Julie’s News from Maryland

If you have been reading for a while, you know that I am not really thrilled with all the pomp and circumstance of our chapel here at school.  I particularly dislike wearing the alb and looking like a dork while I am serving on the altar.  Acolyting always leaves me feeling such despair for the whole church - I never look forward to it and often find myself wanting to quit by the time the service has ended.  Today I decided that I would stage my own silent protest.  Instead of wearing the recommended black shoes so as not to draw attention to them below my alb, I wore my bright red cowboy boots!

Today a group of delegates from the Turkish American Multicultural Educational Foundation (TAMEF) in Queens brought Noah’s Pudding to share with us. The story in the Muslim tradition is that while Noah was on the ark, food became scarce and there was only a random assortment of ingredients left. Noah put them all together and made a delicious pudding from them. Muslims make this pudding and share it with their neighbors to commemorate the landing of Noah’s ark.

The pudding is made from truly what would seem a random assortment of things: wheat, white beans, chick peas, raisins, peanuts, dried apricots, sugar water, hazelnut, walnuts, cinnamon, and figs. Now, all of you that know me (Jen Ezell) know that I don’t like anything. Especially things that are new and especially things that look completely unidentifiable. When I first saw it I thought, “Uh-oh. I’m not going to be able to eat that.” But, I decided it was best to at least try it as the polite, hospitable thing to do. As it turns out, it is quite good. It is much sweeter than I expected it to be and had a strong cinnamon flavor - which I like. It is a bit startling to bite into a chick pea or a white bean in that flavor, but still very good. I would recommend it.

The members of the group that brought the pudding to share with us stayed and chatted with us. Ercan, the gentleman that joined us at our table, is probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He has been in the United States for a few years, but is originally from Turkey and was raised for some of his life in Germany. We swapped stories about ancient prophets. It was very interesting to hear the Muslim version of the story of Abraham and God’s command to sacrifice his son. In the Muslim tradition, it was Ishmael, not Isaac, that Abraham was asked to sacrifice. On the way to the sacrifice, both Abraham and Ishmael were tempted by the devil, but both surrendered to God’s command willingly. It was very cute when we asked him the name of Abraham’s son and he wasn’t sure - he had to check with one of his friends. It was clear that he is Muslim in the same sort of way that we are Christians. I mean, really, how many average Christians would be able to name Abraham’s son or even be able to tell the story of the sacrifice in detail? It was a good reminder that not all Muslims are the fundamentalists that we see on TV, just like not all Christians are the fundamentalists that we see on TV.

I thanked the professor that had helped to organize the event and told him what a fun conversation we’d had. His reply was, “Yes. It is hard to demonize someone with whom we’ve had a conversation.”

 

Well, I suppose one way to avoid the freezing cold temperatures outside is to get the flu, though I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular strategy. argh.  Ella was sick on Thursday night, so I knew my chances of getting sick were pretty good.  Sure enough, woke up on Saturday and was sick as a dog.  Worked out pretty good for me to get to spend the whole weekend inside under the covers while the rest of New York was out there freezing.  Though, I think next year I’m definitely going to get a flu shot and look for a different strategy for avoiding the cold.

My Church History professor has asked each of us to give a 5 minute sermon during class. The sermon is to be about an assigned Saint. We are to outline one or two of their major accomplishments and relate that to a current topic of today. My saint for today was Cyprian of Carthage whose most famous writing was about church unity.

I decided to start the sermon with a 30 second video montage of clips from the show Project Runway. The clips give several illustrations of the shows tagline: “As you know, in fashion one day you’re in and the next day you might be out.”

The text of the sermon is as follows:

As you know, in fashion, one day you’re in and the next day you might be out.



It is easy for the producers of Project Runway to define who is in and who is out – the designers with the most points are in and the one with the least points is out.



Our human brains seem to be programmed to create categories and boxes that give us ways to interpret what is in and what is out. It is something that we do all day, almost unconsciously as we encounter the world around us. When I see someone on the Close that I don’t recognize, my head immediately judges them as OUT. But, when I bump into a friend, I easily classify them as IN. Our ability to classify and judge the world around us is a useful tool in many respects – it helps us to avoid danger and to make ethical decisions about how to behave.



But when does this instinct to classify things as in or out get us into trouble?



Soon after Gene Robinson’s confirmation I began to hear the “us”/”them” language that signals the beginning of trouble. Both sides of the issue were starting to classify the other as “them” or “those people” and to classify themselves as the “us”. The “thems” were clearly meant to be OUT while the “uses” were clearly meant to be “IN”.



We have a similar conversation when we talk about who is invited to the communion table. Some would say that only the baptized are IN. Others would say that one’s presence at the table classifies them as IN. The Roman Catholics say that anyone younger than 7 yrs old is OUT.



Who can we look to for guidance to avoid this trouble?



I look to Jesus. In most cases, the people that Jesus chooses to be IN are not the folks that his contemporaries would have chosen. Jesus did not draw the same boxes around people and behaviors his contemporaries did. Instead, Jesus calls us “love others as I have loved you.” In this call, Jesus wasn’t talking about the Valentines’ Day love that we have for our spouses, children, and friends. Jesus was talking about the covenantal love that he has shown us – the love that leads us to die for someone. Jesus knew that we would fail, that we would betray him and that we would never be perfect yet he calls us INto relationship with him. It is the relationship that matters to Jesus. Though we might not look like we belong, though we might not meet the standards and criteria, Jesus calls all of us to be IN relationship with him – and through him we are in relationship with each other.



Cyprian of Carthage was concerned with the idea of in or out. In the church of Cyprian’s time, in the middle of the 3rd Century, there were many different theological ideas and many different ways to interpret those ideas. There is a very famous debate between Cyprian and Stephen about what should be the criteria and how to apply the criteria for readmitting a “lapsed” Christian.



In Cyprian’s most famous publication, the Unity of the Church, Cyprian expounds on his ideas about authority and unity in the Church. Essentially, Cyprian believes that heresy and schism are equal. He argues that there are some, like Stephen, that he believes are in doctrinal error, probably what we would call heresy or classify as a “them”. But Cyprian believes that we must keep them in the church at almost any cost. His point is that as long as two bishops continue in communion with one another there is some hope of agreement, especially if the Spirit is at work. Honest disagreement does not disrupt unity, according to Cyprian.



But that those that broke away from the church and created a schism, even if they were teaching the same doctrine were guilty of heresy.



Cyprian claims that the unity of the church stems from the unity of God. And I am convinced that he is right when he says this. It is the putting on of Christ that makes Christians one for they all put on the same Christ and he is the Christ of humility, peace, and love, Cyprian taught.



Cyprian teaches us that the great danger is not in disagreeing with one another, but rather in our propensity to stop being in relationship with one another because of our disagreements. It is so much easier to classify those with different ideas/values/morals/behaviors/whatever as OUT and to stop being in relationship with them. Cyprian reminds us that Jesus does not classify us as OUT and that Jesus calls us to be IN relationship both with him and through him with each other.



“As you know, in fashion, one day you’re in and the next day you might be out.”



It is my hope that we will all cling to Jesus and IN relationship with him we will cling to each other. By doing this, I think we can prevent the church from becoming like fashion.


I was a bit nervous about preaching to my peers. First, no one else had given a sermon by memory, everyone had read their notes while clinging to the podium for dear life. I, of course, wore the lapel mic and wandered around the room. I was a little afraid that it would look like I was showing off. Second, I’m the only person that has mentioned Jesus in my sermon. Hell, most of the sermons in the chapel don’t usually include Jesus. I was afraid that it would make people uncomfortable. But, to my surprise, I’ve gotten really great feedback about it. As soon as I walked back to my seat, one of my friends said, “Finally, a sermon that includes Jesus!” A number of people have gone out of their way to tell me how impressed they were and what a great job they think I did. I have clearly underestimated this crowd.

I’m feeling really energized by this assignment. It has helped remind me why I came here in the first place: to preach the gospel.

The snow was the perfect consistency for snowballs and snowmen today.  It was such a strange sort of snow - very dry almost.  We played in it quite a bit and had fun making our first snowman.  I’ve noticed that none of the people that generally live in snow have come out to play in it - only the southerners and the westerners think that snow is something for play!

In case you haven’t heard, we had a blizzard in New York overnight.  I heard on the news today that this is the second largest snowfall on record in New York.  They were measuring 23 inches of snow in central park.  Lucky for us, the biggest part of the storm hit overnight on a weekend, so we don’t have to get anywhere important.

We took the kids across the street to play in the snow today.  Campus is such a great place to play because the snow is undisturbed on all of the lawns.  A whole group of us were out there and the kids had fun.  Ella had a tough time since the snow was almost as tall as she is.  I had to help her a lot and she got cold pretty quickly.

It is so beautiful to see all of the places that the snow collects.  The chapel doors have beautiful etchings on them and the snow collected in such a way that it outlined the pictures beautifully.

I put some pictures of us and the chapel in the sidebar on the right - it’s titled Winter Wonderland.

The week has improved since my big pity party on Sunday. My classes are going well - I’m even able to appreciate philosophy in a strange sort of way. It always scrambles my brain, but I appreciate exploring the hard questions with smart people. The class is pretty small, so we get to do a fair amount of real dialogue. I’ll never be a philosopher, but I can appreciate how understanding the ancient philosophers will help me to engage in the ideas that the early Christians had.

My stewardship class is FABULOUS. Terry Parsons is really great. She totally gets it! I am really enjoying the class and am disappointed that it only meets once a week. She is leading a diocesan conference about stewardship in El Camino Real in May. She is going to spend Friday with clergy and then Saturday will be open to the whole diocese. She is great - I’d highly recommend being there if at all possible.

I had breakfast today with the rector from our church in New Jersey. She is so supportive and really thoughtful. She will be a great ally as we continue on this journey. I’m grateful for her presence and her strength. I’m really looking forward to doing my field education under her guidance. I think I can learn a lot from her.

I’m still not feeling super enthusiastic about everything, but I’m no longer in the pit of despair, either.  Thanks for all of your encouragement and kind words.  It really means a lot to me and it definitely helps!

Today in Church History we studied the apologists of the 1st and 2nd centuries, specifically Justin Martyr.  We focused on one of his writings, “The Epistle to Diognetus.”  At the end of the class, the professor gave us an assignment for next class:

    Which hynm in the hynmal is most appropriate on the feast of Diognetus?

Tell me again how this is preparing me to be a priest in 21st century America?!

As if that isn’t bad enough, for next Tuesday, my assignment is to write a 5 minute sermon on Cyprian of Carthage (a martyred in 528).  I am to outline one or two of his accomplishments and their impact on the church and then relate that to a current issue.  I’m beginning to understand now why all the sermons preached by students in our chapel are about saints and not about JESUS.

We decided that a Superbowl party would be a great way to get a bunch of people together and do a little informal community building.  I sent an evite last week to several families that live on campus and a few of the childless couples and single people that we know.  Several people said that they would come, if only for a little while, and a number of people said they’d get back to me.

By Saturday morning, most of the people that had committed to attending had backed out for one reason or another.  The “maybes” had all turned to “decline” by the end of Saturday and by the time the party started the last family standing was sick and wasn’t coming.

So, here I sat, in a house full of food and drinks, with just one couple that would be coming late and only staying for a short period of time.  I sat on my couch and watched the game, mostly, by myself.

All I hear around this place is how “we don’t have any community building activities” and “no one ever gets together” and “we don’t have any friends here and we should get together more”, but whenever I try I end up sitting alone. Whether it is the covenant group that everyone was “very enthusiastic” about me starting or the Superbowl party, the reality is no one wants to show up because they all decided that they had better offers somewhere else.  i don’t know, maybe it is just me.

The worst part is that this came at the end of a terrible day.  Worship on Sunday continues to be a challenge for us. While we really love the church we’ve been attending in New Jersey, the service starts at the worst possible time for the kids - 11:00am.  By that time, the kids are antsy and can’t sit still and are getting hungry about half way through the service.  Church has turned into a miserable experience that includes lots of scolding and threatening.  The kids hate going there. We hate being there.  I was so disgusted with the kids’ behavior and my reactions by the Eucharist prayer this morning that I marched them out and took them home.  Why is it that going to seminary has completely ruined the spiritual life of my family?  And, me for that matter?  It leaves me wondering if it wouldn’t have been better for us to just have stayed where we were at St. Tim’s while I commuted to CDSP.  Argh.

I know that tomorrow will be better.  The kids won’t be at each other’s throats all day.  I won’t be grumpy and sad because worship is hard.  My OT and NT classes will spark the Christian in me to action and I might be able to find Jesus long enough to remember why I’m doing this in the first place.  In the meantime, I’m lonely and sad and I want to go home.

I’ve decided that there is nothing systematic about Systematic Theology.  It is a philosophy course and as such the professor spends most of his time talking in circles and making qualifications about the statments he is making about the statements that other people have made.  For those of us with linear minds it is going to be a long semeter.

Just for kicks, I’d thought I’d share the first homework assignment (besides reading, of course) of the semester.  Our Systematic Theology professor has asked us to write a 1-page essay on the following: