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Deacon's Deliberations

1/22/2017

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The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvelous discoveries of science; in the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; the increased self-reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it - actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on the public mind.

Opening of “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things), promulgated May 15, 1891


Your poor deacon considers it his duty to imitate Paul (the Church marks his Conversion this coming Wednesday the 25th, by the way) as he spoke and acted to the Ephesians, when he counseled his brothers and sisters to speak “…only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear” (Ep 4: 29). Such was my intention this week when I entered into today’s Gospel, of Jesus’ call to the fishermen, known concisely as The Summons. This passage from Matthew made me think of work narrowly, and vocations more broadly, and so I re-read the above-cited encyclical, with the hope of applying it to the Scripture and to our lives today.


But nothing was as cogent and prescient as the opening, with the exception of “the closer mutual combination of the working classes,” which has not really taken hold widely in the US. About other nations I’m not sure, except that Germany is often held as the exemplar for worker-management cooperation. Generally, however, the practice with regard to wage costs is a “race to the bottom,” and with that race goes workers’ hopes for gains. I’ll go no further than encourage having your own journey with the document.


​What was on the minds of Simon, Andrew, James, and John when Jesus called them away from their labors with the intriguing if vague promise to be re-purposed as “fishers of men” (Mt 4: 19)? “Is there dental with that?” (OK, I stole that joke from Grosse Pointe Blank) My conversion story unfolded during my move to Detroit in 2008, in the week before I started at my Mercy Volunteer Corps ministry site. I was walking from Corktown to St. Al’s on Washington Blvd., and was thinking about all the holy people I’d met in the days prior, who though they knew me not, seemed – I saw it and I felt it – to believe that I would succeed in my work. And the phrase from Mass popped into my head: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And as I was walking across the Lodge overpass, it hit me – that, ideally, this means all of us. May we be blessed, and may we bless each other, through our labors.


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Joni's Reflection

1/15/2017

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​2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time   John 1:29
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
 
Today, we enter into the third week of the New Year, and I’m still enjoying all of my Christmas decorations, especially the lights that illuminate my tree.  I love the liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas. They are symbols of hope, peace, joy, and light, themes that we should live with 365 days of the year. “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This sentence from the Gospel acclamation summarizes our reason for joy and hope. 
 
Today many people in our nation will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We celebrate his life for many reasons.  My reason may be different from yours but what we may be able to agree on was that he was a man that taught us how to love in some of the most difficult situations in our nation.  His Six Pillars are as challenging, remarkable, and relevant today as they were when Dr. King wrote them over fifty years ago.
 
An Experiment in Love:  Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Six Pillars of Nonviolent Resistance and the Ancient Greek Notion of ‘Agape’.  Find the entire document here:
http://www.dailygood.org/story/1098/an-experiment-in-love-martin-luther-king-jr-on-the-six-pillars-of-nonviolent-resistance-and-the-ancient-greek-notion-of-agape-maria-popova/
 
“Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate.  This can only be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of our lives.”
In the first of the six pillars, Dr. King addresses the tendency to mistake nonviolence for passivity, pointing out that it is a form not of cowardice but courage. “It is not passive non-violence to evil; it is active nonviolent resistance to evil.”
Second Tenet: “Nonviolence…does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding. The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness.”
In considering the third tenet, “Dr. King appeals to the conscientious recognition that those who perpetrate violence are often victims themselves.”
Fourth tenet: ‘Nonviolent resistance [requires] a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation, to accept blows from the opponent without striking back…”
The fifth tenet turns the fourth inward and arrives at the most central point of the essay – the noblest use of what we call “love.” Here, Dr. King turns to Ancient Greek philosophy ‘agape.’ Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men.  It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. King argues that at the heart of agape is the notion of forgiveness.
The sixth and final principal of nonviolence King sees as a force for justice: Nonviolent resistance...is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice.  Consequently, believers in nonviolence have deep faith in the future.
 
I believe that each of us has a moral obligation to continue to roll up our sleeves each day to work for justice and peace. Keeping the dream alive with hope.
“Kindness and truth shall meet; Justice and peace shall embrace” (Ps 85: 10)
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Council Comments

1/8/2017

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The beginning of a new year!  I am not a very good “New Year's Resolution” person.  I make them and break them pretty quickly.  Some years I have decided “why bother, since you're not going to keep them anyhow” but then I'll feel bad and say to myself “THIS is the year you're going to keep them.”  It never seems to work.  This year I decided to start a different way.  I looked at some of my favorite quotes to get me going in the right direction and hope you like the three I've chosen.

I love this quote of Mother Teresa: “We feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”  This year I think I will try and do the little things – smile at someone in the grocery store, be nice to someone who is annoying or just do simple tasks with a smile.  There are so many things that people do that are “drops in the ocean” but mean the world to other people, like calling someone who is sick or home-bound, sending someone an encouraging card or email, holding the door for someone, saying “good morning” or asking someone “how are you” and listening to hear the answer...if we count up all the drops of good we do each day, perhaps we can each add another one or two and how many drops of good would be added to this world?


The second quote is by Henry James: “Three things in life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”  When I first read this I thought “I know just who I should send this to.”  Of course, that was not a 'kind' thought of mine!  So I started over and thought about what a world this would be if every person did one or two kind things each day – or a hundred?  Some people always seem to be kind.  I certainly can be kinder in my thoughts and actions and plan to try to put kindness at the top of my list everyday.

Gibbs on NCIS said his mother told him just before she died “You think you're alone in the dark.  Close your eyes and remember everything good.”  When I heard that I thought of my own mother who always seemed to look on the bright side of things.  I know she had lots of hard times but she seemed to still look at the gifts she was given, not the bad.  She got one of my brother in laws to plant a tree outside her kitchen window because the tree was “waving to her” when she drove by English gardens.  A rainy day meant you could put your boots on and go for a walk (not be sad because you couldn't go out and play!), a snowy day meant building a snowman (after shoveling the sidewalk of course!).  She always had too many tasks (and some fun things) on her list so being bored never made the list.  This Tuesday I was changing the sign in front of church, which is not that much fun especially on a cold or wet day.   Cleo from the Alliance walked by and we had a nice chat about the holidays, his kids, what's going on at the Alliance and after he left I exchanged some smiles and hello's with folks walking down the street.  Afterwards I thought “that was fun.”  Maybe at the end of each day this year I will close my eyes and think of  “everything good” that happened.  Sometimes that good thing might have started out as a menial task.  

​
As I look at the new year I will try and add my drops to the ocean, be a kinder person and remember the good in each day, each person and each year.  Have a happy and blessed 2017!
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Pastor’s Pen

1/2/2017

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Today, as we celebrate the birth of Christ and hear the story of the Nativity once again, we are reminded of the birth of babies in our own families.  It may have been our own children or a niece or nephew, or maybe a grandchild.  If you’ve held a baby in your arms, you know their power.  Once they’re in our midst, we melt.  We see their innocence and goodness.  We hear their gurgles and attempts to speak and know they are trying to say our name.  We see their eyes so focused on us as if we’re the only person in the world. We love the moments when we can make them laugh.  They are so fragile and completely vulnerable in our arms and they somehow trust us to take good care of them.

As we heard in last week’s wonderful reflection for the fourth Sunday of Advent, the sign given to Ahaz was “the virgin giving birth to a son.”  In a world fraught with wars and violence of all kinds, He comes.  In a world where markets filled with Christmas shoppers in Berlin can become the scene of terrorism, He comes.  In a world filled with political agendas and those who are only out to amass wealth in whatever way they can obtain it, He comes.  On our earth that has been abused and destroyed without thinking of the world we are leaving for the next generations, He comes.  At a time when so many your African American men are being incarcerated or killed on our city streets, He comes.  In a world where people live without water or heat while other squander their resources, He comes.  In a world where so many are treated unjustly just because of who they are, He comes.  He doesn’t come as a politician or military leader, a CEO or a philanthropist.  He’s not coming as a powerful big brother (or sister) to beat up the bullies in our world.

​
No, he comes a little vulnerable baby.  His name is Emmanuel, God is with us, and he comes to overthrow the world with the greatest power…His love.  Can we do the same?
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Pastor’s Pen

1/1/2017

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As we open up this new year of 2017, it seems appropriate to celebrate the feast of Mary, the Mother of God.  Mary becomes the model of trusting even when we can’t figure out what God wants from us.  A new year always brings a sense of hope.  It helps us let go of what was tough in the past year and embrace a new beginning.  It seems a good time for us to look at ourselves, as Nativity, and see where we’ve come from and where we may want to go.  First, I know this transition has not been easy for anyone.  You have gone from a full time (in residence) pastor and associate pastoral minister for close to 50 years.  Most have known nothing but the leadership of Fr. Singer and Sr. Jolene.  I also know that Anne was the other important link.  The three were able to handle and organize workers for every event that came to Nativity.  I understand you have built relationships with each other that are deep and wonderful.  I realize there was a way that you related and communicated with one another that was very comfortable and easy.  It was like family.  I also realize that now you have a part time pastor who is running between three jobs and who you rarely see outside the Sunday Mass.  You have a new Music Minister, a new DRE (Director of Religious Education) and 2 Pastoral Associates who have taken on many responsibilities that Sr. Jolene performed.  None of us are in residence at Nativity and all of us are part-time ministers.  I’m sure it gives many parishioners a sense of frustration and confusion.  I understand that and I appreciate all of those who have been a support to myself and the staff even when it wasn’t easy.  The difficulty I’m having is knowing how to ease the negativity of some parishioners.  I have heard statements like “That’s not how we do it at Nativity” or “you’re trying to make us look like St. Charles, and taking away our identity.”  There seems to a faction in the parish who are quite bitter about the changes.  I don’t know how to heal that suffering.  I do know that if Nativity is just OUR community of friends, OUR family, where we “help” the poor but really don’t want them sitting next to us, we will die.  I’ve said this often but it’s becoming clearer after 2 years.   In the last two years, I believe there has been only one family who joined our parish and no one seems too upset about it.  Something is wrong.

​My question is: are we really a suburban parish with ties to Nativity and to one another or are we a city parish called to be converted by the people who live in our area?  That’s the million dollar question for 2017.  If we choose the later, it will call us to stretch and see church in a new way.  It will call us to compromise more and to see liturgy in new ways.  We may have to choose music or new practices that will be more accommodating to others rather than ourselves.  Let’s pray deeply for Nativity in 2017 and have the courage to let go and allow God to lead us.

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