Outside My Comfort Zone

When I had the opportunity to join this summer’s pilgrimage trip, I was both excited and apprehensive. I can’t remember the last time I went camping; I’m an Inside Person through and through. And on this trip to the Grand Tetons, we were going to be semi-camping: staying in tent-cabins with no electricity or water, and cooking outside.

Despite my apprehensions about the accommodations, I said yes. I wanted the chance to spend more time with this class of youth who spent the past year learning online— including in confirmation class with Fr. Kevin and me.

Wow, am I glad God strengthened me to agree to step outside my comfort zone this week!

We walked and hiked almost a marathon‘s worth of distance. We cooked and ate and met outside our tents. We swam in at least three different lakes and whitewater rafted down the Snake River. We visited two different national parks and saw bison, elk, a moose, a bear, bald eagles, and a marmot. We reveled in the glory of God’s creation and sought Christ in one another and in ourselves.

I’m so grateful to this group for inviting me in. It was a week I will never forget. Thanks be to God!

Chapel of the Transfiguration

Proud to Support Pride

When the flag hit the top of the flagpole, my eyes filled with tears. Underneath our American flag, there was now another one: the LGBTQIA+ pride flag. I looked out over the small gathered crowd of about 35 people. Some of the faces were familiar but others were new to me, and all were tilted up to look at the new flag flying in front of our church. It was a simple but beautiful moment.

Philadelphia LGBTQIA+ Pride Flag outside St. Paul's

For too long, churches have been sites of rejection for people whose gender or sexuality put them on the wrong side of society’s norms. But now churches are increasingly understanding the diversity of genders and sexualities to be gifts from God.

As Christians, we promise in our baptismal vows to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Jesus teaches us to seek out the most vulnerable people and show them God’s love (see, for example, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 6:20, Luke 14:13-14, John 5:1-15). In our society, LGBTQIA+ people are some of the most vulnerable.

2021 Pride in Southington

A pride celebration in Southington is a joyful way to connect LGBTQIA+ residents with one another, and to show them that they are loved and appreciated. This is especially important for LGBTQIA+ youth, who are at increased risk of suicide and mental illness. Those risks are worsened by contexts where they don't feel supported for who they are.

We believe that God loves us all—no exceptions. For more on the story of LGBTQIA+ people in the Episcopal Church, check out LGBTQ in the Church.

Did you know?

You may expect the Pride flag to have six colors of the rainbow, but ours is a little different.

In 2017, the Philadelphia Office of LGBTQ affairs released this new version of the flag. The black and brown stripes were added to highlight the activism of Black, Latine, and indigenous people. Within the LGBTQIA+ movement, those groups have often led the way. But they’ve also faced discrimination in the very spaces they worked to build. Including these two colors on the flag is a way to acknowledge the work of people of color, and to commit to true inclusivity for all.

The Agape Meal – A Love Feast

The earliest Christian communities didn’t gather in Gothic stone cathedrals, or even small wooden churches. Gathering in one another’s homes, they came together to make sense of the life, death, and resurrection of this amazing person called Jesus. Before we had the Eucharist, celebrated by ordained people as we have it today, we gathered as the Body of Christ to share prayers and fellowship in the name of Jesus.

A family meal. Photo by fauxels from Pexels

In the early 1700s, the Moravians (a denomination with which we Episcopalians are in full communion) began celebrating the Agape Meal as a way of bringing back this ancient practice. Since agape (uh-GAH-pay) in ancient Greek means “love,” people also call this the “love feast.”

One of the beauties of this worship practice is that anyone can lead it, like Morning Prayer. It's also great for people of all ages, young and old. You can have an Agape Meal at home whenever you like!

For Maundy Thursday (April 1) at 7:30pm, we will eat a meal together in this ancient way. (Click here to join the Zoom service.) The Agape Meal gives us a time of prayer and fellowship to kick off some of the holiest days of the Christian year: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

The Agape Meal traditionally consists of simple foods found in the Mediterranean like crusty bread, olives, and wine. But you should bring whatever you have at home. Cook something elaborate, or bring a bowl of cereal. The food doesn’t matter; what matters is that we are gathering in Jesus’ name.

Before we know it, we’ll be ringing bells and shouting that A-word we love so much on Easter morning. But first, let’s deepen our Lenten journey by joining together in food and prayer, as we share a love feast together.