June, 2007

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

In past Chronicles I've introduced some of the parish children. This month, I would like to say a little about Kevin Ethridge, who was baptized on Whitsunday. Kevin's grandmother lives a couple of blocks from St James – which is how he found us, even though his parents live further over in North Philadelphia. Kevin's is an active and ardent temperament. His life goes at full speed. Here's an example. On Maundy Thursday this year, when Beth went to pick him up for the evening Mass, he was not at his grandmother's, nor readily visible on the streets nearby. So she had to go on to pick up the others on the route. Shortly she received a call from Kevin on her cell phone: “I'm here, come pick me up.” She explained that if she did that she and all the others (including Jonathan and Ray who were serving at the altar) would be late. Kevin: “Okay, if you can't come get me, I'm running.” And off he took for West Laurel Hill Cemetery. Every few minutes, Beth would get a phone call, “I'm passing the gas station: where do I go next? (pant, pant)” He made his way across the river on City Line bridge. After dropping off the others, Beth found him puffing up the hill on Presidential, and gave him a ride the rest of the way. Would that we all had such desire to worship the Lord!

Kevin's baptism was the first for St Michael's (i.e., since we left St James). He wishes to serve at the altar, and will now be added to the rota. This year he joined David, Jonathan and Ray in school at Christ Academy, having found his way to St Michael's about a year ago. Introduce yourself to him on Sunday if you haven't already (and if you can stop him long enough).

Summer

Summer schedule will be a little different this year. You may recall that last year we had the problem of a number of people for whom 9 o'clock was an impossible time. I hate to see anyone excluded from Sunday Mass by the schedule. Yet the single service is valuable to get the two congregations together for a few Sundays each year, so that we don't develop into a parish with two separate congregations. I discussed this with the vestry, who in turn talked with a number of people in the parish. They felt that the single service during the summer was of prime importance, and suggested that we try it at ten rather than at nine. The eight o'clockers seemed positive about ten, so that's what we'll do: during July and August, there will be a single Mass on Sundays at ten o'clock at West Laurel Hill (assuming no conflicts with their needs). The regular two service schedule will be maintained in June and September, as well as the rest of the year.

The weekday Mass schedule continues in its usual form during the summer, except when I am away. Please check the Sunday leaflet, or else call (215-247-1092) before you come. I expect to miss some days in June as well as in July and early August. I regret that our present situation does not allow for maintaining the weekday Masses in my absence.

This might be a good occasion for a few words on those times when things are not exactly the way we would like them. (Pretend for the moment that you prefer going to the early Mass, having the rest of the day free, and prefer to have no music or a sermon.) First, we should remember that such occasions where we don't get our way are unavoidable, and that for a good reason. The world does not conform itself to our de­sires. There is a lesson here for us: we are not God; we only pretend to be. When our desires are thwarted, we are reminded that we are creatures, not the Creator, and it is only our pride, the pretend divinity (see Genesis 3:4), that thinks otherwise.

When it comes to worship, we should also remember that worship is primarily for God rather than for us. In His mercy, He has designed it so that we get a great deal out of Christian worship. It provides nourish­ment for our minds and hearts. But it is primarily the occasion for us to give worship to God, to honor and praise Him, to acknowledge Him to be the Lord, to humble ourselves before His Majesty, to give thanks for all that He has done for us. It is nice that we also get something out of it, but that is really secondary. It is our pride that demands a certain satisfaction, that worship be conducted in a certain way which is pleasing to me – and then I am at the center rather than God. And when that happens, the godly order has been turned upside down.

So if this year's summer schedule is not to your liking, ask the grace to make the sacrifice entailed in being faithful to the parish worship anyway. Ask God to conform your mind to that of Christ, our Lord, who so willingly sacrificed so much for us, so that you can make the sacrifice gladly, both for His sake and that of your brethren in the parish. You will not only find yourself conformed the more to His image and likeness, you will also have His gratitude, and mine. (I should perhaps add that the same approach applies whenever we are tempted to be angry or resentful that things are not as they were at St James the Less – a temptation to which we are all subject on occasion, I suspect. God knows our situation, and we may be sure that He has adequately provided for our real needs. This does not mean that He provides the way we want. But we can trust His love and His power, that nothing will be lacking to us which we really need in order to know and love Him, and to make our way into heaven.)

We are (and in this life will always be) strangers and pilgrims, as St Peter reminds us (I Peter 2:11). Because our true home is in heaven, we are strangers, aliens on the earth. It should not surprise us then when we find ourselves out of place: that the world seems to be headed in a very different direction than we are, condemning things we hold dear while prizing things we regard as worthless. Likewise we have seen many nations which treated foreigners much worse than their own citizens. We should not be surprised if we are treated badly by the world. Jesus left us an explicit warning about this in his instructions to the disciples at the Last Supper (John 15:18-16:4, e.g.). The servant is not above his master, and we should expect the same treatment which the world gave to our Master.

If we are aliens, strangers in this world, we are also pilgrims: travelers with a set destination. God has revealed to us where we are bound. He has made a place for us in heaven. Our recent celebration of our Lord's Ascension reminds us that Jesus has opened heaven to receive man. We should not doubt that He in­tends to bring us to Himself. We should be ready to see His hand in our lives each day, effecting that purpose. Sometimes He will work through the adversities which this world brings upon us, to mortify our sinful self, and allow us our share of Christ's cross.

My point is to encourage you to be realistic about who we are and how we relate to the world. Too often we assume that the world is basically favorable to Christians – or ought to be, since we seek always what is good. Then we are disappointed – or angry and resentful – when we are treated badly by the world. We should not be surprised by such treatment: it is the way the world treated our Lord. So we can live with the joy of being pleasing to Him, even if such entails the world's enmity.

West Laurel Hill Cemetery

We have passed our first anniversary at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, and they could not have been more hospitable and considerate. We sounded them out this spring, and they profess themselves to be content with the current arrangement -- and still do not wish us to pay rent. After discussion, the vestry decided that we should plan to remain where we are at least for the next year or two, and try to build the congregation with our present building arrangements. I think we are reasonably settled, so this should work well for us. It's nice to have better kneeling provisions, and the Chapel of Peace is well suited to our liturgical needs. Let's plan to settle in further – at least so far as strangers and pilgrims can properly settle.

This has an effect on our financial situation. We are currently taking in more than we are spending. There are three main reasons for this. 1. We are not paying rent for our Sunday space. 2. You are all being very generous with St Michael's. 3. The vestry is keeping a close eye on expenditures, and is being very care­ful about what goes out. Should any one of the three change, the present financial situation of the parish, which is good, would change. Since the budget was in the black, and since this is due in part to the absence of building expenses, the vestry has decided to put most of the balance into an income-producing account for fu­ture building expenses, which we will surely face at some point in the future. In other words, we have started a Building Fund. At the May vestry meeting, $50,000 was put into the new Fund. This is money from unres­tricted donations to the parish, and is set aside against future building expenses, whether from purchase or lease. That we are able to do this at this time – only a little over a year into our “new” existence – is a tribute to your generosity. Keep up the good work!

Memorials

Since we moved to West Laurel Hill, we have lost an inordinate number of stalwart parishioners to death, as you are no doubt aware. For most of these, the parish has been designated by the families to receive contributions in memory of the departed. We have received donations in memory of Mario Ressa, Jan Coward, John Spencer, and Eirlys Lewis. Often, these donations are used to provide a tangible memorial to the departed. After consultation with Marylyn Spencer and the vestry, we have decided to order a set of white Mass vestments in memory of John Spencer. The fabric of our “good” white set (given to me by Fr Dorsey when he retired from St Alban's) is at the end of its useful life. The new vestments will be designed and made by Davis d'Ambly, who did so much for us (including the Lady Altarpiece) at St James. I am grateful for the consideration all the families have given us in suggesting contributions to St Michael's, as well as to all who have contributed to the memorials.

Kudos

Thanks goes this month to:

-- Jesse Buck and Mark Johnson, for doing the Good Samaritan thing for Beth when she had two flat tires on the way to church a few weeks back. Mark even loaned her his spare so that we did not need to get a tow.

-- those who gave Kevin gifts and cards at his baptism.

-- Dr Ras. and the Sunday School for their impressive hand bell demonstration on Whitsunday.

I would also offer congratulations to students in the parish who are graduating this spring. Sierra Forest and my older son, Buster, graduated from high school this month. Sierra has enlisted in the Army and leaves for basic training June 17th. Buster has accepted an appointment to the Naval Academy and leaves June 26th. David Reaves and my other son, Jonathan, graduated from grammar school at Christ Academy, and enter high school in the fall. We wish them all the best.

Faithfully,

Fr David Ousley