Poverty

I believe that poverty is the root of many of our social problems in our world.  I read this article today on one person's story of her temporary poverty (click the blue to read) and found some very complex and at the same time simple reflections on the circumstance of poverty.

 

“Circumstance” of poverty.

That is strong language. 

I have spent time on a reservation and I have seen poverty and the many faces of people who are living through their circumstance.  I know people who have had really well-paying jobs who have been laid off during the winter months and then the market changed and they were not called back for over a year who have lived through their circumstance.  I am a person who chose, with her spouse, to live on a single full-time income throughout their marriage and had that single job go missing for a time and have lived through our circumstance.  I have heard stories of grandparents and parents who are desperately trying to help their poverty-stricken or disabled family by simply getting what is needed at the grocery store with their SNAP card—not for themselves, but for the people they care for—hoping to provide something good, in the form of help, with love, as they manage that circumstance.  I have a friend who works multiple jobs to provide for her child, struggling to make ends meet, and surviving through her circumstance.  I see senior citizens continue to work or who have to learn systems and swallow their pride because a dollar does not do what a dollar did when they were preparing for their retirement circumstance.  I know fellow seminary students who are following their call so conscientiously that it is affecting their circumstance.

We do not know why someone is in poverty.  We cannot assume that the things they have, like the writer of the article’s Mercedes, are luxuries or necessities.  We cannot deny little pleasures, like a birthday party for a child or a bottle of pop when we do not know the circumstance of their need.

Yes, our systems can sometimes be misused, our programs misguided, our processes unmanageable, but when we look at poverty, not as a way of living, but as a circumstance, perhaps we can begin to look with more compassion and find better ways to show each person that their circumstance does not make them less of a child of God.

Outward Signs of Faithful Servants

I've been asked a number of times how it feels to be ordained.  I’m sure that the question is asked because people don’t really know what to say to someone in this position at this point in time, but it has given me something to consider and ponder over these past few weeks.  I think I may have mentioned in my last post that, to me, ordination only means that there has been a public recognition through the laying on of hands of the ministry I have lived for a long time.  The act of ordination didn't change me; it affirmed the call I believe I have experienced to ordained ministry.  My responsibility to God and to creation is no different than before, it has only been made more public—especially if I wear a collar.

So that has brought up another set of questions.  When do I wear a collar?  How will I use this form of “uniform” as a part of my ministry?  When is it appropriate to wear it or not?  At this moment in time, as a transitional deacon who is without a placement, I don’t wear a collar unless I have been invited to serve in some capacity for or with a faith community.  I did that my first Sunday at my home parish, where I was asked to serve at the altar.  This past Sunday I did not wear a collar at my parents’ church because I was a member of the congregation.  It is important for me to have an opportunity to worship when I can on a Sunday morning, and I will relish in these blessings.

I think a collar on a clergy person can either be a magnet or a repellent for people on the street, so I think it is important to know what role I am in when I choose whether or not to wear my collar.  It makes me think a little bit more about other things that identify my faith, like window clings in my car that identify that I am an Episcopalian and that I have connections to United Theological Seminary (one cannot assume I am a student just because of the cling).  These, too, are very public marks that identify someone in this particular vehicle.

Wearing a collar or displaying a window cling may or may not create an expected behavior, but because I have them I have a responsibility to a public behavior as well as a private relationship with God.  What these things do not mean is that I am perfect or that I don’t experience doubt or I don’t have questions about faith.  Faith is filled with mystery, it is something that can always be in a state of development, it is personal even when it is practiced in community, and it is a gift. 

Dear God, help me to be the servant you have called me to be.  Give me opportunities to see your mystery in the world and to find ways to explore it.  Teach me, guide me and love me as I use the gifts you have given to me to be a public servant to the people you place in my path.  You are my God.  Amen.

Deacon Debbie

It has been nearly a week since ordination.  This morning I read Bishop Brian Prior’s reflections of the day:

FROM THE BISHOP'S BLOG

Ordination: Being Present to God's Holy Presence

Dear Friends, Sitting in the beautiful Kellogg room, we talked about how important it was to be present to the Presence, even amidst all the distractions around us. On "grace-filled cue", at that very moment, a very large truck came by and filled the room with noise. I, of course, took full advantage and said, "There will always be a lot of noise around us - we are called to be present to God's Presence." A few short hours later, "cloistered" away from the joyous ruckus that was going on just down the hallway, we spent most of our time in quiet, at times silence. As we ended our final prayers, I once again invited them to be present to the moment that was to take place, and to hold holy silence.  Standing now some 100 feet behind a gregarious group of clergy, all those behind me were not distracted by the noise, but rather present to God's presence and all that was before them.  Holy moments can often be lost on all sorts of details and distractions. It is so easy to get caught up in what cries the loudest for our attention, rather than staying focused on the small, quiet voice that calls our name. Through the years, many a clergy have confessed to me that Sunday morning worship is anything but that; they often end up feeling more like an event organizer, rather than the one to invite the gathered to prayer.  Yet, for our incredible 16 newly ordained, even amidst the full gamut of their own emotions and surrounded by the sweet sounds of anxiously awaiting family and friends, they were present to God's Holy Presence; an experience I pray that will carry them forward as they go forth to a world filled with noise and distractions from that small quiet voice calling their names. Blessings,        +Brian Though I may have experienced my holy moments in a slightly different way, these reflections are quite accurate.  I would add a level of nervousness coupled with an air of celebration, points of confidence in what I have understood to be my calling partnered with the reality of a goal, dream and prayers being realized (with all the complexities and unknowns that accompany it!). The Bishop lays his hands on me as I am ordained. Last night, with friends, I was asked how it feels to be ordained.  In many ways it feels no different.  The life I live has nearly always been dependent upon God and a feeling of being embraced by the Holy comforts me.  Now there is a greater sense of responsibility, particularly when wearing the clergy collar.  But simply wearing such a visible sign of my call does not make me more or less a child of God.  It doesn't give me a fast track to heaven or a private ear with God.  Everyone has these!  What wearing a collar does do is announce to the world that I am ordained, that I should be someone to whom another can come for prayer, blessing, assistance and to talk.  It means that I have made promises to God, my Bishop and my Church to live a holy and Godly life.  It announces that I should be someone who can see Jesus in others and who should understand that even when we fall short, we are all children of God. Bishop Brian and Deacon Debbie I have many more months of complex educational opportunities and expectations before I am ordained a priest.  I am living in limbo as I wait to learn where I will be placed to do my transitional diaconal training.  I ask for your prayers that I will be placed in a church where I will learn and grow in and with my call.  I ask for your prayers that I will persevere through the next months of my educational responsibilities so I will graduate in April with my Masters of Divinity.  I ask for your prayers as I prepare and then practice during my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) where I will work in (likely) a hospital as a chaplain.