward to visits here from his wife and son as they search for a new home at this end.

This would be a good place to record my and our gratitude to Charles Burks for the superb job he has done as our acting music director since Jeffrey Smith's departure -- he really hasn't missed a beat! The continuation of our high standards of music and the continuing nurture and growth of our children's choirs speak volumes not only of Charles's gifts as a musician, but also of his maturity and his quiet and deep faithfulness. Mark Dwyer will inherit a fine situation not just thanks to Jeffrey Smith but also very much due to Charles Burks. I am delighted that Charles will continue as our assistant music director as of Mark's arrival, and I know that Mark will find him an invaluable support, resource, and asset. Please be sure to thank personally Charles for generous sharing of his many gifts among us.

No sooner will Mark Dwyer be here, than we will be faced with one of our largest musical events, the two services of Advent Lessons and Carols, on the first and second Sundays of Advent, November 28 and December 5, respectively. With the growth of this service to dangerously high numbers, it was decided last year to have two Sundays devoted to it. That worked out well, and we trust the same will apply again this year. I am concerned that we not do injustice to our important claim to have Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament each week of the year. To that end, this year again, as last year, you will notice that Benediction follows the reception, which in turn follows the Advent Lessons and Carols Service, at 8:00 PM. This closes the evening with proper devotion to Christ's presence in our midst -- the one who is coming, has come.

I continue to be proud of and grateful to all those who are doing so much and so well in our areas of mission and ministry, both at home and abroad. Please continue to watch these pages as well as the weekly parish notices for new and exciting developments.

As always with my love and my gratitude,

Andrew Sloane+

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Experience the Boomerang

Boomerang: "To come back, or return" or "a bent or curved piece of wood ... which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower."

I often feel as though I have been hit by a boomerang when I take advantage of opportunities to participate in Hunger/Homeless Ministry activities. I throw out some energy, and it comes back to me in greater quantities and force.

However, it is not always easy to get motivated to start the activity. It is especially difficult when the activity involves getting out of bed at 6:00 AM on a dark and chilly Saturday morning. Weekdays are difficult enough, but extracting myself from the cocoon on a Saturday carries with it the "this is really too much to expect" aspect! And then the first wave of reality hits -- I have a warm bed from which to emerge. Getting up is inconvenient, but that's all it is -- inconvenient.

That's the way I feel every time I participate in the Fannie Mae Help-the-Homeless Walkathon. Last year was especially memorable. The minute I pulled into the church parking lot at 7:45 AM I was greeted by an assembly of stalwart H/H supporters.

But the most touching aspect was the 10 people who were recipients of our H/H ministries, from both Red Sea and Grate Patrol. Some were homeless, and some were in housing arrangements. One was an elderly woman who regards St. Paul's Red Sea group as "family" and who used her limited funds on transportation to arrive early. Each had made their way to St. Paul's to join the group of parishioners and volunteers walking in the Mall event -- and to support the programs that helped them.

At that moment, the early morning reluctance faded, and I felt the boomerang turning the corner in the return cycle.

In addition to walkers, parishioners were present with their checkbooks to donate funds to support a few volunteer walkers. Each participant signed the form, attached a $25 check, and we were off to the Metro. Traveling as a group, we emerged from the Metro on the Mall into a sea of humanity -- thousands of people who had made their way to the Mall early in the morning to support efforts to eliminate homelessness.

One of the most fun and rewarding aspects of the day was interacting with our Red Sea and Grate Patrol friends. They are observant and entertaining folks and were delighted to participate with St. Paul's. There was a contest for who would be the first to spot Bishop Chane in the masses. He was finally discovered when he momentarily removed his blue baseball cap!

Adventures of that day produced many animated Red Sea dinner discussions. And plans are in the works to repeat the experience this fall on November 20, 2004.

St. Paul's Hunger/Homeless Ministries needs parishioners to share in the experience. Will you be among the hearty group on November 20? If not, will you support the efforts of others by sponsoring someone?

I will be present because I like being part of H/H Ministries. And I have learned that not all boomerangs cause harm -- I'm looking forward to the exhilarating experience of throwing out a little bit and receiving a lot in return. [RG]

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Hunger/Homeless Ministry Opportunity

Fannie Mae Help-the-Homeless Walkathon,
Saturday, November 20, 2004

How to participate:

* Get a form at the back of the church or at coffee hour.
* Be sure St. Paul's code "SPHHM" is on the form.
* Fill in your name, sign the form, attach a check (or pay by credit card). Adults are $25; students (under 26), $15.
* Show up at St. Paul's at 7:45 AM, Saturday, November 20.

It's great fun!

All money goes to St. Paul's Hunger/Homeless programs. We get an extra $2,000 for a total of 100 or more walkers -- including the mini-walk on October 17. Last year, we made $3,800. Our goal this year is $5,000 plus.

If you cannot walk, please sponsor someone to walk for you. [RG]

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Lay Visitation and Plant Distribution

Opportunities for mission abound at St. Paul's. One way to become involved in a caring ministry is to help with the major plant distributions to our homebound parishioners. Some of our parishioners who are able to receive plants are in nursing homes and in hospitals. Everyone can receive, at least, a sincere and heartfelt visit from our parish, via our lay visitation team. We receive thank you notes from our homebound parishioners who look forward to seeing representatives from our parish.

With the many new members of all ages at St. Paul's and with the older members, I feel that we can maintain a necessary link with all of our church family.

If you drive or would like to ride with someone else (or visit alone), you are welcome to help. We are getting ready for the Christmas plant distribution. Because Christmas Day falls on a Saturday this year, we will distribute the plants on Saturday, December 18. Look for more information in the parish notices as we get closer to the date. Contact Arnitta Coley at 202-678-1863 or coleyworker@lycos.com. [AJC]

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Youth Formation Grows at St. Paul's

Youth Formation at St. Paul's has seen very healthy growth over the past several years. The significant change began by totally redesigning what we give to our youngest parishioners. Since we didn't have the resources to deliver a shotgun approach to all ages, the plan was to begin with a foundation of good solid Christian Formation with the youngest and nurture that growth.

It was recognized that until we reached a critical mass of both the population and activities of the youth, we would be in the nurturing phase. The sign we have been looking for to indicate some further growth was an interest or desire from the youth to engage in something extra outside the regular Sunday morning classes.

The first sign of real growth was recognized in the spring and came from exactly the group we had expected to show it. The Middlers group (grades 6-8) asked to have some sort of shut-in or party. After a bit of discussion, understanding, and negotiation, it was recognized that a Good Friday Vigil was the way for them to connect more deeply with what we all were participating in throughout Holy Week.

With this next stage of growth in our Youth Formation, others have been hard at work to lay the ground for more events and activities for our youth. Alice de Michaelis has planned a spaghetti luncheon for the benefit of a Youth Pilgrimage. Both the Seniors (grades 9-12) and the Middlers have been given the task of coming up with ideas for a Youth Pilgrimage. It will be their collective idea for a destination and activities that will assist them in their individual and communal spiritual lives.

At this time, it is not clear when the pilgrimage will occur, but it is established as a goal. Their destination will represent to them a place where God's work can be understood, and thereby holy in the eyes of those who participate. The Youth Pilgrimage will take those active Seniors and Middlers who meet Sundays to contribute to community building and preparation for receiving God's gifts.

Watch for more on this and other activities as our youth continue to grow. [EB+]

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Welcome Mark Dwyer

Mark Dwyer's talent as an organist was first discovered when, at the age of eight, he challenged his grandfather in a game of dueling keyboards.

His grandfather had come for a visit and took note of a little reed organ, which Mark's father had had brought from Germany as a gift for his wife. The organ had sat there as decorative furniture until the grandfather, who could play by ear, sat down and plucked out a little tune on it.

Mark said, "That was pretty good, but do you know this one?" and walked over to the organ to pluck out another song.

The room fell silent. It was the first time he had sat at a keyboard.

"I thought everyone could do this," Mark said. "After that is when I started taking organ and piano lessons."

Making music has not always been quite that easy for Mark -- who has since recorded two CDs and won acclaim as a church musician and concert artist -- but he has continued to delight and surprise with his talent.

Mark will take on St. Paul's mighty Schoenstein organ this month as St. Paul's new music director. He comes to our parish from the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York, where he was the organist and director of music. Prior to that appointment, he served as associate organist and choirmaster at the Church of the Advent in Boston.

As he prepares to move to St. Paul's, Mark said he is looking forward to being a part of the wonderful liturgical and musical tradition here.

"The liturgy and music at St. Paul's are the best anywhere," he said.

And while Mark said that he is, of course, looking forward to working with the parish's three marvelous choirs, he is also drawn to the worshipping community in which they function.

"I'm excited because of the vitality of the community, something that stands out about St. Paul's is her people," he said. "They're a very enthusiastic, challenging, very spiritual crowd. Those things really excite me."

It has been a long road here from those first days of playing by ear in his parents' living room, with a lot of time in classrooms and churches in the meantime. Mark said his good ear had some disadvantages in his younger days, since it made it more difficult to convince his eight-year-old mind that it was actually important to also learn to read music.

But he did learn, albeit slightly reluctantly. Mark's memories of his first teacher are extremely fond ones, though not so much because of what she taught him musically, but because of how she mentored him. That teacher was the first adult outside his family who took a real personal interest in him and really believed in him. That made a huge impression on him.

Mark keeps that in mind now when leading children's music programs. He maintains that while training good musicians is important, it might be even more important to have a positive atmosphere and good mentoring. And while a children's choir may turn out a few individuals who go on to be professional musicians, he hopes the process will create an entire choir of life-long appreciators of music.

A parish choir also has the distinction and responsibility of creating young churchmen. Mark said it does so up front through the music -- in what it says and means -- as well as in the more "sneaky" lesson of teaching children to participate in the life and rhythm of prayer in a church, which can't help but to teach and change them.

Mark has had much success working with young people. He revitalized the historic boys' choir at the Albany cathedral over the past three years. And he has also enjoyed 13 years on the faculty at the St. Michael's Conference, a week-long Anglo-Catholic gathering of about 100 teenagers. About half of those attending join the conference choir, and Mark said the whole experience -- the energy, honesty, candor and enthusiasm of the young people -- is always revitalizing for him.

When Mark was their age, he was already working in his first church job. At the ripe young age of 16, he played at St. Peter's Church on the Green in Monroe, Connecticut. There he would park in the space marked "reserved for the organist's bicycle." He still loves to ride his bicycle, though he doesn't anticipate needing a spot reserved for it behind St. Paul's.

It was also in high school that Mark began to feel he may be called to lifelong work as a church musician. By his senior year of high school, he became surer that is where his future would lie. Then, the deal was sealed his freshman year of college with a conversion experience.

"There was absolutely no question in my mind that God wanted me to do this," Mark said. "I came to realize later that the conversion experience is an ongoing one; it didn't stop that September morning, and if I am lucky, it is still going on."

Mark's spiritual life remains a profound part of his work. He said that when playing the organ or conducting a service, he can't rely on himself to provide the inspiration, which must instead come from the Holy Spirit.

"I pray that it does," he said. "It is a battle to constantly be running toward God and not away -- we're never standing still."

At St. Paul's, Mark hopes to increase the standard of performance in the choir even more, though he said he knows he has very big shoes to fill after the wonderful work of Jeffrey Smith.

He also envisions increasing the scope of the repertory, engendering enthusiasm among choir members, building up the children's program, and ensuring that all of the music is integrated into the greater life of St. Paul's.

When not in church or at the organ, Mark enjoys spending time with his family -- his wife of four years, Cheryl, and 2-year-old son, Douglas. Cheryl works in medical administration and will be looking for a job in D.C.

Mark also loves cooking, and the subsequent joy of eating. He's not as big a fan of washing dishes, but luckily he and Cheryl have an agreement that when he cooks, she cleans up. Unfortunately for her, though, Mark's secret to really good cooking is to use every utensil in the kitchen.

The whole family, Douglas included, enjoys listening to music. Mark's favorite composer is usually "whoever I am playing at the time." And in addition to choral, organ, and symphonic music, he also enjoys jazz, including Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.

Douglas loves jazz, too, and will ask for it by name. He sometimes follows the "jazz" request with "off," when he'll toddle over to the CD collection and pick out a Beethoven CD, which he can recognize by the cover.

Beethoven's Fifth is one of Douglas's favorites -- his eyes will grow wide with excitement during the pregnant pauses, then he'll jump up and down with enthusiasm during the motif.

Mark said he doesn't want to push Douglas toward piano or organ, but his early musical taste could indicate a budding young musician. Who knows? Douglas is, after all, named after the grandfather who first taught young Mark that he could play by ear. [AF]

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New Parishioner Profile -- Shayne Doty

St. Paul's has no shortage of organists, whether they are staff members or parishioners. Our latest addition is Shayne Doty.

Some may know Shayne from the 1990s, when he was director of music at St. Paul's, Rock Creek, here in Washington. On Holy Days, he would attend St. Paul's, K Street, thanks in part to our parishioner Edie Davis, who at the time worked at St. Paul's, Rock Creek. "I loved the spiritual focus, the liturgy, the music, and the diversity of the parish," says Shayne.

Shayne, who grew up Southern Baptist in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, N.C., took private confirmation classes with our interim rector, Bishop Valentine, and was confirmed at St. Paul's in 1998. Thanks to his profession, however, Shayne had already had a long association with the Episcopal Church. He began playing the organ in Moravian churches as a teenager. While he was at Duke University, he started playing in Episcopal churches, where he felt more at home.

Unfortunately, Shayne never had the opportunity to become a parishioner here. Right after his confirmation, Shayne's career in development took him to a job as a senior gifts officer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. (Shayne didn't give up the organ though: He recently served as interim organist at St. Mary the Virgin in New York City.) This summer, Shayne accepted a position as head of development for the Washington Opera, and, happily for us, he is also back at St. Paul's. Many of us heard him play earlier this summer, when he substituted for Charles Burks. "I am happy to be back," says Shayne.

Please greet Shayne Doty at the 11:15 Mass. [EB]

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Mother Miriam at St. Paul's

St. Paul's Parish is blessed periodically by visits from the Sisters of the Community of St. Mary. Mother Miriam, superior of the Community, will return to the parish on Saturday, December 11, to lead our annual Advent Quiet Day. She will remain here on Sunday to worship with us, address the Rector's Forum at 10:25 AM, and join us for tea in the afternoon.

For many years, our parishioners have participated in retreats in the Community's former convent in Peekskill, New York. Several parishioners are Associates of the Community, men and women who commit to living by a Rule of Life: worship, prayer, work and study, and contribution to the Convent's activities.

The Community is currently moving into its new convent in Greenwich, New York, and also guiding and directing the activities of a young monastic community, St. Mary's Convent in Luwinga, Malawi.

Mother Miriam will be available to answer questions from those seeking more information about the religious life and about the Malawi mission. Please join us for these parish activities. [NB]

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The Challenge of Diversity in Our Global Village

Fr. Sloane gave this paper at the September meeting of the international consultants of the Trinity Institute for Christianity and Culture sponsored by Holy Trinity, Sloane Street, London.

I think it would be true to say that most Americans would rejoice in and be proud of the image of the United States of America as the great "melting pot" -- as the Pledge of Allegiance puts it: "one Nation, ... Indivisible." And yet a nation comprised of an ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious diversity of global proportions. It would not be too far-fetched, I believe, to see in the American scene where I live and serve as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church, a microcosm of the potential, the challenges, and, I hope to show, the contradictions of the "Global Village."

In 1908, a play opened in Washington, D.C., written by an immigrant Jew from England named Israel Zangwill. The play was called The Melting Pot. The play presented a powerful message at a time when the United States was absorbing the largest influx of immigrants in its history -- some 18 million new citizens between 1890 and 1920. The play proposed "the promise that all immigrants can be transformed into Americans, a new alloy forged in a crucible of democracy, freedom and civic responsibility"[1] -- and it is safe to say with a finishing veneer of Western Christianity, if predominantly Protestant. The pivotal characteristic of the melting pot is that when different metallic elements are melted in a pot, alloys are formed that have different properties from the original elements, so people from every color and background are transformed into "one America"[2] -- an idea and theme that is central not just to the politics of the United States, but also to America's very own identity.

On the surface, the "melting pot" seems to be the perfect location for "diversity." Yet on closer examination, the challenges soon become apparent. In the new "alloy," what is the place of the original metallic elements? Indeed, in such "oneness" is there still a place for any identifiable diversity? Or is such a "united alloy" either possible or desirable? What holds it together? In what does the oneness consist? Those questions can surely stem from the experience in the United States, at the turn of the last century.

The American melting pot
At the turn of the present century, America is experiencing another huge wave of immigration. And the challenges and the questions -- the defining of the "culture" in which we are called to minister -- likewise become more complex. At the turn of the last century, the greatest number of immigrants were from Ireland and Germany, followed by Italians and East Europeans. They were "White," and they were Catholics and Jews.

Today's wave of immigration comes from the still-developing world of Asia and Latin America. They are not "White," and they run the gamut of religious belief and practice. Furthermore, the "pot" into which they come has no dominant mainstream as it did a century ago.

Some statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau:

• In 1998, Whites accounted for 76 percent of the population, Blacks 12 percent, Hispanics 10 percent and Asians 3 percent.
• By the year 2050, demographers predict Hispanics will account for 25 percent of the population, Blacks 14 percent, Asians 8 percent and Whites about 53 percent.
• Whites are no longer the majority in Hawaii, New Mexico, and California.

Consider this, too: In 1998, in Miami, three-quarters of residents spoke a language other than English at home, and 67 percent of those said they are not fluent in English. In New York City, four out of every ten residents spoke a language other than English at home and half of those claimed not to speak English well.[3]

At the end of the article by William Booth that I have quoted here,1 he says this: "Asked by researchers Alejandro Parker and Ruben Rumbauthow how they [children of immigrants] identified themselves, most chose categories of hyphenated American. Few chose 'American' as their identity. Then there was this: Asked if they believe the United States is the best country in the world, most of the youngsters answered 'No.'"

It seems then that the "melting pot" of which the American psyche (and that becomes more difficult to define, too!) is so proud is now in fact a fiction. One hears of the "balkanization" of the United States not only in terms of residential segregation, forced or chosen, but also, Booth says, "a powerful preference to see ourselves through a racial prism, wary of others, and, in many instances, hostile." And remember, Booth was writing before 9/11. Since 1998, I would suggest that racial, cultural, ethnic, and religious fragmentation has become more common; and that may have been reinforced since the attacks of 9/11.

In attempting to define the culture, then, in which my own church ministers in the nation's capital -- a city which, along with Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami, sees a large immigrant population -- one also begins to define the challenges and the opportunities for the Church's mission, and we are faced with more of a salad bowl or even a series of containers, rather than a melting pot.

What are the other components in our attempt to identify the culture? We shall again find massive shifts and challenges.

Dehumanization of society
Let me use a heading, "Dehumanization of Society" -- a society which no longer has a notion of the "common weal," the "commonwealth," of the common well-being of a society -- or in terms of an essential element of the Baptismal Covenant of the ECUSA Book of Common Prayer, any respect for "the dignity of every human being."[4]

The causes for this dehumanization are many. Among them, I would suggest the breakdown of the nuclear family in a very mobile and global society. The sick and elderly and aging are no longer cared for at home. Increasingly, children are brought up in an environment of multiple marriages and both parents working. Single parents often must work at least two jobs to keep the "family" going. Nursing homes, day care centers, pre- and post-school programs have taken the place of the care-giving, formative roles of the nuclear family. People old and young are living lives that are disconnected and unconnected.

I hope it is not too harsh for someone who is rather computer-illiterate to lay some blame for this dehumanization also at the feet of information technology and electronic entertainment. Live interaction -- human interaction -- is replaced by communication at a distance or by simulated relationships with fictional characters -- or pure images without even a shred of narrative. People can develop interests -- both healthy and perverse -- with no human contact, self-defined and interacting with others electronically in their own time and on their own terms. The "true self" can hide behind the anonymity of an e-mail or the made-up name of a so-called "chat room." Ours is a society that has given to the younger generation ever advancing technological means of sending messages, often to the neglect of the skills of building relationships and face to face communication -- skills that are essential in making us human.

Somewhere in this discussion of the "culture" of America, something must be said about attitude to work. I shall dare to put this under my heading of "Dehumanization." Why?

In 28 years of living in the United States, I have become more and more aware of two closely related things: the "Protestant (and even Puritan) work ethic" is alive and well. And, secondly, too often what I do defines who I am.

It has been wisely said that most people on their death bed do not wish that they had spent more time at the office! And yet in my own parish, 80-hour work weeks are more the norm than the exception. At social events in Washington, one of the first and most important questions is "What do you do?" "I'm a priest" is often the wrecking of a would-be glittering socialite! The Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism can combine to create a voracious greed that I believe has become part of our culture. For example, the almost incredible spectacle of enormously wealthy corporate leaders stealing money from the very corporations and shareholders whom they claim to serve. The accumulation of wealth has become for many a goal in itself at all costs, sacrificing essential values that make us human beings -- God, family, community, philanthropy, for example -- so that, as Bishop Michael Marshall has said, they end up with everything to live with and nothing to live for, which is death-dealing for them, those close to them, and for society in general.

In such an atmosphere, human beings become pawns in the making of someone else's fortune, and so the workplace and its ethics become dehumanized. I recently heard of a maid working in a posh hotel. The trolleys used to transport the clean linens on the elevators and along the corridors were breaking under the weight of what had to be carried. Replacing the trolleys was deemed too expensive, so the maids now carry the loads themselves! Washington, D.C., is the leading city in America where the divide between rich and poor is getting wider. Unemployment is high. The culture, I believe, tells us that anyone who wants to work, can work; but the reality is otherwise.

Employers seeking to make profit now remove jobs from America because the same work can be done more cheaply in the developing world. To save money, many employers do not provide medical insurance assistance -- something essential for medical treatment in the United States. Forty-four million Americans do not have medical insurance. Unjust structures then lead to the dehumanization of our society and the devaluing of every human being. Whether the breakdown of community is a result or a cause of this, I do not know.

In the 1970s, at the behest of the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., many institutions that had housed and supported the mentally ill were closed. The intention was a good one. The mentally ill should not be isolated, "quarantined" as it were, but should take their place in society. But the good intention did not take stock of the reality that society is not caring. The "communities" would now take care of the mentally ill, but families, communities, churches, and synagogues were not there; they have been replaced by the police force, jails, and city shelters.

There was and is a breakdown of community, and in our sanitized outlook there has taken place an essential dehumanization of the mentally ill, the homeless, and the hungry. Speak to some of these who beg on the streets of the capital of the richest country in the world, and they will tell you "even if you can't give me anything, please don't pretend that I do not exist."

Post-Christian society
The "melting pot," the dehumanization of society, and now, thirdly, in our attempt to define in part the culture that is the setting for our witness and mission as church, in the West generally and in the United States no less so than others, the reality of a Post-Christian Society.[5]

In a Modernist worldview (from the Enlightenment to about 1950), most people would frame any argument about religion in terms of reason and truth, and use evidence and argumentation to stake a position. Christians developed sophisticated apologetics to detail why their faith was credible; Anti-Christian perspectives similarly used reason and science to explain the universe and society in materialistic terms (Darwinism, Freudianism, Communism, Capitalism, Determinism, and just about every -ism).

The emergence of broadly based Postmodernism following World War II followed decades of academic misgivings about the usefulness of the Modernist project. W.V.O. Quine's seminal 1951 essay, "Two Modes of Empiricism," was one articulation of this loosening of thinking that would later become part of our common culture, which essentially said "Certainly you can use reason and logic to argue some things -- but there are other ways of looking at life, using experience, intuition, and a network of significances." Reason alone can't be trusted; there are no absolutes. Add into this mix increasing exposure to world cultures and beliefs, and a reluctance to pass judgment on others (stemming perhaps from a 1960s "question authority" generation's dislike of being told what to do), and the result is a society that is pleased to live and let live, to let you do your thing while I do my thing, and as long as nobody "imposes their views" on others, we can all get along.

It is no surprise, then, that church attendance is in decline. (See below.) To quote a poignantly significant statement made by a popular American TV cartoon character, "I'm not a bad guy! I work hard, and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to Hell?" (Homer Simpson on The Simpsons). A generation unfamiliar with church -- though not in principle opposed to those who go to church (indeed, not "in principle" opposed to anything) -- isn't even vaguely curious about what goes on in those steepled buildings. It's just another lifestyle choice. Homer Simpson notably doesn't condemn those who do go to church -- he just doesn't want to go himself.

• The percentage of American adults who identify themselves as Christians dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 77 percent in 2001. This is an unprecedented drop.
• There appears to be a major increase in interest in spirituality among North Americans. However, this has not translated into greater church involvement.
• At the present rate of change, most Americans will be non-Christians by the year 2035.
• Interest in new religious movements (e.g., New Age, Neopaganism) is growing rapidly. In particular, Wiccans are doubling in numbers about every 30 months.[6]

A lack of automatic self-identification as "Christian" isn't necessarily the end of the world. First Century believers found the same thing in their culture and had no problems learning how to tell their message. By contrast, Italians overwhelmingly identify themselves as Catholic, but a large majority attend church only rarely, if at all. What the Church needs to realize, though, is the level of unfamiliarity a Post-Christian person has with the Biblical narrative:

• A teenager in the D.C. area was overheard talking with friends about what movie they would to see that night. "Hey, we should see The Passion -- um, I think it's like about God and stuff."
• A Harvard College senior, majoring in art history, showed amazement at a Christian friend's ability to identify the subjects of the sixteenth through eighteenth century Italian paintings they were seeing at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. She had never read any of the Bible and consequently had never heard the narratives of Daniel in the lion's den, David and Goliath, the descent from the Cross, etc.

As the realities and influence of such a Post-Christian society sink in, generations now emerge who have been soaked in its philosophies and beliefs or its lack of them.

The so-called Gen X (born 1961 to 1981, now aged 23-43) and Gen Y or Millennials (born 1982 to present, now aged up to 22)[7] have been generally categorized. It should be noted that the following descriptions are generalizations and cannot, of course, shape the personality and character of individuals. They are also pertinent mainly to middle-class Americans. They can, however, shed some light on our attempt to define the culture.[8]

Gen X have been raised by parents who came of age in the postwar late-1950s and 1960s, experiencing "free love" and challenging stereotypes and traditions. As a result, Gen Xers are much less likely to have been raised in a religious or church-going home. Their parents turned away from their parents' religious faith; Gen Xers likely have grown up in a home without one parent (in an era that was pioneering in the acceleration of divorce), and a home where working parents left the "latchkey" child to take care of himself or herself alone after school.

They have been raised in an era of political and economic instability (Watergate, economic malaise, gas crisis); a "child-hating" era where films about bad children were big box-office hits (The Exorcist, The Omen), and the most aborted generation in history (following Roe v. Wade in 1973). The message they received was that there's not a lot of hope for you -- the generations ahead of you will get the best deal, and you'll be lucky to have what's left.

The result is people who trust their friends more than their families, immediate experiences more than societal expectation, and their own ability to make money -- more Gen Xers start their own businesses than any other generation, in part because of a reduced trust that corporations will hire them for life. This is a stark contrast to my own father's experience in the U.K. pre- and post-Second World War.

What are the implications for Gen Xers' relationships with the Church? They have a lack of trust in traditional "organized religion" structures; they are less attracted to join by opportunity for intergenerational connection than by presence of "people like me" (because Gen Xers trust themselves more than older generations); and often negative parental examples lead the image of God as a loving father to fall flat.

Gen Y or Millennials have been raised by parents who saw the mistakes their parents made and consciously try to make a more stable and traditional environment for their families. While often raised in families of divorce, or two-career parents, Gen Yers are more likely to have been protected from the outside world.

They have been raised in an era of relative conservatism (Reagan and centrist-Democrat Clinton) and economic prosperity. Things are good, and you expect things to turn out well. Family is important (friends are, too). However, this is the first generation to be raised entirely within a Postmodern, relativistic worldview. Traditions that are effective are valued, but with exposure to world cultures as never before, so are other traditions. "It's all good" is the watchword. Criticism of people, cultures, values, morals, and life choices that are different than yours is frowned upon. "Hey, can't we all just get along?"

What are the implications for Gen Yers' relationships with the Church? "Youth group is great -- just don't demand that I buy into your whole theology -- whatever's meant to happen will happen." Spirituality is a powerful force, but there's a reluctance to accept absolutes and anything that seems to place limits on what a young person or his/her friends choose to embrace, even it if seems to be in conflict.

Meeting the challenge
Since this paper is given in the context of the Trinity Institute for Christianity and Culture, and since the theme of our conference is "Christianity and Culture -- Meeting the Challenge of Diversity," I would now like to move to the Church's response to the diversity of "the Global Village" -- the title I was given for this paper -- "the melting pot," the American, localized expression of the Global Village, as it were. I hope I have shown, even if in a short paper such as this, superficially, that in order to begin to articulate the Church's mission, we have to be able to see and apprehend the culture that is the context for our mission, ministry, and witness. Indeed, in making that claim, one has begun to identify some foundational principles -- which, having been refined by the work of this Institute, might be applied more universally. So, the principle: Define, examine, understand the culture in which one ministers.

Hand in hand with that there goes another "first principle," namely the examination, apprehension, and making authentic the essentials of the Christian Faith. In the Institute's own literature we read that TICC "helps Christians discover more about their own faith, its distinctive characteristics and fundamental teachings."

Interestingly, the defining document for TICC goes on to ask a question, and in so doing, I believe, points us to the common ground for nurture and confidence in the Faith (our churches more often than not lack confidence or try to find confidence in the wrong place, and without confidence a church cannot be forward-looking or cutting-edge) and a meeting place for mission in the culture.

The TICC document asks: "And just how do we think we can make this [immediate aims and in the longer term] come about?"

The overall context of TICC's education ministry can be summed up as: "Belonging -- Believing -- Behaving"

This is importantly and fundamentally true and something we need to grasp and apply with urgency. In the training of systematic theology with which many of us are familiar, theology moves from a consideration of God the Father to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, in that order. That may make sense for academic theology, but in my experience as teacher, preacher, and pastor, the reality of God in Christ in people's lives reflects rather the reverse of that order.

More often than not, a soul is first touched by God the Holy Spirit, the "glue," if you will, of Godhead itself and of the community that he initiates, sustains, nourishes, and leads -- "belonging." God the Holy Spirit in and through the Christian community reveals the living presence of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, ascended, and glorified. In turn, Jesus' earthly and eternal mission is to reveal the Truth of the love of the Father -- "he who sent me."

The TICC document continues:

Belonging

The work of TICC is directed primarily to Christians of all denominations, although it is open to anyone. The starting point of our teaching is the experience of belonging to a church and to a community. That experience is then related to the accumulated wisdom of Christian tradition.

Believing

The worshipping community is the context for communicating faith. TICC works through the creative process of connecting culture and cultural experience to the Christian faith. Through its programmes, activities and events, it offers a teaching ministry in the churches designed to promote a thorough comprehension of what it means to hold fast to Christian faith in a multi-faith society, while understanding and respecting other world religions.

Behaving

And so the TICC looks towards a new generation of informed and committed Christians, aware of their own cultural and religious prejudices, who throughout their lives can more faithfully "present Christ" to their neighbours.

"The worshipping community is the context for communicating faith." A foundational principle for the Institute and for any community that wants to call itself Christian.

In the heart of Paris is the Church of St. Gervais, just east of the Hotel de Ville. It is the principal home of the Religious Communities of Jerusalem -- now, I understand, the fastest growing religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Their "motto" for their ministry in the heart of Paris: "The heart of God in the heart of the city." And at the heart of that mission is a community that must be and is a "community of love and prayer."[9]

And so to this church the citizens of Paris in all their diversity flock, filling every available space on Sundays and taking advantage of the regular and powerful offerings of Offices and Mass each day. They -- that is, the religious community and the citizens of Paris -- have found the common ground. Christ in all the fullness of his love and beauty encounters the culture in all its diversity in the transformed and empowered lives of that extended Christian community. A community of love and prayer -- authenticated by changed lives.

Changing lives in a Christian community
Frederica Mathewes-Green has written: "A culture cannot be converted. Only individuals can be converted. God knows how to reach each individual; every conversion is an inside job -- we cooperate by listening attentively for God's directions and speaking the right word at the right moment, doing a kind deed, bearing Christ's light and being this fragrance in the lives of people we know. This is the level where things change, one individual at a time, as one coal gives light to another."[10] Changed lives in the Christian community of love and prayer.

And so we see that, for example, a parish church such as my own, set in the context of a "global" city and in a culture as I have described above, can become the meeting place. The parish must have regular, disciplined, and transcendent corporate worship at its heart, with all its potential to address all the senses, the full person. It must be a welcoming and hospitable and safe place. It must have opportunity for fellowship. It must offer Christian formation (not just "education," please notice) for all people from the unchurched inquirer to the more proficient Christian, from the nursery to the nursing home. The parish church's schedule and rhythm of life must correspond to that of its environment, and not the convenience of staff or leaders or clergy or the necessity of precedent. We should have in place thorough catechetical processes that address the basics of Christian belief and practice and lead to a lifelong pilgrimage towards transformation and holiness and Christlikeness. There are parallels between our current Post-Christian society in the West and the pagan culture of the first centuries of the Church.

I would be so bold as to apply to the parish church the vision that the Archbishop of Canterbury articulated in his sermon at the inauguration of the Trinity Institute:

"This Institute must be a place where the real and hopeful energy of the Church is displayed, an energy which is seldom found in our political struggles within the institution, seldom found in our attempts to defend, seldom found even in our attempts to reform. Rather, it is always found in those costly moments when the surface of things is broken open, as in the sacraments, and the future of the world is revealed -- that wisdom buried at the heart of things, God's joy and God's love."[11]

And in another place in the same sermon: "If theology tries to display how everything hangs together around a person, how the world depends on relation with living wisdom, theology is bound to be about the way in which in our difficult and our strained loyalty to each other, in the community of Jesus Christ, wisdom happens and life is there."[12]

In such a community then, there will be certain results, or, better, "fruits." There will be mission and ministry -- authenticating marks of any Christian community. Such was the experience of Peter and John, the Spirit-filled witnesses of the power of the Resurrection, when in the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the council of the high priest and elders "charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4: 18-20)

Authentic Christian community will inevitably lead to authentic Christian mission. Also I believe we begin to address, simply by being an authentic Christian community of love and prayer, the underlying dis-ease and disorders of the culture in which we live: A "melting pot" that has become a fragmented and segregated society -- where "sameness" is defining and "other" regarded with wariness at best and hostility at worst -- finds a community where there is "wisdom and life" and where "the dignity of every human being"[13] is respected and cherished and the "Dignity of Difference"[14] upheld.

For those experiencing the dehumanizing effects of society and the ensuing isolation, loneliness, frustration, boredom, rejection, and pain -- these are such that are profoundly hungry for the safety, warmth, and vitality that happen in a community where there is a profound connection with God and with each other.

For those who see no more to life than either the sheer drudgery of work, as well as those who have abandoned all but work in pursuit of the acquisition of wealth and/or power, the Christian community offers a glimpse of the Christian truth that there is life, and that it is eternal, that it is abundant -- "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) To quote the same words of Rowan Williams again: "Those moments when the surface of things is broken open"[15] -- and so when life, joyfully, no longer can remain merely and stultifyingly superficial.

For those who do not know the story of God's love for them, the Christian community at its best becomes a place where that story is known in present time and place and is again "made flesh" in the hands, feet, mouths, eyes, ears, minds, and hearts of Christian people involved in ministry. And the ministries will address the hurting needs of the culture -- they will meet people where they are and do so in the knowledge that God Himself has gone before them.

And so in my own Christian community we see such missions as: a homeless and hunger ministry -- food delivered to the homeless who live on the grates of our city's heating systems, early each Saturday and Sunday morning -- or a weekly meal prepared by parishioners for those who are "on the edge" of homelessness or unemployment and served in the context of safe, welcoming, and hospitable fellowship as serving Christ himself; a ; community and fellowship for students at the neighboring university; post-school mentoring at a local elementary school; reaching out to Christians ministering in other churches in Central America and Africa with a vision of our common life in Christ; providing opportunities not only in worship but in other programs to address the creative and aesthetic side of the brain so often starved in analytical and technological lifestyles, and thus to engage and reveal the goodness, truth, and beauty of God; providing time and space for quiet and reflection in a city that moves too quickly and too noisily. And so much more that surely you can add from your own communities and ministries.

The "challenge" of diversity has now become the "challenges." These are some of them:

• to define and understand the culture around us that will be the context for witness mission and community;
• to challenge assumptions such as "melting pot" and "global village";
• to define and understand the essentials of the Christian Faith we proclaim and to seek the Truth without prejudice;
• to recapture the Church as truly Church;
• to be an authentic community of love and prayer;
• to become deliberately a meeting place of God and culture;
• to make such meeting places known and attractive.

I hope that this paper will allow us to dig deeper and find not only more challenges but also to appreciate the subtleties and complexities of not just the challenges but also our different cultures within the global village. I hope that this paper raises more questions than it answers!

Part of our purpose, surely, at this conference is to recognize the diversity of our own little Christian community right here, to see the realities here of the "global village" and to admit its very own challenges and contradictions; to uncover and recover God's purpose for his Church and for his world. In that purpose we shall no doubt delight and also falter. Globalism and diversity are by their very nature mobile and changing. By grace, and only so, may we uncover the still turning point of the world:

After the kingfisher's wing
Has answered light to light, and is silent, the light is still
At the still point of the turning world.[16]

From that one Point are hung
the heavens and all nature's law.[17]

That is the point we seek. And at that point we uncover the divine community of three in one.

Finally, for our own dialogue and endeavor in this meeting place some encouraging words from an Anglican source:

The Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, may be present not so much exclusively on one side of a theological dispute as in the very encounter of diverse visions held by persons or groups of persons who share faithfulness and commitment to Christ and each other.[18]

Notes
1. William Booth, "'One Nation, Indivisible': Is It History?" Washington Post, February 22, 1998.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Book of Common Prayer, page 305.
5. I am indebted here to my parishioner, David McGaw.
6. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, "American Religious Identification Survey," www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/; cited by www.religioustolerance.org/chr_tren.htm.
7. Neil Howe and Bill Strauss, 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail (Vintage 1993).
8. Again, I am indebted to David McGaw.
9. Fr. Pierre-Marie Delfieux.
10. Frederica Mathewes-Green, "Under the Heaven Tree," in The Church in the Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives, ed. Leonard Sweet (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).
11. Rowan Williams, "The Trinity Institute for Christianity and Culture," Awareness 1 (2004): 7.
12. Ibid., 6.
13. See note 4.
14. Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations (London: Continuum, 2002).
15. See note 11.
16. T.S. Eliot, "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets.
17. Dante, "Paradiso," 28:41-42, The Divine Comedy.
18. Intra-Anglican Theological and Doctoral Commission (1986).

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Mission Calendar -- 2004

Hunger/Homeless
Grate Patrol every weekend
Preparation Friday afternoons 3-5 PM
Delivery Saturday and Sunday mornings

Red Sea dinner Tuesdays at 6:30
Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28

Salvation Army dinner preparation,
First Friday of each month, 5-7 PM, Oct. 1, Nov. 5, Dec, 3

Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon
Saturday, November 20
on the Mall

Malawi Mission
Advent Quiet Day Saturday, December 11,
with Mother Miriam, CSM
Rector's Forum Sunday, December 12

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Feast Days in November

All Saints' Day
Monday, November 1
6:45 AM Morning Prayer
7:00 AM Low Mass
Noon Low Mass
5:30 PM Devotions at the Walsingham Shrine
5:45 PM Evening prayer
6:30 PM Procession and Solemn Mass
Preacher: Fr. Lane Davenport

All Souls' Day
Tuesday, November 2
6:45 AM Morning Prayer
7:00 AM Requiem Mass
Noon Low Mass
5:30 PM Devotions at the Walsingham Shrine
5:45 PM Evening prayer 6:00 PM Requiem Mass
7:00 PM Solemn Requiem Mass
at Ascension and St. Agnes,
Massachusetts Ave. and 12th Street

Christ the King
Sunday, November 21
7:30 AM Morning Prayer
7:45 AM Low Mass
9:00 AM Sung Mass
11:15 AM Solemn Mass
6:00 PM Solemn Evensong and Benediction

Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, November 25
7:45 AM Morning Prayer
8:00 AM Low Mass
10:30 AM Sung Mass

The First Sunday in Advent
November 28, 2004
7:45 AM Morning Prayer
8:00 AM Low Mass
9:00 AM Sung Mass
11:15 AM Solemn Mass
6:00 PM Advent Procession with Lessons and Carols
Reception following in the Dining Hall.
8:00 PM Solemn Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

St. Andrew, the Apostle
Tuesday, November 30
6:45 AM Morning Prayer
7:00 AM Low Mass
Noon Low Mass
5:30 PM Devotions at the Walsingham Shrine
5:45 PM Evening Prayer
6:00 PM Low Mass

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November Birthdays

4 Carrie Murphy
5 David Eld
6 Katherine Kirlin; George Hesse
7 Alistair Nevius; James Jones, III
8 Grace Berrien
9 Richard Spalding; Charmaine Guishard
11 Sally Hardy; Henry Darmstadter
13 Edward Bahrenburg; William Leggett
14 David Berrien
18 Daphne Carter; Paul McKee
19 Cecilia Green Cole McInturff
21 Elizabeth Linden Rubin
22 Claire Spaulding
23 David White; Ruby Guishard
25 Frederic Roehner
27 Marion Hardy LaRon
28 Kevin Brooks
29 Erin Mullarkey

If you have a November birthday that was not included, or if there are any mistakes, please contact the parish office. [MW]

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Parish Statistics

Transfer in: Michael, Kristen, Abigail, and Elinor Schutte from St. Michael's by the Sea, Carlsbad, Calif.

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Check Your Parish Photo Directory
Please carefully check the copies of the new parish directory that you have picked up. We have found copies that are defective -- they have a completely blank page (or sometimes two) anywhere within the book.

If you received one of these, please contact Melva Willis at Willis@StPauls-KSt.com or 202-337-2020, ext. 13; or Jo Stelzig at jstelzig@cs.com or 703-426-0487, to exchange it for a complete one. In case you have not yet picked up your new directory, please contact Melva or Jo to arrange to get it. One copy is free to all those pictured in the directory; additional copies can also be purchased for $5.

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The Epistle
A monthly publication of St. Paul's Parish
K Street -- Washington, D.C.

Editors Christine Nevius, Alistair Nevius
Assistant Editor Allison Freeman
Desktop Publisher John Walker
Designer David McGaw
Contributors Edwin Barnett+, Elisabeth Braw, Nancy Bush, Arnitta Coley, Rhoda Geasland, Andrew Sloane+

Submissions Invited
We welcome the submission of articles, comments, and suggestions. Manuscripts and correspondence can be dropped off at the church office or e-mailed to the editors at nevius@erols.com. Electronic manuscripts are preferred. Articles accepted for the Epistle are subject to editorial revision.

SAINT PAUL'S PARISH Washington, DC 20037-1797
phone 202-337-2020
fax 202-337-7418
e-mail info@StPauls-Kst.com
Web www.StPauls-Kst.com

Parish Staff
The Rev'd Andrew Sloane, Rector
The Rev'd Edwin Barnett, Curate
Mark Dwyer, Music Director
Charles Burks, Assistant Music Director
Melva Willis, Parish Administrator
Frederick Murdock, III, Maintenance Manager

The Vestry
The Rev'd Andrew Sloane, Rector
David B. J. Chase, Senior Warden
Philip Schlatter, Junior Warden
Ellen Purvance, Secretary
Polly Peckham, Treasurer
Larry Cook, Antoinette C. MacAulay, David McGaw, Marcia Stanford; Jeremiah de Michaelis, Debra Loucks; Kenwin Benn, Rhoda Geasland, Matthew S. Leddicote, Lynne V. Walker

Our Mission
St. Paul's Parish seeks to restore all people to God and to each other, through Sacramental Worship and Christlike lives.

Deadline for next issue
Monday, November 8

© 2004 St. Paul’s Parish, K Street