Early Fall in Rural Ohio

I love living in the country.  This time of year is absolutely the best, and I share just a few of the wonderful things that are happening in our small and delightful world.

Grape harvest is in full swing with delicious jams and jellies to follow.

Augustus, the Scottish Black Faced Ram has arrived at Dayspring Farm
 

George is now eating at the table

Margaret started Kindergarten
 

Oscar gets home on the 7th and his first puppy hunt is booked at Federal Valley for the 13th with four birds!

 

The County Fair is just around the corner

I hope your world is as blessed as ours, and that the peace of God reigns in your heart.



Springtime in Fairfield County

The spring garden is planted and we are waiting for rain.  Potatoes, peas, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, onions, parsnips, beets, spinach, turnips and chard are in the ground and waiting for the necessary moisture to sprout and grow.  The rhubarb stalks are about five inches long, and I anticipate the first of the asparagus any day.  The peeper frogs were back this year for the second year in a row after their strange disappearance a few years back.  A careful listener can hear the buds of the trees popping open in the early evening warmth.  The bulb cutting beds are ablaze with color from the daffodils, hyacenths, tulips, muscara, and crocus. 

Ohio's Great Horned Owl

But today's big news is that the owls are back.  We always had owls in the woods, but last year they disappeared.  I've heard different theories for their decision to leave.  Some maintain that the Cooper's Hawks run them out.  Others say that there aren't enough rabbits and squirrels in the woods to feed them.  I really don't have a theory, but it was good to hear their distinctive call tonight at dusk.  My heart was gladdened as if an old friend had returned unexpectedly, which I suppose he had. 

All around me, the beauty and wonder of creation calls me to the worship of God.  I praise him for his bounty and his grace, and for callling me to live and work in this garden of the earth that is Greenfield Township, Fairfield County Ohio.

Commitment, Contentment, and a Sense of Belonging

The Peacable Kingdom
by Edward Hicks

Today was not a busy day, but it was one of those where because of one or two things you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.  And so it was with real joy that I settled into a hickory rocker on the front porch after completing my barn chores at about 10:30 Eastern Standard Time.  The terriers, who had been chasing small unwelcome animals at the barn, finally settled in with me.  We watched the shooting stars and listened to the constant drumming of the crickets and the call of the katydids.   I can't remember when I've enjoyed my evening ration of Redbreast and Navy Flake any more.  Amazingly, there was not a coyote within earshot, which is a very good thing (they run out the fox and kill more fowl than any fox ever dreamed of.)  It is cool enough now in the evenings to wear a kilt for chores, and somehow, the garmet just seems right for rural life. 

When I was a boy, living on the edge of town, I used to wander the fields and woods and dream of a time when I would be able to own property for the long haul.  When I went to college and began to read agrarian and romantic literature, I came to imagine ownership more as stewardship and less as control.  And now here we are, lost in the beauty of a late summer evening in southeastern Ohio.  There is here for me a sense of belonging, and of commitment to the people with whom I share this garden of the earth.  Someone asked me a few weeks back if we were planning to move when we retired.  My answer was as it has been for some years now, "no- we've got a farm and grave lots." 

It is good to commit to a people and a place, and to belong.  Would that we all might discover the communities to which God is calling us; and in those places and among those people find contentment and peace.

The Eve of the feast of St. Mary Magdaline

Today has been a wonderful day.  After a quick round of chores at the barn, I showered and drove to Mingo Lodge in Logan for a planning meeting of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.  It was good to see old friends and to share ideas for the coming year.  The theme for the day was building character and virtue in the lives of the members of our fraternity.  Such a positive time together was a welcome relief from some of the events of the past couple of weeks.

I returned home to check my e-mail and find this wonderful picture of my grand-daughters, Margaret and Helen, taking their snack together.   Then it was out into the garden to pick tomatoes and peaches and cucumbers, some of which made a delightful lunch.  At about 3:30, Tristan called just to say hi.  It was good to hear him sounding so happy and contented.  I think his carefree joy has something to do with some girls he met from Austria.  It is so good to see him experiencing civilian joys in peace and safety.

Then Rebecca and I drove up for Vespers with our friends at Holy Cross Carpathian Orthodox Church in Columbus.  Sometimes it is good to meet God from the perspective of a layman.  Then we finished out the day by eating at "Chick Fil A," as much as a political and moral statement as anything else, but their food is good. (see http://m.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38271 if you need some background on the company and the controversy surrounding them.)

From there it was just home, chores (all eight Speckled Sussex Hens laid an egg today!), some time with Scott's "Fair Maid of Perth" and a wee dram of Sherry on the porch surrounded by the dogs, and now it is almost time for bed.  Such an Eve of the Feast of St. Mary Magdaline I cannot remember!

PS: for those who may wonder, Squirt the Shetland Pony has completely recovered from her brush with founder and is back on pasture with her friend Princess, the Thoroughbred-Arab Cross.

Sermon for Pentecost, AD MMXII

The Descent of the Holy Spirit, by Anthony Van Dyck

Pentecost Year B
Preached at St. John’s Lancaster, 27 May 2012

Acts2:1-21
Psalm 104
Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-16:15

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. AMEN.

The Logo of Shriners International

Friday night Danny Meenach, Pete Martin, David Mowrey, and I donned our rhinestone encrusted red fezzes and descended on the main entrance of Wal-Mart to solicit donations for the Shriner’s Orthopedic and Burn Hospitals for Children. It is a worthy charity, and the “people of Wal-Mart” gave generously. Many of them did not appear to have a lot of extra cash, and their donations of one or two or five dollars reminded me of that widow whom Jesus commended for giving her two mites. “Because she has given all that she has, she has given more than all of them.” There was a time when I used to watch people a lot. And then time and circumstance limited that past-time, and so my three and a half hours at Wal-Mart provided a welcome opportunity to watch people again. I was a bit disturbed by what I saw. There were more people in the general population who seemed to be burned out on drugs than I had remembered. In the same way, there was a higher concentration of people who seemed to suffer from the ill affects of poverty than I had remembered from the days when I did most of my people watching in Lexington, Kentucky back in the 70’s. If the eye is the window of the soul, and I believe it is for most of us, I think it is safe to say that many of the people I saw were living in that shadowy land between faith and hope, where uncertainty and hurt can so easily lead to distrust and despair.

Perhaps you have visited that land at some point in your life. You believe that there is a God, a God who loves you. Your faith has led you to respond by giving your life to Him and calling out for his deliverance, but as hours blend into days and days into weeks, your prayers seem to go unanswered, and your soul wavers. The hope you had entertained seems so far away, and your loved one still suffers from cancer, and that person you love so dearly seems as unresponsive as ever, and you watch your balances dwindle as markets fluxuate and you are forced to draw down more and more capital to meet your regular expenses. Your faith is intact, but hope seems an unrealized dream.

Whitsunday, more commonly called the Feast of Pentecost, is the festival of our Holy Mother the Church which addresses the discouragement of that in-between land perhaps better than any other. It relates the historic fulfillment of the outpouring of the Blessed Holy Spirit in the lives of the early Christians. Jesus had ascended into heaven, and had told the disciples to go into the city and wait for the fulfillment of that which had been foretold by the prophets, the coming of the Spirit upon the people of God. He had said, “When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it unto you. All that the Father has in mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)

And now, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy and Blessed Trinity, is come into the world to guide the Ecclesia, the Church of God, into all truth. He fell upon them in power that day, and the world has never been the same. Common lives were filled with a confidence beyond what they had ever known. In many ways their situations did not change, but they were now aware of the infilling of God, and their transformed perceptions led to new outlooks, new callings, and new realities of faith and experience. They bore witness to the fact that Jesus Christ had defeated death and the grave, and had changed their lives forever. The boldness of their insistence led to persecution and radical transformation of culture, of institutions, and of lives. All of this because the Gift of the Holy Ghost had come upon them just as the prophets foretold. “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I shall be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28) Because the gift of the Holy Spirit was theirs, their outlooks and their realities were transformed. The grayness of that in-between land gave way to the Technicolor certainty of the realized hope of the kingdom of God in their lives.

Have you experienced this ushering in of the Kingdom of God? Certainly it is a reality in the history of the Church, but have you known it in your own heart? Has His Spirit borne witness with your own spirit that indeed you are a child of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ? Has the grayness and uncertainty of life’s reality been reinterpreted and understood in that new light, that fuller truth and understanding which is the gift of God to all who believe?

On this feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church, I urge you to receive those gifts that God has prepared for you, and which Jesus promised were ours if we would wait for the fulfillment. By coming today to this holy place to receive the sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you have in a very real way gone into the city to await the coming of the gift. You have believed that Jesus is the Christ, the one who did what the Bible says he did, and is who the Bible says he is. You have come to this place in faith, believing in the promise. Now I urge you to cast yourself upon his grace and mercy, praying earnestly that on this day, you might know that truth which He has promised. On this day, pray earnestly to him that the faith of the Church might be your own, and that the experience of the Church my be known in your life with power, and intimacy, and transforming reality.

God may change your immediate situation. It is much more likely that your situation will stay the same, but that he will transform your mind and your outlook. The miracle, you see, may not be in the physical healing, or the changed reality. It may be in that spiritual understanding which comes from what Wesley and others have called “the heart strangely warmed.” When we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that we have been with God, and that He loves us, we are guided into that deeper truth which only comes from knowing Him, for the Spirit of God speaks to us that which the Father has delivered to the Son. Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his lord does. But I call you friends, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” Friends of Jesus, receive today that truth, that understanding, that knowledge that our Lord and our Saviour, our brother and our friend offers us through the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. As it transformed the Empire of Rome, so will it transform our outlooks and our reality, and men and women everywhere will know the reality of the power of God’s love. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.

A Perfect Weekend

The weekend began Friday evening with a casual dinner at the Pub with my Cousins from Cladaugh Council #86, Knight Masons- Irish Constitution.  After a wonderful board with pipe and whistle music to mark St. Patrick's Day, we repaired to the Lodge and conferred the Babylonian Pass on one candidate.  The courage and steadfastness of Zerrubabel and the other Jewish Captives as they sought to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem has always inspired me, and this night was no exception.  We then returned to the pub for convivial fellowship and plenty of time to renew old friendships and make new ones.

Saturday Morning began early at Lancaster Chapter #11, Royal Arch Masons.  Two candidates received the Royal Arch Degree, one of the most sublime in Masonry, and for a change, I was priviledged to sit on the sidelines and see the degree in its entireity.  It was a grand opportunity to reconsider my own dedication to God, and to consider those things that are truly important in life.

The afternoon brought several hours in the garden with my beautiful wife Rebecca.  I divided siberian Irisis and lined the lower north walkway with these diminutive and beautiful plants while Rebecca planted primrose along the east walks as a transition to the conical boxwoods which define our grand-daughters' secret garden.

The evening found me clad in saffron kilt with bottle green socks and tie and day wear jacket at the home of good friends Steve and Camille for their annual Irish dinner.  Beef pie, taties, cabbage and corned beef, lamb, garden peas, and desserts to die for filled the board, and the evening was finished off with cigars and Irish malt, and discussions of faith and fraternity with our hosts and friends Danny and Julie.  Such an evening spent with fellow Anglicans and Freemasons was both uplifting and inspiring.  I returned home with peace in my heart towards all men.

On Sunday morning I preached twice, and on this fourth sunday of Lent considered the life and ministry of Archbishop Rowan Williams, who announced his resignation from the see of Canterbury this week.  While I disagreed with this good man on many things, I have always found in his life and ministry real inspiration and challenge.  In what many might consider this most difficult time for our Communion, he sought to keep us together while providing safe havens for minority faith communities within the communion.  He attempted to lead us into a rational and loving structure which would define our faith and make us more accountable to each other.  And he sought to defend the historic faith received against what at times seemed overwhelming cultural odds.  His gentle counsels were often rejected by those who might have profited the most from hearing them.  I wish him the best as he re-enters the academic life.

After Church, Rebecca and I joined Bill and Nancy, friends and parishoners for a lovely breakfast at Shaw's Restraunt across the street from the church.  The eggs Benedict were splendid, and the asparagus was perfectly steamed.  The conversation strayed from ++Cantaur to the Parish Gardens to the Iraqi Rowing Team, for which Bill is an advisor.  My soul was refreshed by the good work and beauty that surrounds me.

From lunch, we went to the Funeral Home to pay our respects to Jan, the sister of our friend Carole.  Her illness was long and terible and now she is at peace.  Even in times of loss, it is good to see a family where love is so evident in the lives of all.

The day concluded with Choral Evensong at St. John's.  Our choir was joined by choristers from Trinity Newark, St. Paul's Logan, and Holy Cross Carpathian Orthodox Church in Columbus.   The setting, including the Mag and Nunc, was composed by Kathy Heim,  our Choir mistress, and one of the featured hymns was written by Thurlow Weed, our Organist.  To hear the people of so many parishes gathered in worship employing their own original compositions truly gave me a deeper understanding of liturgy as the work of the people.  As we gathered for a light lenten repast in the undercroft, I gave thanks again for God's soverign decision to post me to this place at this time.

I came home to relax on the back porch with a gin and tonic and a bowl of MacBaren's Navy Flake.  The dogs and I watched the lightening show for the better part of an hour and a half, and now we have all retired to the chapel/study to share the weekend with you, my gentle readers.  It is good to dwell in such a place and with such people.  I pray that all who read this post might find such joy in the realities of your own lives.  Surely God is among us here, and we are a people blessed. 

Happy the man...

"beatus ille qui procul negotiis...paterna rura bobus exercet suis"
-happy the man who far away from business...tills with his own oxen the fields his father owned-
                                                      Horace, Epodes ii:1-3

I was up early this morning for no apparent reason.  The terriers were more lethargic than usual, but after they bounced out the door and down into the woods for their morning constitutional, I settled in to pay some bills and take care of some outstanding business.  But first, I walked over to the left wall of the chapel to turn on the propagator lights.  I love starting seeds in the late winter.  Last week it was broccoli and collards- this week lettuces, cabbage, spinach, and kohlrabi.  After a couple of weeks inside, they will all be ready for transplanting to the greenhouse, although hard freezes this time of year can be treacherous even with double frames inside the unheated greenhouse.  Sometime in the next week or two, the tomatoes and peppers will get their starts, although they take a bit more care in handling until the last frost sometime in early to mid-May. 

My gardening propositions this year include plans to be a bit more intentional about row-cropping flowers to cut and keep in the house.  With Rebecca back to teaching from home again, it is wonderful to experience the small joys of domesticity, and cut flowers are definitely one of those joys.  I'm also planning to be a bit more organized about rotational planting this year to give more of a rolling harvest for immediate consumption, with the larger crops of garden peas, tomatoes, fruits, and berries being the focus of preservation for winter's enjoyment.  The plan this year is to start everything inside, even the peas and beans.  In theory, this should allow for more systematic weed control and less waste of seed.  It also allows me to play with my propagator and greenhouse.  When the well stocked grocer is just around the corner, one has a bit more liberty in exploring new horticultural ideas.

Ohio is a wonderful place to be as winter fades into spring.  I think I'll have a cup of tea and read morning prayer and give thanks for it all.

      

Rector's Report 2011- St. John's Lancaster

The numbers look good this year at St. John’s.  Eleven Baptisms, a good list of confirmations receptions and transfers, a strong pledge base and small surplus going into December, and an Average Sunday Attendance (there is the real number for any church) of 110, up 15 from last year.  But cautious thanksgiving, not jubilant self-congratulation is in order.  After all, we have buried some very active members and seen good friends and members of our parish move away.  And our ASA is significantly skewed by the fact that Christmas fell on a Sunday this year and the fact that we had excellent attendance at both Christmas Eve services, which count toward Sunday attendance.  All the same, good things are happening at St. John’s.  We offer three Communion Services each week in our Church, all of which are well attended.  Two regular Bible studies are joined by a strong EFM program to provide Christian Education opportunities for our members.  We have a regular presence for Prayer and Communion distribution in two nursing homes.  We offer weekly lay led evening prayer at the church and also at the chapel at Pickering House, the home of our local tri-county hospice program.  We have a regular presence in the county jail, the transitions center, and in SEPTA- the tri-county jail in Nelsonville (Bill McCleery, assisted by Chuck Canter even baptized two men there this year!)  We have had good participation serving meals to the poor in Jackson and Hocking counties, and the support of our parish for the local Lutheran Social Services food pantry continues.  We continue to support missions ranging from Haiti to Liberia to East Asia and beyond, and youth work in Pennslyvania.  We support work among single mothers in our own community and provided hats and mittens to needy children in our own public schools.  Our building is used by AA and Alanon, Fairhope Hospice, the Lancaster Festival Art Walk, and a group of local elementary school cheerleaders regularly.   Special needs students from Lancaster High School come to our church every week during the school year for on-site job training experience.  All of these things and more are supported by all of the administrative and service structures such as altar guild, choir, office volunteers, and the like that make up the daily labour of the people of God at St. John’s.  We support the ministries of the Episcopal church directly through Episcopal Community Services Foundation,  Support for the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem on Good Friday, support for the Dohn's- medical missionnaries in the Dominican Republic, and direct giving to two Episcopal Seminaries at Nashotah House and in Ambridge PA.  This year, we saw one of our own families, the Canters, graduate from the House and accept a church appointment in the Episcopal diocese of San Diego.   We have been pleased to support the Good Earth Farm and Common Friars, our relatively new Episcopal Monastery in Athens.  Our own Emily Crawford served as a summer intern there during her break from Washington and Lee.  .We also pay our diocesan Mission Share fully and on time this and every year.  These are a few of the highlights of who we are and what we do here at St. John’s, and there are many more things we do to serve God and our fellows here and around the world.  Thank you all for your generous support and service.

2011 has also seen some big changes about how we do business at St. John’s and in the look of the Church.  First for the capital projects: We have new roofs on both buildings which should serve us for years to come.  A major masonry project was conducted on the west end of the church which included the rebuilding of both towers.  Many thanks to Glenn Newman, a long-time friend of this parish for doing the work.  He saved us substantial amounts of money with his patient and careful workmanship.  Thanks also to Martin Taylor, our good neighbor, who cooperated with us and Fairfield Federal to stabilize and reconstruct the wall that marks our property line.  Last year, our vestry decided to adopt a plan of “Common Ministry” or increased lay involvement in the running of the church.  A significant component of that plan was the replacing of our Church secretary with volunteer workers.  It has been a learning process, but the transition has been made successfully, thanks to the hard work of Tom Hammer, Schyler Crawford, and all of our office volunteers.  We hit a milestone in 2011 when our treasurer, Lowell Stallsmith, celebrated his  twenty fifth year in that position.  Thanks Lowell for a job well done.  We continued to get to know each other better thanks to the monthly fellowship breakfasts organized by Mark and Mary Alice Perrine and their crews.  Suzie Cork and the folks at Shaw’s continued to conduct the popular cooking classes which have brought joy to so many and raised a considerable sum for our parish.  Many thanks are also in order to the Fairfield Anglican Fellowship, an independent mission support agency and registered 501c3 for their continued substantial support of our mission through the payment of utilities and support for individual projects of our parish and their support of the Common Friars in Athens.  Thanks to all who support St. John’s by their labor, their giving of money and time and prayer, and by living the gospel every day.  We are truly blessed, and if 2011 is any indicator of who we are, I anticipate a great 2012 here on behalf of the kingdom of God.

Faithfully,

Bill+

A Tough Month

This has been a difficult month, but it has had its blessings as well. On the twenty-eighth of June, my father died. He was a good man, and he set the standard for who I ought to be. Christ was in his heart, and it was a place of love and forgiveness. He served God and the Republic well, he cared deeply and had a great sense of humor, and I miss him terribly. Then came General Convention in Anaheim. The Church that I love so well, or at least the largest part of her North American branch, voted to normalize monogamous sodomy, declared the New Testament to be anti-Semitic, and repeated several chronic socialist agenda items that have been banging about mainline protestantism for several decades . There were no real surprizes, but my heart is still heavy, and I ask God's forgiveness for my own shortcomings this side of glory. This week, a dear friend and brother of mine has been in the hospital and the Docs can't figure out what ails him, another dear friend has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and this afternoon, Rebecca and I found out that our beloved West Highland White Terrier Quincy just might have cancer. It has been a difficult month indeed.

But on the other side of the ledger, my folks were able to move in with us before Dad died, and that is a good thing. Friends from our past and present poured out more love on us than anyone deserves during Dad's illness and burial and beyond. God met us in the Burial Service (1662 BCP Daily Office with Commendation and Committal.) I shall never hear the Navy Hymn again without fond memories of my father. And for it all, Tristan and Ashley and Margaret were here with Dad and with us. Matthew was able to join us for the services (both Masonic and Christian), and served with distinction, along with Dave Halt and Mel Truex, comrades from adventures long past.

Three of our greatest blessings revolve around our children. First, Tristan is home safe from Afghanistan. I praise God for his mercies usward, and pray his consolation on those seven families in Lima Company 3/8 who grieve the loss of their sons.

Second, Matthew and Ashley have traveled to the Diocese of South Carolina for a summer internship there. God willing and Bishop Lawrence consenting, he will soon begin the discernment process for Priestly ordination in that beautiful and most orthodox part of the world. May God shower his blessings on Bishop Salmon for his vision and discernment in the lives of my children. Finally, Margaret's first birthday party was celebrated in true southern form (for details see Ashley's excellent blog http://horatiusatthebridge.blogspot.com/), and we, like her paternal grandparents, were blessed to be present.

Life is truly a mixed bag, but through it all, I have found God's sweet presence to be a constant and abiding comfort. From the bottom of my heart, I pray that all who read this might know Him as Saviour and Lord, and that they might find that same peace that I have known.