Lenten Unity

Archbishop Justin Welby and Pope Francis

I was very moved this week to learn of the collaboration between the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Pope Francis (and others) to combat human trafficking and slavery.  It is projected that this exploitative industry may afflict upwards of 29 million people.   It seems fitting to draw the world's attention to a sin of this magnitude during Lent, to promote repentance and healing around an issue that receives insufficient coverage and visibility, at least in the developed world. 

Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Rowan Williams

But my heart was also strangely warmed, to quote John Wesley, by the photo of the two religious
leaders shaking hands, displaying unity within a divided Church and world.  In the early years of Christianity, schism was one of the greatest sins that could be committed, and yet it has become our daily reality, which makes me wonder if promoting Christian unity might be a better Lenten discipline than giving up chocolate or alcohol.  Many of us within the Church take division as a given, as if schism was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  I remember in seminary wading through abstruse arguments defending the validity of Anglican ordination against Roman Catholic refutations, being called on by evangelicals to justify the Episcopal Church's progressive stance on social issues, and being quite rightly challenged by colleagues on my own ecclesiological prejudices.  Not that theological differences of opinion aren't important.  As one of my seminary professors, Fr. Ralph McMichael, said, "it is better in communion than to be right.  But it has to be the right kind of communion."  We have to be honest and name the convictions on which we are not of one mind.

Archbishop George Carey and Pope John Paul II

Lent is an aspirational season in which we seek to be better than we have been, to right wrongs, to mend moral defects, to repent and become whole again. This is a tall order, and utterly impossible for humanity to affect without the grace and mercy of God.  But I think God wants us to reach out and seek that wholeness by looking past the conventional litmus tests that tend to divide us and focus on the unity toward which we can work now.  The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has been crafting a way way forward for decades, and now our shared work on human trafficking and slavery is another step we can take together.  Unity is not an all or nothing proposition; it is a spectrum of intimacy along which we can grow and converge.  Anglicans and Roman Catholics, in particular, share a common heritage that gives us a place from which to grow on things that matter. And the same plea for unity applies to our relationships with our Lutheran, Methodist, Congregationalist, Jewish, and Muslim sisters and brothers.  We all have a place from which to grow together.

Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey

So, what am I proposing?  Just a few small things.  1) Begin by intentionally praying for each other and your respective ministries, Roman Catholics and Anglicans.  2) Anglicans, take a Roman Catholic friend to church with you one Sunday.  Roman Catholics, take an Anglican friend to church with you. Maybe say Evensong or Vespers together.  3) Find something you can do together as Anglicans and Roman Catholics, like serve at a soup kitchen, food pantry, crisis center, or other ministry.  and 4) Finally, be patient and humble with each other.  No one of us has the complete truth.  Remember that in a Church that is divided, each of us is damaged, deficient, and deprived.  We cannot say that we have no need of each other; for only together are we truly the body of Christ.  May we all in this Lenten season acknowledge the reality of the broken body on the Cross and work to emulate the image of the resurrected Christ.

Blessings,
Ethan +

Bonded by Ashes

With Fr. Robert Cristobal and Mthr Kate Guistolese
braving the elements.

In the two years I have been ordained, I have found  Ashes-to-Go a deeply rewarding and transformative experience, and was of course excited about venturing out onto the street corner again this year with my pyx.  This is a ministry that begs to be shared, and so I thought it might be fun to invite two of my closest clergy friends to join me.  Neither of them had done it before, but both have an adventurous spirit and were eager--forgive the pun--to get their hands dirty.  But I'm not going to talk, as I have in years past, about the many wonderful people who were touched by the Church's attempt to seek them out in the community.  Instead, I want to share one of the unexpected outcomes the day: good old-fashioned clergy bonding.

It is very easy for many clergy to feel isolated, even if their cures are happy and satisfying.  Few parishes are able to support a large clergy team, let alone a single curate or associate to share ministry with the rector/vicar.  So, many of us work alone in our parishes, in chaplaincies, or secular employment.  Sure, there is Credo, clergy conferences, and the deanery clericus, but these often don't provide adequate space for authentic, safe, and deep bonding.  Having lived in a clergy house with other priests, I have been fortunate to live the daily rhythm of going to mass and Evensong together, eating at the same table, answering unexpected knocks at the front door, and sleeping under the same roof.  It provides an environment of support that is hard to duplicate.  And yet, this week I recaptured a bit of that spirit.

Even though the three of us gathered at my apartment the night before to ensure we would get an early start on Ash Wednesday, the time together amounted to more than just good logistics.  We cooked and ate together around my kitchen table; we prayed together; we shared stories of our respective vocations; we asked for and offered each other counsel.  We stayed up talking until 2 am, and then we slept under the same roof.  We woke up at six, vested, and gathered (a bit bleary eyed)  around the table to make holy water and bless the ashes.  We ate a light breakfast and prayed before setting out for the EL platform.  Over the course of the day, we reflected on the experience of ashing people in front of the Starbucks, and how this informed our understanding of ourselves as priests.

At the end of the evening rush hour, we retreated to the warmth and safety of the coffee shop, and were graced with a half-hour conversation with a man curious to understand the theological significance of the ashing.  He had been hurt by the Church, but was very open to talking about religion.  He had studied Zen Buddhism and was now exploring Kabbalah.  It was instructive for us to watch each other think on our feet and offer him a piece of the theological puzzle--as best we could make out.  After he left, I said to my friends, "That conversation was definitely the Holy Spirit offering us an encouraging capstone to this day."  It was as if the Lord had hit us over the head and said to us, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."  And, then, we walked together to church for the Ash Wednesday mass.  We joined the congregation in one of the pews with our heavy winter gear still on and our dirty thumbs, and we prayed and received communion.

The lesson for me, at least, was that I'm not nearly as faithful or effective a priest alone as I am when I'm bonded with other clergy.  I learn so much from them, and I gain strength and nourishment for my ministry from their mere presence, as well as from their prayers, advice, and spiritual gifts.  The same can be said for many lay people I know, and with whom I have ministered.  But, there is a special bond that comes from sister and brother priests that trust each other and know each other well.  This is one reason that I have found the Society of Catholic Priests (SCP) in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada such a blessing to my ministry, especially in difficult times.  We are in the process of establishing a chapter in Chicago, and so, I will end with the Society's prayer as an invitation to others to join us, expand our circle of fellowship, and nurture the spirit of clergy collegiality that makes all of us better priests:

Father, we thank you

that you have called us to your service,

to feed your people by word and sacrament.

By the power of your Spirit,

keep us faithful to you and to those in our care.

Keep united in the bonds of peace and love

the members of our Society,

that by sharing in Christ's priesthood here on earth,

we may come to share

in the joys of his eternal kingdom,

where he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

for ever and ever. Amen.