Bishop Jake's Message, Sept. 26, 2012

Last week's message from Bishop Jake inspired a most interesting discussion about "relativism" and "subjectivity" at yesterday's Canterbury meeting! We have yet to discuss some of the other questions raised, and today's message from Bishop Jake strikes me as relevant to our ongoing discussion, so here it is:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,                                         

This week I’m sharing a brief excerpt from Connecting the Dots. The following passage begins Chapter Seven, “Fear and Hope.” (pp. 97-98)

Followers of Jesus live hope-inspired lives. This is not to say that we have successfully developed the habit of positive thinking or that we are optimistic by nature. In fact, hope is not a human achievement at all. Hope is a gift that comes as the result of a relationship with Jesus. The clearest example I have is from John’s gospel. On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to his disciples. He showed them his hands and feet so they would know that he was the crucified and risen Lord. Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). With the Father, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into each of his disciples.  He literally inspires us. The word “inspire” is derived from the Latin word inspirare, and it means “to breathe in.” “Spirit” and “breath” come from the same root in Latin (spirare), as well as in Greek (pneuma) and in Hebrew (ruach). Therefore, it is no surprise that the Bible leads us to connect the idea of the Spirit with the image of God’s breath. When we follow Jesus, we breathe in his spirit. The Holy Spirit changes our hearts, empowers us, and sustains us. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). When we follow Jesus, he abides in us. We draw strength, direction, and purpose from him. Jesus inspires us by giving us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that he is already at work connecting the dots of our lives. As Paul said, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Ephesians 1:13–14).

Just as Jesus animates our individual lives through the Holy Spirit, so too does he breathe vitality into our congregations. Sometimes we slip into thinking that our church is just a place that individuals gather to pray. That may be true about the buildings we inhabit for worship, fellowship, and programs, but the Church is a living, breathing community of which each of us is a unique, irreplaceable part. Instead of saying, “I go to Church at St. Agnes of the Trees,” members of St. Agnes say, “We worship together at St. Agnes.” In a world marred by loneliness, finding a place where a person can genuinely say “we” is a priceless treasure.
Stayed tuned for more about congregational vitality at Diocesan Convention. Please set aside October 12th and 13th for a time of worship, study, and family business. While visitors to Convention do not have voice or vote, they will be able to participate fully in our community-building activities and hear about the future we envision. (There is also time set aside for a book signing. Connecting the Dots will be available as a premium for donations to outreach.) 

Turning to a slightly different topic, I invite you to visit our website (http://www.diocesewla.org) to view the first of a series of short videos that we are producing. In each clip I will briefly discuss a single topic such as faith, hope, grace, and forgiveness. Eventually, we will make these clips available in packages that can be used for small group ministry or Sunday programs. We are assembling a team to provide a leader’s guide with questions for discussion. Many thanks to Bob Harwell for coming up with this idea and for doing so much work to produce these videos.

I will close by reminding you to help me stay in touch with you. Friend me on Facebook (you’ll find me as Jake Owensby). Subscribe to Pelican Anglican via email or check it out manually every week (http://pelicananglican.blogspot.com). My Sunday sermons are always posted there, and occasionally I post additional essays. If you would like to listen to Sunday sermons, head to http://sermon.net/bishopjake. Links to both the blog and the audio sermon are located on the diocesan website.

What a gift you all are in my life! It is a joy to love you so dearly and to serve as your bishop. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again.
Faithfully,
.

The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, Ph.D.
The Diocese of Western Louisiana
P. O. Box 2031, Alexandria, LA 71309-2031
bishopjake@diocesewla.org

Wow! It's been a hectic week. Sorry I haven't posted sooner!    

Bishop Jake's "Wednesday Message" stirred up some interesting responses and questions! Indeed, so much so that we're going to make it our topic of discussion this week. So if you didn't yet read it, please do. It'll be the post just down the que from this one.

And here as some questions to guide our thinking/discussion:

What is Bishop Jake saying about "subjectivism" and "relativism"? What is his critique of these concepts? And what does he offer as an alternative?

What does protestantism owe to subjective philosophy? What was Martin Luther's critique of the medieval church? Was what he nailed to the church door a stand on "individualism" as the guiding philosophy for protestantism?

What is the nature/meaning/implication of "individualism" as a social/political/religious philosophy? In particular, how does individualism relate to Christianity as a philosophy? A way of life? How does it square with the teachings of he whom we follow, Jesus the Christ?

Think that'll keep us busy for awhile? I do! And I love the questions!!

In fact, this week I will need to leave by 6:15 sharp. I'll tell you a bit more about why Tuesday because an event is coming up that you'll be invited to participate in.

See you at 5:30 Tuesday in Student Center 163.

Of Interest

The bishop of our Diocese, who prefers to be called "Bishop Jake," publishes a weekly message on Wednesdays. This one in particular struck me as relevant to the conversations we've been having at our Canterbury@ULM meetings.                              
Dear Friends in Christ,

Violent protests across the Muslim world have dominated the news in the past week. Responding to a video ridiculing Mohammed, Muslims in the Middle East and beyond have taken to the streets, threatened American embassies, hurled rocks and insults, and killed and wounded diplomatic personnel.

These are stark reminders to us that we live in a multicultural, religiously pluralistic world. Perhaps even more challenging, people of many cultures and a variety of religious traditions call the United States home.

One of the great strengths of our nation–and of our Anglican heritage–is our persistent commitment to religious tolerance. We insist on acknowledging and respecting religious beliefs different from our own. Even while we deplore the violence by mobs composed of Muslim individuals, we show due respect for individual Muslims and for their faith tradition.

But note that tolerance assumes difference. A common error in our attempts to exercise tolerance involves confusing tolerance with relativism and subjectivism.

Relativism says that all religions are equally true. They are all partial perspectives on the great whole that is God. Now the problem with relativism is twofold. First, consider the person who says that religious belief is relative. He or she must see the greater whole in order to say that religious believers are unwittingly seeing only slices of the whole. In other words, relativists make a claim to see a total picture and at the same time says no one else sees the total picture. This is at once condescending and contradictory. Second, to say that all religions are equally true is actually to say that none of them is true in any genuine sense.

Subjectivism is an extreme case of relativism. This point of view is summed up in the oft heard phrase, “It’s true for me.” In other words, a subjective approach to religion reduces every faith to the whims and fancies of each individual and surrenders any claim to describing a larger spiritual reality. Usually, subjectivists end up admitting that they live according to a comforting and comfortable fiction. They do not know God. They cling to a practical, reassuring fable.

Followers of Jesus do not claim a perfect knowledge of the mind of God. We claim friendship with Jesus because he has claimed us as friends. We are committed to following him, with the humble awareness that we will always do so imperfectly. Our commitment to Jesus does not make us morally superior and gives us no room for condescension toward or condemnation of anyone else.

Jesus followers are tolerant because we are humble. We do not relinquish the truth of Jesus’ saving love when we acknowledge that others have chosen to take a different path in life. Tolerance does not require that we agree with those who are different. That just makes us the same. In fact, tolerance calls us to continue to love those who are different. As spiritual challenges go, that seems essentially Christian. Our Friend and Lord has called us to love even our enemies.

And now for some news.

Last Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Speaking of God.” As usual, here’s where to find the text and the audio:

http://pelicananglican.blogspot.com

http://sermon.net/bishopjake

On Thursday we will celebrate the new era of ministry at Redeemer, Ruston, with the Institution of the Rev. Bill Easterling as Rector at 6:00 p.m. Our color is red.

This Wednesday I will be present for a book signing at St. Michael’s in Pineville at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited. Books will be available as a premium for donations to outreach. My next signing will be at Diocesan Convention. Just email me if you would like for me to come to your congregation for a brief talk and book signing. I would love to come!

For photos of my recent visits, check out my Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, send me a friend request. I would love to keep up with you and help you to stay connected to our Diocesan family.

Remember how much Jesus loves you. It is such an honor and a joy to be your bishop! I love you with Christ’s own love.

In Christ’s Love,
.

The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, Ph.D.
The Diocese of Western Louisiana
P. O. Box 2031, Alexandria, LA 71309-2031
bishopjake@diocesewla.org

This Week

Canterbury@ULM
 

Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.

Student Center 163

The next of the NOOMA series we'll view is called "Noise." It features one of my favorite stories from the Hebrew Scriptures! And it raises some very timely questions.

At the beginning of our discussion last week, a question was asked about the structure of the Episcopal Church. I answered the question briefly, but this week we have a special opportunity to see that structure in action.

In late June of this year, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church met as it does every three years. Every diocese of the church is represented at the convention by their bishop and by delegations of clergy and lay people. All important decisions that affect the entire church are made at the Convention.

Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., St. Alban's Episcopal Church (2816 Deborah Dr.) is hosting a General Convention Follow-Up meeting. Bishop Jake Owensby and other delegates from our diocese will be present to report and respond to questions. Light refreshments will be served after the meeting.

I plan to head to St. Alban's as soon as our meeting ends. Anyone who wishes is welcome to go with me. If you are really interested in this, we can end our meeting a bit early. I'll bring you back to campus as soon as you have had time to partake of the goodies at St. Alban's.

Update

This week we welcomed Tom Ritter, who made it for the first time. We also made a couple of decisions regarding our constitution and by-laws. I acquired documents from the Canterbury chapter at Northwestern in Natchitoches and brought two items to the attention of the group.


First, although voting membership in Canterbury@ULM is restricted to enrolled students at ULM, we agree to have our meetings and activities open to faculty and staff. We will not make them open to the general public, as ULM policy requires us to hire security if we do.

Second, we decided to keep their provision that the chapter will do at least one 2-hour service project per semester, either on or off campus. One possibility is to help with a neighborhood clean-up in the vicinity of New Light Baptist Church on the south side, where Chaplain Dr. K. is involved in a neighborhood renewal project. Another would be to put in a few hours of work at the food bank.

We then had an interesting discussion of "Lump" from the NOOMA series. This episode is about a little boy whose misdeeds catch up with him and cause him shame and grief. At the same time, he learns a powerful lesson about love. The story ends with Rod Bell repeating, "There is nothing we can ever do to make God love us any less. Nothing." We talked about how hard that is to believe, but even more about how hard it is for us to hold that kind of love for others--especially that person or type of person we find least loveable. Excellent discussion!

Join us next week. I'm picking another from the NOOMA series. Suggestions for what kind of food you'd like to eat are welcome!

Tuesdays, 5:30 - 6:30

Student Center 163

 

NOOMA Begins This Week

Jesus lived with the awareness that God is doing something, right here, right now, and anybody can be a part of it. He encouraged his listeners to search, to question, to wrestle with the implications of what he was saying and doing. He inspired, challenged, provoked, comforted, and invited people to be open to God’s work in this world. Wherever he went, whatever he did, Jesus started discussions about what matters most, because for Jesus, God is always inviting us to open our eyes and join in. NOOMA is a series of short films that explore our world from a perspective of Jesus. NOOMA is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion.

 

Canterbury@ULM

Tuesday, September 11

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Student Center 163

Chick-fil-a nuggets and waffle fries will be served. Please e-mail me at <kauffman@ulm.edu> if you cannot attend.

                             

Becoming an RSO

Our Tuesday meeting this week was small. Only Garrett made it! And I didn't have the proper cable to connect my computer to the projector, so... we'll start our program next week. 

In the meantime, we need a constitution and by-laws to become a recognized student organization, and I acquired a copy from the chapter at Northwestern in Natchitoches. I see no reason for us to reinvent the wheel. I'll make an appointment with Laura Knotts in Student Life & Leadership for Alix, Garrett and I to meet with her and make it official.

Stay tuned!

Chaplain Dr. K.

This Week

This week's meeting of Canterbury@ULM will feature chicken tenders and waffle fries from Chick-fil-a.

Tuesday, 9/6

5:30 - 6:30

Student Center 163

But, hey, I know you're not coming for just the food! I've also learned that we do need to become a Recognized Student Organization at ULM, and more about what we have to do to get there. We'll talk about that and eat first. After that, I have a short program. More about that in another post.

Chaplain Dr. K.

P.S. Given that I have some of you in class, I realize it's a little odd figuring out what to call me in the Canterbury context, which is less formal than the classroom context. We can certainly talk about that, but "Chaplain Dr. K." is fine with me. Does that work for you?

Weekly Meeting

Hurricane Isaac arrives in northern Louisiana, 8/29/12.

Hurricane Isaac interrupted many things last week, including my train of thought! So it's catch-up time.

At our first meeting, Alix Powell agreed to serve as President of Canterbury@ULM and Garrett Boyte agreed to serve as Vice President.

We will continue to meet:

5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Student Center 163

I'll make another post later this weekend with more information.