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| Jay's Blog POSTED: Christmas 2008 Christmas blessings! May the dawning of Christ illuminate your heart and home with the light of God’s peace. Thank you for taking a few moments from the busyness of these days to join our ongoing prayer/discussion on the ministry of preaching. ‘State of the Art’ Regular readers of the blog know my enthusiasm for J. Barrie Shepherd and his wonderful book Whatever Happened to Delight?: Preaching the Gospel in Poetry and Parables. Shepherd, whose on own preaching ministry spans 37 years on college campuses and university parishes before retiring as senior minister of New York’s First Presbyterian Church, asks the critical question as to why most preaching languishes somewhere in the cellar of heartless stuffiness and discouraging admonition. Shepherd offers several suggestions and approaches for preaching sermons that capture the joy and hope that is the center of our faith. Give yourself a present this Christmas and spend some time with this terrific book. It will recharge your homiletic batteries for the challenging new year ahead. I first became aware of Shepherd in reading his poetry published over the years in The Christian Century. The following Shepherd piece, “State of the Art,” appears in Delight. Cut it out and post it where you will see it every week as you struggle to come up with your Sunday homily. Consider it a Christmas gift from your humble blogger: Docere, delectare, flectere, Christmas’ illuminated Word From the late Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner: “God has entrusted this last, deepest and most beautiful word to the world in the Word made flesh. This Word says: Avery Dulles: A little resurrection with our ChristmasAs you know, Cardinal Avery Dulles died last week at the age of 90. The New York Times’ obituary included this from his second book, A Testimonial to Grace, the 1946 account of his conversion. A young scholar with a searching mind, Dulles (a descendent of a family of distinguished diplomats and public service) stirred from his establishment Presbyterian family to face questions of faith and dogma. By the time he entered Harvard in 1936, he was agnostic. Dulles wrote that his doubts about God were not diminished by his studies of medieval art, philosophy and theology. But on a gray day in 1939, strolling along the Charles River in Cambridge, he saw a tree in bud and experienced a profound moment. “The thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I knew nothing. That nights, for the first time in years, I prayed.” A little tree in Boston began the work of one of the great theological thinkers of our time. Once again, God speaks in mustard seeds and small fir trees. Thank you for ‘connecting’ with us . . .Please know that we appreciate the many notes and e-mails we receive about Connections and this blog. We have been especially touched by those of you have written wonderful notes on your renewal cards. Your taking the time to share your comments, ideas, suggestions and war stories is something that we do not take for granted. How you use Connections and what you use from Connections in your preaching ministry are our principal guides in planning each issue. Connect with us anytime at jaycormier@comcast.net. Asking directions to Bethlehem . . . My wife, a pastoral minister of the first order, made sure that I saw the following (why, I’ll never understand): “On Christmas, three wise women would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts; then, there would have been true peace on earth.” Let us give thanks this Christmas for those who, by their selfless dedication, their unrecognized works of compassion, and their wisdom born of humility and grace, make the stables of our homes and communities worthy dwelling places for God’s Christ. Have a peace-filled Christmas that overflows well into 2009. Jay Cormier POSTED: All Souls Day 2008 Late autumn blessings! These are the days of growing anticipation as the final leaves fall, the days grow shorter, and the skies take on the gray of winter, as our liturgical focus slowly shifts from last things to birth and re-creation. Thank you for taking a moment to join our conversation about the Word we proclaim and the words we employ to proclaim it . . . ‘Blessed are they who mourn . . . ‘ As we were assembling the new special issue of Connections on Funerals and Masses for the Dead (click on the Special Issues page of the website), we came across this from a homily by theologian Father Gerard S. Sloyan. It offers an important bit of liturgical history and a critical consideration for sensitive, conscientious preachers: “In the earliest attempts at the reform of our Catholic liturgy, as directed by Vatican II, the text of the Mass of Requiem, known from the first word of its entrance song, was replaced by a text called ‘the Mass of the Resurrection.’ “An important thing happened in the first blush of that liturgical change. People discovered that, with all the new emphasis on the hope of resurrection of the dead with Christ, mourners had no fitting ritual way of express their grief. The celebration of the joys of the last day, which no one but Jesus had experienced in their fullness, not even the blessed, was premature. The church’s prayer was calling on people to rejoice and be glad, when at the moment their greatest need was to grieve. “And so, quietly, almost imperceptibly, after a year or two, the triumphant ‘Mass of Resurrection’ yielded to the more realistic ‘Mass of Christian Burial.’ Its prayers and readings are filled with faith, but they are less euphoric. The Lord will in the future wipe away the tears from every eye – but not now. The person who is dead has been totally freed from the power of sin – but we who live on have not. Jesus knew something of the glory he was called to – we simply do not. We do not know where our loved ones have been taken to and we want them back. The pain of separation is intense, as it was for Jesus’ friends after they lost him. We may not forget that the Eucharistic meal that we eat commemorates a departure: a wrenching, tearful separation. “Your grief is your own, all the days of your life. Let no one deprive you of it, even out of love. Pain is inseparable from love; that is a truth we must live with. It is a proof of our true inner reality, a judgment of ourselves, as to how and with what courage we face and accept that truth.” Preaching the season of lightThe weekdays of Advent are wonderful days to preach – the readings speak of God’s loving persistence in shining a light for us as we stumble in the dark. But the very idea of trying to scribble a few lines every day for a simple one-minute homily can overwhelm the best-intentioned preacher. So we began producing a special issue of Connections for the weekdays of Advent. This year’s is our fifth edition in this series of short, to-the-point homilies for every weekday of the 2008 Advent season. Modeled after our popular annual Lenten weekday issue, this special issue includes stories and meditations reflecting the themes of the Gospel readings in the Advent lectionary. Included are reflections for the Solemnity of Mary, the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and Christmas. The 2008 Advent issue is $20 (Canadian orders: $22; overseas orders: $24). Go to the Special Issues page of the website to order your copy. Gifts that keep on giving . . .Many of our subscribers discovered Connections because of a friend who was already ‘connected’ (our most effective marketing tool: a copy left on a rectory desk or coffee table picked up by a visiting priest). At the risk of appearing too blatant, we would point out that we have found that Connections makes a wonderful gift, appreciated by the preacher or catechist on your Christmas gift-giving list. A Christmas gift flyer (offering significant discounts for two or more gift subscriptions) is included with your December issue. We can send a card announcing your gift – or we can send the card to you to give to the recipient – just let us know your wishes. Two ground rules: This special rate applies to new subscriptions only and not for renewals and the deadline for this special offer is December 31, 2008.Thank you for ‘connecting’ with us . . . Please know that we appreciate the many notes and e-mails we receive about Connections and this blog. Your taking the time to share your comments, ideas, suggestions and war stories is something that we do not take for granted. How you use Connections and what you use from Connections in your preaching ministry are our principal guides in planning each issue. Connect with us anytime at jaycormier@comcast.net. ‘Let us give thanks . . . ‘Thomas Merton offers a closing thought as we gather around our Thanksgiving tables: “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything he has given us – and he has given us everything . . . Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.” May you experience the goodness of God every day in every season. Jay Cormier POSTED: September 5, 2008 All right – who took the summer? It seems I just got the Maine sand out of my docksiders and suddenly my yard is steadily filling with leaves. Alas, a sure sign of age: the earth seems to make its journey around the sun faster and faster each year. . . So we get on with it. Welcome to our ongoing conversation about the ministry of preaching and the work of building parish community we all share. ‘Real’ Liturgy, ‘Real’ Preaching The July 2008 issue of Worship (Liturgical Press) republishes an article by Dominican theologian Yves Congar, written in 1948. The ideas Congar articulates in the piece (translated by Paul Philibert, O.P.) are just as cogent and insightful today as they were when they appeared in the French journal La Maison-Dieu 60 years ago. In reading “’Real’ Liturgy, ‘Real’ Preaching,” one recognizes the seeds of the liturgical renewal Congar, Godfried Diekmann and other visionaries planted at Vatican II. Since preaching is our agenda here, we highlight the following from the piece: “What I understand as ‘real’ preaching is never going to be nonintellectual, nor should it always necessarily be expressed without some complicated ideas. But ‘real’ preaching does have to have three characteristics: 1.) It deals with real problems and gives nourishment to the souls of the faithful. 2.) It is directed at an audience of people who earn a living, who are married and have a family, who have real responsibilities and live in a society of initiative and cooperation. It is preaching addressed in such a way as to be understood by just such people, talking about what is true in such a way as to say it, eye to eye, to an ordinary person – not just to a church full of almost exclusively women, or to a group of children, or to a community of nuns. 3.) It is preaching that is likely to produce its effect, its res, in the mind, the conscience and the heart of just people . . . “Pay attention to reality, to real questions, without losing touch with the centuries-long heritage of great Christian thought. Real questions deserve real answers of a kind that real people struggling to live in today’s world can take to heart and live . . . The word of God and the doctrine of the church in which this word is applied and developed ought to be studied in order to be handed on to the faithful, so as to give them spiritual nourishment capable of changing their lives.” Check out the article. You will be both a better celebrant and a more thoughtful homilist as a result. Unpacking the summer book bag . . . Read along the Maine seacoast (I want to go back!) and on lazy Sunday afternoons this summer and recommended for your fall leafing: The House on First Street is writer (Newsweek and Vogue) Julia Reed’s own story of New Orleans’s resurrection in the wake of Katrina, as she and her new husband renovated a lovely old house in the city’s historic Garden District. Anyone who has ever dealt with less-than-reliable contractors – yours truly and his bride included -- will appreciate the Reeds’ adventure – but the heart of book is the city’s resurrection by the folk who love it most. Particularly inspiring is the role the New Orleans community of chefs and restaurateurs played in bringing their beloved city back from the brink. A delightfully earthy and often touching chronicle – like the city it celebrates. For almost two years now the best-seller Three Cups of Tea has been sitting on the pile of books next to my bed. I finally got to it this summer and couldn’t put it down. Three Cups of Tea is the story of Greg Mortenson, an American mountain climber who has become a beloved figure among the people who live in the Himalayan villages of Central Asia. After a failed attempt to climb the infamous K-2, Mortenson was saved by the villagers of the isolated, impoverished village of Korphe. Mortenson returned their kindness by raising the funds to build a school for the village. Once the Korphe school was completed, word spread to other villages of the Balti region; people there begged Mortenson to build schools in their villages, as well. “Greg Sahib” could not say no. It was the beginning of a one-man mission to promote peace, one small school at a time. Mortenson’s story shows how great things can happen when selfless compassion outdistances pragmatism; there are always ways to cover the details, but the rare ingredient is generous love. Three Cups of Tea is well worth your time. (We used a story from the book in the September issue of Connections.) In Exiles, novelist Ron Hansen weaves together the stories of Gerard Manly Hopkins and the five Franciscan sisters he immortalized in his poem The Wreck of the Deutschland. We included a piece on Deutschland in Connections in our Easter edition in 2007: Five young Franciscan sisters, exiled from their German homeland and making their way to a new mission in Missouri, perished when the great ship Deutschland went down in a fierce North Sea storm on December 7, 1875. In struggling to write the poem, Hopkins, whose conversion to Catholicism and entry into the Jesuits “exiled” him from family and friends, rediscovered his voice as a poet. The poem includes the wonderful line in which Hopkins employs the word “Easter” as a verb: “Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us . . .“ Although the line between fact (Hopkins’ life) and conjecture (the sisters’ largely unknown stories) blurs more than I like, Hanson’s book is compelling. Behold, the days are coming . . . ! As I write this, we are putting the finishing touches on Connections for the Weekdays of Advent 2008. This is our annual collection of reflections and meditations for each of the weekday Gospels during the coming Advent season (the First Sunday of Advent: November 30). An order form will be included with the mailing (both paper and electronic) of the November issue; you can also print out an order form by going to the Special Issues page of this website. Join in the conversation . . . Thank you for your notes and e-mails about Connections and this blog. Your suggestions, ideas and criticisms propel our planning, writing, and editing of each issue. We appreciate, too, your war stories that help all of us all learn more about this ministry of preaching. The e-mail address: jaycormier@comcast.net. So this is how it started . . . From Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: “And that is how Theology started. People knew about God in a vague way. Then came a man who claimed to be God; and yet He was not the sort of man you could dismiss as a lunatic. He made them believe in Him. They met Him again after they had seen Him killed. And then after they had been formed into a little society or community, they found God somehow inside them as well: directing them, making them able to do things they could never do before.” May your fall be filled with such wonders. Jay Cormier POSTED: July 4, 2008 Summer blessings! Thank you for taking some time from your summer to join our conversation about the craft and ministry of preaching. Two new issues: American celebrations and more on Funeral Masses We’re happy to announce two additions to our Special Issues series: individual issues focusing on a single topic or theme. Requiem 2 is our second collection of stories, meditations and reflections to assist homilists preaching at funerals, Masses for the Dead, vigil and wake services, etc. This is a completely new collection of material from our original collection, published in 2002 (and is still available – see the order form). American Celebrations and Memorials was written at the request of several readers who asked for material for such national and civic observances as Thanksgiving, Memorial/Veteran’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mother’s/Father’s Day, and the Fourth of July. We’ve also included reflections and meditations for Election Day and for commencement and graduation. When the idea for a special issue of funeral stories and meditations was first raised six years ago, we hesitated for a long time. We were concerned that a “boilerplate, fill-in-the-blank, one-size-fits-all” approach to the funeral homily undermines the personal, sensitive and compassionate this pastoral situation demands; so we selected ideas for our Requiem collections that we think will help readers develop a personal, healing homily that speaks to the joy of the Resurrection and offers hope and comfort to a family and community in pain. We’re especially excited about the American Celebrations issue because it came about as a suggestion from Connections readers. Please know that we are always looking for these ideas single-idea/themed issues. Drop us a line/note at jaycormier@comcast.net. An order form was included with your July issue of Connections. You can also click on to the Special Issues page of the web site for more information on the entire Special Issues series, including an order form you can print out. Take a deep breath -- and pass the bread . . . I confess that I have become immune to labels – the shibboleth “cafeteria Catholics” I find the most pretentious and demeaning. That said, Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe offers a thought-provoking distinction among members of our Catholic tribe in his book What is the Point of Being a Christian? “I like to distinguish between what I call ‘Kingdom Catholics’ and ‘Communion Catholics.’ The former are Catholics who are set alight by the idea of the people of God on pilgrimage to the kingdom. They find God present in the whole of society. They have a sense that the Holy Spirit is out there working in people who don’t believe in God and bringing the whole of humanity toward our ultimate unity. And for them that means . . . you have to go out and be with people where they are. “There are other people, though, who say, ‘Hey guys, we’re losing it. Where’s our distinctive Catholic identity? Where’s our tradition? . . . They want a clear identity that values the inherited tradition and doesn’t compromise too much with modern culture. They want to gather us in again. “My fundamental argument is that the tension between the kingdom Catholics going out and the Communion Catholics gathering in is as necessary as breathing out and breathing in. Throughout the whole life of the Church, there’s been a gathering in around the altar, a gathering into our culture and tradition, a gathering into communion with the see of Rome and with the whole church. There’s also been an expulsion of breath, that reaching out to the whole of humanity. “If you only had the Kingdom Catholics, we would end up being a kind of vague Jesus movement. If you only had Communion Catholics, you’d have a sect, and that wouldn’t be a sound church either. You’re really only Roman Catholic when you have both. And that implies the dynamic tension, not a battle to the death.” So let’s all take a deep breath, grab a plate and dig into the feast prepared for us. Keep in mind . . .If you’d like to receive your copy of Connections each month via e-mail rather than the “paper” version, just let us know in writing (no phone calls, please), either by mail or at our e-mail address (go to the Contact us page on this website). If you’re considering a preaching study day or in the planning stages of homily training program in the year ahead, please let us know if we can be of assistance. We can help you develop themes and topics as well as put you in contact with speakers and facilitators. ‘Tis the season for clergy transfers. If you’re moving, please let us know your new address in writing – either by mail, fax or e-mail. Please DO NOT leave an address change on our answering machine – sometimes we are not able to make out numbers and words because of the technical quality of the line. Your notes and e-mails with your suggestions for Connections and comments about the newsletter and this website are invaluable in our planning. Drop by this space anytime and participate in our ongoing chat about the ministry of preaching we all share -- e-mail your questions and comments anytime to jaycormier@comast.net. Leftovers 1: Everyday a little death . . . Finally, a couple of pieces worth saving that did not make it into the two new special issues noted above: We came across this meditation by the late poet Leah Goldberg, reprinted in The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Payers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival: In everything, there is at least an eighth Leftovers 2: Happy 232nd Birthday to US!Filmmaker Ken Burns has chronicled some our nation's greatest heroes and achievements in his award-winning PBS documentaries on Thomas Jefferson, the West, the Civil War, the Statue of Liberty, the Shakers and baseball. In his filmmaking, Burns (who hales from New Hampshire, thank you) has discovered this about America: “There is no other country on Earth that is configured like ours. Every other nation is there because of race, religion, language, ethnicity or geography. We are here because we agreed to subscribe to the words of four pieces of paper -- the U.S. Constitution. Unlike every other country, which sees itself as an end unto itself, we see ourselves as evolving. We’re not satisfied. We’re not willing to rest on our laurels. We think we can get better. We think we’ve got someplace to go.” Have a Glorious Fourth of July and a sloooooow summer of peace, enrichment and laughter. Jay Cormier POSTED: Pentecost 2008Pentecost blessings! The peepers have been singing for the last four weeks now and there is the unmistakable scent of lilac in the New Hampshire air. Happily ensconced in springtime and just about able to taste the salt air of summer on the Maine seacoast, we welcome you to our ongoing conversation on preaching and communicating around the parish table.Different rules if you were born after 1975 . . . Twenty-something Lindsay Lunnum has been active in young-adult ministry at several parishes. The Episcopal seminarian recently polled her friends and acquaintances on how the Church can reconcile itself to younger generations – those in their 20s and 30s. Her findings are instructive to every parish community. Among their suggestions:
An “Amen” from this writer, who has been privileged over the last 15 years to engage undergraduates in conversations that begin with Humanities readings and communications theories: What young folks lack in religious literacy they possess abundantly sincerity of heart and a desire to factor God in their life’s equation. If and when they come to your parish table, make a place for them. Check out Lunnum’s “Ten Ways to Reach the 20s-30 Generation” in the Reconciliation issue of Trinity News, the always terrific magazine of Trinity Church, Wall Street (online:trinitywallstreet.org). You never know when and where your sermon will light . . . Layman Michael Vander Weele, a professor of English at Trinity College outside of Chicago, writes that “in my heart of hearts I think I persevere in the pew for the same reason my father and his father did: the sermons.” “I wish now that I had kept a Sunday journal, a journal of analogies or corollaries that sermon or prayer or song had discovered in my life. Where else but in church could I hear on the Second Sunday of Advent, with news of more bombs going off in Iraq and of an older parent preparing to see her forty-something daughter die, that God’s comfort means eternally righting the world – and learn, with assent, that we are called to join in that tortuous work? It strikes me now that only through church could I hear this comfort from the son of a man who mentored me into the teaching profession and courses I had the bittersweet privilege of completing after he was murdered in a church parking lot in Chicago. It’s his son who is teaching me about comfort! As long as he can stand in the pulpit, I sure better be able to sit in the pew.” And keep the kids coming to church, Vander Weele writes: “I have long thought that a middle-aged adult who stopped going to school after graduating from high school but who continued going to sermons might as well receive credit for two years of college. Where else are we given such responsibilities for life-informed thought? Where else does the emphasis on our life outdo the emphasis on my life? In the church circles of which I have been a part, the sermon may be the closest thing we get to a group reading of a cultural review – at any rate, it can be. But that requires a greater trust of audience than many pastors risk, especially bright pastors who worry overly much about leaving parishioners behind and so let repetition begin to take the place of thought.” [From Perspectives, perspectivesjournal.org, August/September 2006.] Is the jig up on your one-size-fits-all Funeral homily?In the next few weeks we will be announcing two new publications to our Connections Special Issues Series. Suffice it to say for now that if you’ve been recycling the same four or five funeral homilies for too many years, help is on the way. Details will be included with the mailing of the July issue of Connections – or keep tuned to the Special Issues page of this website for details.Reminders . . .Connections is now available electronically. You can receive your copy of each month at your e-mail address. If you would like to receive Connections via e-mail (rather than the paper copy through the postal service – and, sorry, we can only offer one version per subscription), let us know in writing (no phone calls, please), either by mail or at our e-mail address (go to the Contact us page on this website). Please contact us if you think we might be able to help your clergy/diaconate group put together as study day, workshop, conference or retreat on the ministry of preaching. We’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you (no obligation) about the possibilities.A word of thanks to those of you who, every so often, send us a copy of your Sunday homily text in which you have used a story or idea from Connections. Not only is it gratifying to know Connections is a useful tool in your ministry, it’s instructive for us to see what kinds of material works best. Your homily/sermon texts as well as your questions, ideas, contributions for this space, and comments about the preaching craft in general and Connections in particular are always welcome – jaycormier@comcast.net. Let us pray . . . A final word to ponder from the late Abraham Joshua Heschel: “Our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs but how to remain human in the skyscrapers.” May the Spirit breathe comfort into your toughest moments and illuminate your darkest ones with hope. Jay Cormier POSTED: Easter 2008 May the Alleluias of Eastertide warm your winter soul -- especially if you’ve had the winter we’ve had in New England. Here we desperately await the spring song of the peepers -- the small frogs that colonize the pond near our home. As they wake from their winter sleep, they begin their high-pitched piping -- nature’s own Exultet announcing that spring is mercifully here. Come on, little peepers: SING! + Father Walter Burghardt (1914-2008) Jesuit Father Walter Burghardt was one of the great preachers of our time. No homilist’s library is complete without his Preaching: The Art and the Craft; his sermon collections (published by Paulist Press) are models of thoughtful, inspiring and smart preaching. A few years ago I was part of preaching program for the priests of the Diocese of Stanton with Father Burghardt and had the chance to see him in action as a teacher and preacher; I also had the opportunity to spend some “off” time with him over drinks and dinner. Father Burghardt was the real deal – Father Burghardt, the preacher at the pulpit and the teacher at the podium, was also a charming, compassionate (and very funny) human being. Father Burghardt often criticized the restrained preaching style of many of his brother priests, observing that “imagination seems to be a vestigial organ that many a Catholic priest was trained to leave in the seminary.” He was even more direct and passionate on the matter of preaching justice. He minced no words in a 1991 interview with The Los Angeles Times: “I agonize because in this land of milk and honey, one of every five children grows up beneath the poverty line – and our pulpits are silent. “I agonize because in this land of the free, blacks and Hispanics are still shackled as second-class citizens . . . and we preachers have nothing to say to their hungers. “I agonize because thousands upon thousands of women are battered by men who vowed to respect them, untold children are abused by barbarians who brought them into being – and we mouth platitudes about a God who cares for everyone.” May Father Burghardt rest in peace. And may we who follow his lead to preach the “just word” NOT . . . Our Lenten postal cross . . . Our apologies to those of you who received your March 2008 issue late. Our local Post Office discovered that many of the copies for which we – and, consequently, you—pay (dearly) for first class handling somehow got shoved into third class service (which is considerably slooooower). If you still have not received your March copy, please let us know and we will get a replacement copy out to you immediately. And please note: The Connections newsletter is in the mail no later than the 15th of the month (the e-mail version is sent out on the 10th or 11th); so if you have not received your copy by the 22nd or 23rd of the month, call our office or e-mail us and we will get a copy out to you immediately. Don’t ever hesitate to call us if you’re missing your copy: e-mailing, “snail-mailing” or faxing Connections to you is never a problem. . . . or you can wave to the mail carrier as he/she walks by. If you prefer e-mail to ‘snail mail,’ you can receive your copy of Connections on your home or office computer. Each monthly issue is sent to your e-mail address, enabling you to edit and rewrite the material as you prepare your Sunday homily. To activate your e-subscription, send us your e-mail address in writing (no phone calls, please). Please note that, at present, we can fill a subscriptions in one format only – either the “paper” newsletter or electronically. Two books that will add a breath of resurrection to your Easter: Here If You Need Me is the story of Kate Braestrup’s journey from marriage and motherhood, through the death of her husband, to a new life and profession as an ordained minister. Ten years ago, Kate’s husband, Drew, a Maine state trooper, was killed when his car was crushed by a fully loaded semi. Stunned and grieving, Kate decided to pursue her husband’s dream and became a minister. Today Braestrup is chaplain to the Maine Warden Service, the corps of trained personnel that swings into action when someone goes missing in the deep woods and frozen ponds of northern Maine. Her book weaves stories of ministering in the most difficult and primitive of circumstances with her own story of discovering God in all of life’s happiness and humor, messiness and confusion, hurt and sorrow. NPR contributor Heather King chronicles her resurrection from alcoholism, promiscuity and divorce to gaining her spiritual and emotional footing in the Catholic Church in her new book, Redeemed: A Spiritual Misfit Stumbles Toward God, Marginal Sanity, and the Peace that Passes All Understanding. What distinguishes King’s “convert” story from similar tales are her solid and insightful reflections on the Gospel and theology – I particularly like her take on the Virgin birth (pages 63-65). An especially good read for those who work with RCIA. Thanks for ‘connecting’ with us . . . Thank you for your e-mails with your comments and questions about Connections, our website and this blog. Please join the conversation anytime. Your ideas, suggestions and gleanings on the craft and ministry of homiletics are always welcome: jaycormier@comcast.net. ‘The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory’ Finally, a prayer for this Easter season from the late Scottish minister George McLeod, founder of the Iona community, from his book The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory (with thanks to Susan Elliot at St. Columba Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.): Almighty God . . . May the light of the Risen One warm our cold winter souls and break the hard soil of our tired spirits for the planting of new ideas and possibilities this growing season. Easter blessings . . . Jay Cormier POSTED: February 6, 2008 Happy New Year and Lenten blessings! With such an early Easter this year, the celebration of the Lord’s birth and the first day of Lent almost collide. This installment of the blog comes with prayers that both your journey in 2008 and your Lenten springtime be blessed with wonder, enrichment and peace. Reviews from the Connections mezzanine . . . Worth your look: The hit movie Juno surprised me. After the first 15 minutes I thought, Not another know-it-all teenager-with-totally-out-of-it parents comedy. But hang on. This quirky but moving little film tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who finds herself pregnant – but the story is a lesson in how families can transform such a traumatic situation into a moment of grace and a rediscovery of the love, understanding and forgiveness that binds a family. Ellen Page is a delight as Juno – her quick wit masks a touching vulnerability; her transformation from scared teenager to wise young woman is a joy to watch. And Dad and Mom, played by J.K. Simmons and (the wonderful) Allison Janney, are warm, loving and smart. It’s a rare movie that teens and parents can and should watch together. Check it out. Richard Cohen (Blindness: Lifting a Life Above Illness) has spent three years chronicling the lives of five men and women who are living complete and enriching lives while struggling with chronic illness. The result is Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of hope, a chorus of hope. Cohen — who himself suffers from MS and is a cancer survivor — tells the stories of Denise, who suffers from ALS; Buzz, whose faith has helped him and his family deal with his non-Hodgkins lymphoma; Sarah, a determined young woman with Crohn’s disease; Ben, a bright and gifted college student with muscular dystrophy; and Larry, who struggles to live a normal life despite bipolar disorder. All five stories are both inspiring and heartbreaking. A major theme of the book: how America’s obsession with health (record obesity levels among children and adults, to the contrary) marginalizes the chronically ill: “For the sick, living among the healthy is no piece of cake,“ Cohen writes. “Empathy is in short supply. Daily brushes with public ignorance and indifference and the stigma of being sick in a society that worships health brand and define [the chronically ill].” Strong at the Broken Places is a must-read for any one involved in ministry to the sick, those who live with those who live with the chronically ill, and those (most of us) who doubt our abilities to offer help and encouragement to the chronically ill – and can’t imagine how they can offer the same to us. [More on Juno and Strong at the Broken Places can be found in the March issue of Connections . . . ] Also worth taking in: the Denzel Washington film The Great Debaters and Michael Gate Gill’s true story of redemption and resurrection How Starbucks Saved My Life. Portrait of the preacher in winter . . . The Notebook section of our website includes articles and essays on the communications dimensions of preaching. We just added a piece I wrote for the Summer 2007 issue of Church, published by the National Pastoral Life Center. Emerson’s portrait of the preacher: ‘Life passed through the fire of thought’ was inspired by the text on a talk given by Ralph Waldo Emerson to the seminarians at his alma mater, the Divinity College at Harvard, in 1838. Emerson had some strong words about the preacher and the ministry of proclamation. His observations still ring true and have not lost any of their sting. Homilists and preachers all should take note. Take a look – and know your comments and reactions are welcome. Lenten resources . . . Two quick reminders: Copies of the 2008 Lenten issue (reflections for each weekday of Lent, including the Easter Triduum) are still available at $22. Click on the Special issues page on the left for an order form. And please contact us if we might be able to help your clergy/diaconate group put together as study day, workshop, conference or retreat on the ministry of preaching and the proclamation of the Word. We’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you (no obligation) about the possibilities (603/432-6056 or jaycormier@att.net). Become part of the conversation Thank you, one and all, for your notes and e-mails with your suggestions for Connections and comments about the newsletter and this website. They are invaluable in our planning. Drop by this space anytime and participate in our ongoing chat about the ministry of preaching we all share -- e-mail your questions and comments to me anytime through the Contact us page or jaycormier@att.net). Hold your life up to the light . . . A Lenten marker from Dominican theologian Edward Schillebeeckx: “It does not matter whether you are now working in the field or grinding corn, whether you are a priest or professor, a cook or a porter, a child or an old-age pensioner. What matters is how your life looks when you hold it up in the light of the Gospel of the God whose nature is to love all of humankind.” May the Spirit fill your desert with such revealing light this Lent. Jay Cormier POSTED: December 2, 2007 Advent blessings! May your own journey to Bethlehem in the days ahead be filled with new signs of hope in God’s goodness. Thanks for taking a moment to join our online conversation about the ministry and craft of preaching. Now playing this Christmas . . . ‘Tis the season for holiday movies. It’s A Wonderful Life is de rigueur. For those of us of a certain age, Jean Shepherd’s hysterical A Christmas Story is a trip back to our childhood Christmases of the fifties and sixties. And, of course, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is required (accept nothing less than the 1932 version with Alistair Sims as Scrooge). But this Christmas, make the 2005 film Joyeux Noel part of your holiday viewing. It is a beautiful and remarkable film, based on a true story. On Christmas Eve, 1914, during the First World War, three regiments — one French, one Scottish, and one German — were locked in battle on a French hillside. For weeks they had been annihilating one another from their dirty, cold trenches. Then, on Christmas Eve, hostilities seemed to die down. A German soldier — a renowned opera singer before the war — began to sing Silent Night for his comrades. Suddenly, from the other side of the battle field, two Scottish bagpipes picked up the accompaniment; then the pipers began to play Adeste Fidelis, and the tenor began sing along with them. Soon soldiers from each side peered over No Man’s Land and cautiously approached one another. Slowly, tentatively, the troops on both sides laid down their weapons and observed the birth of the Savior in whose name they were killing each other. Before long, the troops were standing together on the battlefield exchanging photographs of wives and girlfriends and sharing precious bits of chocolate and champagne. A priest from the Scottish regiment offered Mass in the cold field and all three regiments joined in prayer. The spontaneous cease-fire was extended into Christmas Day, when the two sides happily skirmished in a soccer game. French, Scot and German soldiers then helped one another to bury their dead whose bodies had been rotting between the lines. When the war resumed late on Christmas, neither side could draw weapons against the other, for they were no longer enemies, but fellow fathers and sons and farmers and artists and clerks. Christmas had transformed them into brothers. The climax of the film (which I will leave to you) deals with the intriguing question: How do you carry on a war when there are no enemies? In the midst of your Christmas, declare a “cease fire” and let this beautiful film restore a sense of Christ’s peace to your life — lasting, transforming, restoring peace. Gifts that keep on giving . . .Our finance folk (who send their Christmas greetings, by the way) would like me to remind you that Connections makes a wonderful, appreciated gift for the preachers and catechists on your Christmas gift-giving list. Mention this blog and you can give a one-year gift subscription to a priest, deacon, minister, teacher (Anyone! – Finance Department) for $30 (a significant savings from the Christmas flyer subscribers received with the November issue). We can send a card announcing your gift – or we can send the card to you to give to the recipient – just let us know your wishes. Two ground rules: This special rate applies to new subscriptions only and not for renewals and the deadline for this special offer is December 31, 2007.Also still available is the special Advent 2007 issue – reflections and meditations for the weekdays of Advent, up to and including Christmas Day. A few copies are left – go to the Special Issues page of the website to order your copy. Fireside readingTwo books worth your time this winter: Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion is the story of writer Sara Miles’ unexpected journey from atheism to Christianity. Her first experience with the sacrament of the Eucharist her led her to a new ministry feeding the hungry in San Francisco. Ms. Miles’ compelling spiritual memoir is not pietistic tale of happy conversion; her memoir is edgy and her language can be a little rough. Her story is grounded in life in all its confusion, messiness and complications. While her theology and politics will give some cause to pause, read on. Her stories of parish life are dead on – and her writing about the hunger and the Eucharist are insightful. James Martin, S.J., author of the best-selling My Life With the Saints, chronicles his experience serving as a theological advisor to an off-Broadway theatre company in his new book A Jesuit Off-Broadway. The book is much more than a “behind the scenes” at how a new play comes to the stage (although Father Martin’s backstage story is fascinating). Father Martin, an editor of America Magazine, was asked to help the playwright, director and cast mount the 2005 production The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. In providing theological and Scriptural help to the production team as they mounted this imaginary, otherworldly trial of Jesus’ betrayer, Father Martin shares what he learned in the process about the last days of Jesus. A terrific book as you prepare your own preaching and celebrating for the coming (and soon!) Holy Week. Thank you for ‘connecting’ with us . . .Please know that we appreciate the many notes and e-mails we receive about Connections and this blog. Your taking the time to share your comments, ideas, suggestions and war stories is something that we do not take for granted. How you use Connections and what you use from Connections in your preaching ministry are our principal guides in planning each issue. Connect with us anytime at jaycormier@comcast.net. A blessed holiday ‘intrusion’A different Christmas wish from Thomas Merton, in Raids on the Unspeakable: “Into the world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it . . . His place is with those others for whom there is no room . . . who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, who are tortured, bombed and exterminated . . . [Christ is] mysteriously present in those from whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its worst . . . it is in these that He hides himself.” May the Christ of the poor and unwanted intrude into your heart and home this Christmas, illuminating your own inn with the light of compassion and warming your hovel with the warmth of His love. And may He refuse to leave. Jay Cormier POSTED: October 9, 2007 Autumn blessings! Welcome to our ongoing conversation on the craft of preaching the ministry of proclaiming the Word. A few notes and observations as the leaves fall here at my New England perch. Behold, the days are coming . . . ! As I write this, we are putting the finishing touches on Connections for the Weekdays of Advent 2007. This is our special collection of reflections and meditations for each of the weekday Gospels during the coming Advent season (the First Sunday of Advent: December 2). An order form has been included with the mailing (both paper and electronic) of the November issue of Connections; you can also print out an order form by going to the Special Issues page of this website. Now, to really make your day: In case you haven’t looked ahead, Easter in 2008 is about as early as it can get. Easter Sunday is March 23, which means Lent begins this year on Ash Wednesday, February 6 – so you’ll be receiving information about the Lenten issue before Christmas. Happy holidays . . . The only commandments you’ll ever needEmily Dickinson once said that the only commandment she ever obeyed was “Consider the lilies.” Inspired by the Belle of Amherst, poet and writer Kathleen Norris (The Cloister Walk), combed through the New Testament looking for Jesus’ direct commandments. Ms. Norris made a poem out of them: Look at the birds -- Kathleen Norris, “Imperatives, in Little Girls in Church, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995. The Liturgical Press would like you to know . . . Over the past few years, the Liturgical Press has been publishing a series of small (and I mean small – four by five inches!) booklets of meditations and prayers for the Advent/Christmas and Lenten/Easter seasons. These little books, which include a reflection, meditation and prayer for every day of the Advent and Christmas season, are designed to fit both your pocket and your wallet – copies are available for less than a dollar each. The idea is for parishes to make them available to their congregations as inexpensively as possible. I mention it here at the behest of the good folks at Collegeville only because your humble blogger is the author of the 2007 Advent/Christmas edition, Waiting In Joyful Hope: Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas 2007-2008. It was an honor to be asked to write this year’s Advent/Christmas edition and a delight to work again with the people at Liturgical Press. Copies are $2 each -- $1 each for 50 or more copies. For more information, visit the Liturgical Press website at www.litpress.org. Join in the conversation . . .Thank you for your notes and e-mails about Connections and this blog. Your suggestions, ideas and criticisms are most helpful to us in our planning, writing, and editing of each issue. We appreciate, too, your war stories that help us all learn more about the ministry of preaching. The e-mail address: jaycormier@comcast.net. From the Lake Woebegone BibleGarrison Keillor, poet laureate and chronicler of life in Lake Woebegone, Minnesota, on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, was speaking at a clergy gathering. He took his audience of pastors and preachers to his mythical hometown where a revival service was in progress. Entering the imagined sanctuary of Keillor’s mind and words, a visiting evangelist was challenging the good Christians gathered there. Sweat streaming for his brow, handkerchief in hand, voice in full cry, he preached: “Leave your good Christian life behind, and follow Christ.” Carry on . . . Jay Cormier POSTED: August 6, 2007 Hope you’re enjoying these last weeks of summer. A few notes and observations to add to our ongoing conversation about Connections and the craft of preaching. Hope for the unchurched More and more Catholic parishes – as well as mainline Protestant churches -- are encountering adults and children who have had no experience of church – none. Researcher Thom Rainer interviewed thousands of unchurched Americans and published the results in The Unchurched Next Door. Some of Rainer’s findings are surprising:
A comment from your humble and obedient blogger: From my observation and experience teaching undergraduates (communications and humanities) each year, the growing number of religious “illiterate” who identify themselves as nominally Catholic, as well as the phenomena of the totally unchurched, will be a growing challenge for parish ministers. The young people who will be the next generation of parents and parishioners are wonderful, caring people but unaware of many dimensions of the practice of faith (Scripture, sacraments, etc.) Adult religious education in the basics is going to be part of every parish religious education effort. Patience . . . Ponder these questions, O prophetic one . . . Any list of the best preachers in America includes the name of the Rev. James Forbes, pastor emeritus of the Manhattan’s famed Riverside Church. At this summer’s Festival of Homiletics in Nashville, Doctor Forbes spoke on prophetic preaching. He posed several interesting questions to the 1600 pastors in attendance that preachers and homilists might ponder in their sermon prep: First, What do you believe is breaking God’s heart? Or to put it more bluntly, What is God mad about? And what does God want you, as pastor and minister, to say/do about it? And: Where do your words come from each Sunday? Where do you get your courage and audacity to preach each week? These could be interesting starting points this weekend . . . Proving God’s existence one pain at a time . . . A pastor’s reflection on the hard work of forgiveness: “People say you can’t prove the existence of God. But I believe there is a very simple way to prove God’s existence. To do so you simply forgive someone who has hurt you because Jesus asks to. Then you ask God to heal your heart. If your heart gets soothed after a reasonable period of prayer, you’ve proved the existence of God. If there is no change in you, if you still feel bitter and reserved around your enemy after obeying God’s requirement, you’ve essentially proved that God does not exist . . . “There are one or two caveats that will occur to any grown-up trying to forgiven another person. It’s difficult but important to recognize that forgiveness is primarily a transaction between us and God, not between us and the former enemy. “Forgiving another person does not necessarily imply that they acted wrongly-- it simply means that pain was exchanged. “And forgiveness needs to quit being a wrenching, specific act and become both a habitual reflex and a way of living with other people. Jesus was a realist about the necessity of repeating forgiveness -- seventy times seven. I must be a realist as well. My forgiving you does not change you -- only my bearing towards you. “[Forgiveness] is a Christ-like action, taking onto yourself the impact of another's sin, going to your own cross on their behalf. When you're not only doing what Jesus commands, but also doing what Jesus does, it’s not difficult to sense his companionship.” [From When God Happens by Gray Temple.] In case you missed it . . . Baptism: Born in Water and Spirit and The Spirit of God: ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus’ are the two latest editions to our Connections Special Issues Series. Click on to the Special Issues page of the web site for more information on the entire collection of issues focusing on single topics and themes. Included on the website is an order form you can print out. Connections is now available online. You can receive your copy of Connections each month at your e-mail address. (Please note that the current issue is NOT accessible through our website). If you would like to receive Connections via e-mail (rather than the paper copy through the postal service – and, sorry, we can only offer one version), let us know in writing (no phone calls, please), either by mail or at our e-mail address (go to the Contact us page on the website). Please contact us if you think we might be able to help your clergy/diaconate group put together as study day, workshop, conference or retreat on the ministry of preaching. We’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you (no obligation) about the possibilities (603/432-6056 or jaycormer@att.net). Join in the conversation . . . Your contributions to our continuing contribution to the craft of preaching are welcome. Send your discoveries and struggles, insights and quandaries about the ministry of proclamation to me at jaycormier@comcast.net. May the light of Christ transfigure your humble words each week into occasions of grace for the community you lovingly serve. Jay Cormier POSTED: June 1, 2007 Summer blessings! Welcome to our ongoing conversation about Connections and the craft of preaching. First, news many of you have been asking about. We are now (finally!) able to send your copy of Connections to your e-mail address every month, enabling your to edit the material as you see fit as you prepare your Sunday homily. This spring, our fulfillment team has begun offering the e-mail option to subscribers as they renew. If you would like to receive Connections via e-mail (rather than the paper copy through the postal service – and, sorry, we can only offer one version), let us know in writing, either by mail or at our e-mail address (go to the Contact us page on the website) New special issues: Baptism and the Spirit We have just completed two new additions to our series of special issues on single themes and topics. Baptism: Born in Water and Spirit is a collection of stories, meditations and reflections on the sacrament of Baptism and Christian initiation. The Spirit of God: ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus’ includes stories and meditations on the Sacrament of Confirmation and adult discipleship. The material focuses on the themes of the God’s Spirit animating the life of the faithful disciple, Christ’s commission to his Church to proclaim his Gospel, and the challenging transition from believing child to adult disciple. If you preach at Baptisms and Confirmation liturgies, teach in sacramental preparation programs for parents and families, lead retreats and days of recollection for Confirmation candidates, or work with RCIA or adult education groups, these two issues will prove to be valuable resources in your ministry. An order form is included with your July issue of Connections. You can also click on to the Special Issues page of the web site for more information on the entire Special Issues series, including an order form you can print out. Whatever Happened to Delight? For sometime I have sensed a distressing development on the preaching landscape: preachers and homilists who wield “truth” -- clear, unambiguous, complex-free truth -- as if it were a club. Much of the preaching heard in our churches may be crystal clear on Church teaching but disconnected from the reality of the everyday human experience. Restoring a sense of joy and wonder to the Sunday homily is the focus of J. Barrie Shepherd’s wonderful new book Whatever Happened to Delight?: Preaching the Gospel in Poetry and Parables (Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 146 pp., $17.95.) The book is adapted from the Lyman Beecher Lectures that Shepherd, a Presbyterian minister, delivered at Yale University in October 2002. In discussing the title’s question, Shepherd focuses on the imaginative and creative dimensions of the homily – what the author calls the “art” of preaching. In the first chapter, Shepherd reflects on the “dearth of delight” in much of today’s preaching. The prevailing attitude is, Shepherd writes, that “sermons are supposed to be good for you. And any thought that a person might leave a church feeling amused, intrigued, enchanted even, let alone delighted, is out of the question.” Shepherd argues for a “poetic vision” of preaching, a vision that is “not about making things perfectly clear, but about inviting, about evoking, about delighting.” The author outlines, in chapter 2, how preachers can recapture a sense of divine imagination, challenging homilists to show their communities how “the divine has been born into and become part and parcel of the daily round of human existence . . . [how] this human existence, and every blessed element of it, has become hallowed in a new and infinitely rich way.” Shepherd, whose on own preaching ministry spans 37 years of teaching and ministry in the inner city, on college campuses and university parishes before retiring as senior minister of New York’s First Presbyterian Church, offers practical suggestions in preparing and performing (Shepherd does not shy away from the word) sermons that reveal, in image and story, the presence of God in our midst (note especially what Shepherd has to say about “performing” the homily). The basic mission of the preacher, Shepherd exhorts in Chapter 4, is “looking for the Resurrection” in the everyday and “report back on what is really happening in the here and now.” The book ends with three recent homilies given by Shepherd that illustrate the principles discussed in the book/lectures (it is clear from the transcripts that the Scottish-born pastor has not lost a mile off his fast-ball since retiring from fulltime ministry). Throughout the book/lectures, Shepherd includes many of his own stories and poems that have been published in The Christian Century and other magazines and journals. In Whatever Happened to Delight?, a gifted and experienced pastor helps both the novice and the veteran preacher rediscover the “art” of the preaching ministry. A worthy addition to your book bag this summer. Summertime at Villanova A pastor is not only a minister to his people – he or she is also the manager of a million-dollar operation. And the details of running a parish or religious institution of any size can be overwhelming. If you could use some help in the management aspect of your work, you might consider spending a few days this July in Philadelphia. The Villanova School of Business will conduct its Summer Church Management Institute July 8-13 at the Villanova Conference Center. Dr. Charles Zech and his team have designed a one-of-its-kind program to provide church leaders with the tools needed to effectively manage a parish or religious nonprofit organization. Sessions will focus on such critical management areas as human resources, strategic planning, financial reporting and controls, stewardship and development, organizational ethics, and communications strategies (full disclosure: I will be leading the Thursday afternoon session on communications). For more information on the institute, contact Professor Zech at the Center for the Study of Church Management, Villanova School of Business, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova PA 29085 (610/519-4371 / www.business.villanova.edu/excellence/churchmgmt). Working Connections A word of thanks to those of you who, every so often, send us a copy of your Sunday homily text in which you have used a story or idea from Connections. Not only is it gratifying to know Connections is a useful tool in your ministry, it’s instructive for us to see what kinds of material you find most usable. Your homily/sermon texts as well as your questions, ideas, contributions for this space, and comments about the preaching craft in general and Connections in particular are always welcome – jaycormier@comcast.net. Hello? Is anybody listening? Finally: The wisest observation about communications that I have read of late. From the witty and often wicked pen of George Bernard Shaw: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Amen. Have a peace-filled, restful and enriching summer . . . Jay Cormier POSTED: April 1, 2007 Holy Week blessings from your friends at Connections. May this week be filled with the joyful expectation of the palms, the humble compassion of the towel and basin, the unifying love of the bread and wine, the hope of the cross and the warmth of the new fire. Archbishop Dolan on ‘solid, sustaining, substantive preaching.’ Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee delivered the Carl J. Peter Lecture on January 13 at the North American College, the U.S. Seminary in Rome. Archbishop Dolan spoke on preaching, offering several insightful observations on the content of good preaching and the mindset of the dedicated homilist. The complete text of Archbishop Dolan's lecture can be found in the February 1, 2007, edition of Origins, from the Catholic News Service. A few of shards of light:
Book report. Some recent books that are worth your checking out: If you’ve watched any television at all over the past several weeks, you no doubt have seen ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee talking about their new book, In An Instant. The couple tells the horrific story of Bob’s traumatic brain injury suffered in Iraq when an IED exploded near the tank in which he was riding and the family’s long journey to put their lives back together as a result. The book is one family’s discovering how love enables us to do things we can’t imagine doing and to handle challenges we don’t believe we can survive. Pauline Chen, M.D., went to medical school in order to save lives. She quickly learned that she couldn’t always do that -- but terminal illness did not mean she could not still bring healing and wholeness into their lives. Anyone involved in working with the sick and dying will learn a great deal from Doctor Chen’s warm and thoughtful Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections of Mortality. George Atkinson writes a popular blog titled reallivepreacher.com, his musings on the holy and the unholy. A collection of some of his pieces has been published by William B. Eerdmans, under the title RealLifePreacher.com. Like all of us, Atkinson, the pastor of a small Baptist church in San Antonio, wrestles with demons and doubt, the confused and the fearful, the narrow of mind and the empty of soul. His style is raw, earthy and real (this boy's from Texas, after all). To read this book is to spend some time swapping war stories with a fellow pastor and pilgrim: you’ve both been there, from keeping your cool trying to talk compassion to a Bible-quoting bigot to struggling to find the right words to say to the lost and hurting. If you’re a pastor or preacher, pop open a cold one some afternoon or evening and commiserate with George. Well worth the time. Thanks for ‘connecting’ with us. Thank you for your e-mails with your comments and questions about Connections, our website and this blog. Please join the conversation anytime. Your ideas, suggestions and gleanings on the craft and ministry of homiletics are always welcome. [By the way, please note the new e-mail address for yours truly: jaycormier@comcast.net.] Easter blessings. In the April 2007 issue of Connections, we included for Easter Sunday a piece on Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Hopkins wrote the poem in memory of five Franciscan sisters who drowned aboard the German ship the Deutschland, which sank in the North Sea in 1875 -- the five nuns remained on board the doomed vessel so that others might be rescued. The poem concludes with the wonderful line, “Let [Christ] easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us . . . “ Hopkins’ use of the word “easter” as a verb is striking -- in nautical terms, to “easter” is to steer a craft toward the east, into the light. May you and those you serve “easter” in every season into the light of the Risen One . Jay Cormier POSTED: February 18, 2007 Welcome to another installment of Jay’s Blog -- notes, gleanings, observations and “stuff” from the editor of Connections. Thanks to those of you who took a moment to e-mail your comments and suggestions to our December episode. ‘The measure you measure will be measured back to you . . . ‘ One of the most frequent criticisms we hear about the material in Connections is the length of some of the stories, “You write too long,” one subscriber told me. “We love the shorter stuff.” While we try to keep material succinct and to the point, we often include a number of details in a story – particularly in stories from current news events. We prefer to err on the side of including too much than too little and let the homilist edit as he/she fits. Connections works because you make it work – you take the stories we present and make them your own. So use only those details and “color” from a Connections story that work for you. Connections is coming online – stay tuned! Many of you have asked about receiving Connections via e-mail. I’m happy to report that we’ve made significant headway in providing this service (it’s been quite a learning experience for this technologically challenged publisher). Stay tuned to this space and your monthly Connections mailing. We hope to have Connections ONLINE up and running soon. Preaching to a new generation. David Batstone, executive editor of Sojourners Magazine, teaches a course in ethics and religion at the University of San Francisco. From the seminars, student papers and group projects, Batstone has a pretty good handle on how today’s college students relate to religion. He sums up his students’ spirituality sensibility this way: Don’t make me a promise unless you plan to live up to it. Batstone’s observations give us in the preaching ministry much to ponder:
You can check out David Batstone’s entire article “Seeking Something Bigger” in the September/October 2006 issue of Sojourners Magazine. It’s a primer on how we might more effectively connect the values of Gospel with the generation that will – or will not – be breaking bread with us at the Lord’s table in the years to come. On preaching the Gospel of the Prodigal Son “Here lies hidden the great call to conversion: to look not with low self-esteem, but with the eyes of God’s love. As long as I keep looking at God as a landowner, as a father who wants to get the most out of me for the least cost, I cannot but become jealous, bitter, and resentful toward my fellow-workers or my brothers and sisters. But if I am able to look at the world with the eyes of God’s love and discover that God’s vision is not that of a stereotypical landowner or patriarch but rather that of an all-giving and forgiving father who does not measure out his love to his children according to how well they behave, then I quickly see that my only true response can be deep gratitude.” Sales pitches (as low key as possible) . . . Two quick reminders: Copies of the 2007 Lenten issue (reflections for each weekday of Lent, including the Easter Triduum) are still available at $22. Click on the Special issues page on the left. And please contact us if you think we might be able to help your clergy/diaconate group put together as study day, workshop, conference or retreat on the ministry of preaching. We’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you (no obligation) about the possibilities (603/432-6056 or jaycormer@att.net). Join the conversation. Drop by this space anytime and participate in our ongoing chat about the ministry of preaching we all share -- e-mail your questions and comments to me anytime through the Contact us page at left. Have a good talk with your soul this Lent. In Tom Wolfe’s novel I Am Charlotte Simmons, Charlotte is a college freshman from a small farming town. She is miserable: School thus far has been a disaster: she is wasted from too many parties and too little sleep; she had been abused and abased by her boyfriend; she has betrayed her love of learning and the values she embraced growing up in order to fit into the depraved culture of the dorm -- which Wolfe portrays much too graphically for pulpit use. But there is a moment of grace in the novel worth noting on this eve of Lent 2007. When Charlotte comes home for Christmas at the end of her first semester, she can’t bring herself to tell her mother how she has made a mess of college and college has made a mess of her. But she doesn’t have to. Her grades tell the story. Her mother’s homespun wisdom kicks in: “Sounds to me like what you need right now is a talk with your soul, an honest talk.” As we begin our forty-day pilgrimage with Christ in the Lenten desert, take Mom’s advice to heart. May the forty days before us be a time for a long, honest talk with your soul and with the Spirit of God who dwells there. Jay Cormier POSTED: December 18, 2006 Welcome to Jay's Blog . . . For those new to Connections, the “Jay” in the title would be me, Jay Cormier, the editor and publisher of the Connections newsletter. If you are a regular visitor to our website, you’ve noticed a few changes to the content and layout. Sadie Cahoon is the talented web designer responsible for the site’s new look. In her patient and gentle – but decisive – way, Sadie has taught this editor how to “write” for the web. What you are reading and looking at is due to Sadie’s extraordinary creativity and her patient endurance of this struggling “dial-up” writer in a DSL world. As we were redoing the site this summer and fall, the suggestion was made to include a place on the site to offer the editor’s perspective on Connections and our related publications and resources (me, a blogger – it’s a dream come true). I hope this space will also be a place where we can continue our conversation about how we can make Connections an even more useful tool to you in your ministry. The plan (hope, actually) is to update this blog monthly. So drop by this space anytime for what I hope will be an ongoing chat about the ministry of preaching we all share -- and e-mail me with your questions and comments anytime through the Contact us page. Now playing at a theatre near you . . . Checking out movies for Connections material is one of the best parts of this job. Movie references, however, can be a little tricky for homilists: Capturing the story of a two-hour movie in a few minutes is not easy; enabling your community to appreciate the point of a film most have not seen – without giving away the ending -- is a challenge; and (as I have learned from 23 years of marriage), a movie I think is terrific you may find, ah, not so terrific. But the biggest caution to citing a movie in a homily are those well-meaning souls who will zero in on that one particular “scene” that negates whatever good the other one hour and fifty-eight minutes may contain. (“How can you encourage the young people of this parish to see such a movie, Father!” ) Regarding our use of movies in Connections: We do not include films with an R rating – PG13 is our Maginot line. We try to be especially sensitive to a film’s language, sexual content (of course) and its level of violence. While we consult several reviews (the best in our view: Roger Ebert and the reviewers of The New York Times), we see (sometimes twice) all the movies we write about in Connections. Recent movies we have seen with strong Gospel connections: The Queen (terrific), Stranger Than Fiction (very thought-provoking once you get beyond the absurdity and quirkiness of the premise), World Trade Center (an extraordinary movie experience) and Akeelah and the Bee (a beautiful story of hope and the blessings of community). Our advice: See the movie yourself before you use it in your homily. You know your comfort level and that of your community. What speaks to us may not connect with you and your folks. And let us know what you’ve seen and liked – and what movies we’ve included in Connections that rates a “thumbs up” – or “thumbs down” – from you. ‘Preaching: Creating an Oral Cathedral.’ We will also flag in this space books and articles about the craft of preaching (in addition to what we have posted in the Resources section of this website). I recently came across a thoughtful and perceptive piece by Dan Moseley in the January-March 2006 issue of The Living Pulpit (www.pulpit.org) . Doctor Moseley, Professor of Practical Parish Ministry at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, writes that a good homily/sermon creates a kind of “oral cathedral . . . a sanctuary with words – how to create a safe space into which the listener might move so that he or she can imagine and ‘word their way’ into some new way of living. “Preaching is creating a space in which persons find words to know who they are and how they can live life faithfully. Some listeners are learning it for the first time. Others have lost their ability to voice their own story and need to learn new words. We are constantly in the process of rewording our lives. We redefine ourselves with different stories.” I was especially struck with Doctor Moseley’s (himself a pastor for over 30 years) observation that one of the most important qualities of a good preacher is humility: “When a preacher knows that he is speaking out of a power that he can’t control and manipulate, he can then speak with the humility of one who knows some things but whose knowing is encompassed in an expansive universe of mystery. If he speaks of this glimpse of knowing and helps the listener realize that there is much to be learned, the listener can lean into that space and make her offering, broken and incomplete, to the community of discovery. The preacher becomes a tour guide who knows that the vast power and history of the cathedral’s memory quiets the souls arrogant assumptions. When we speak with humility, people trust the truth they hear from us. When we speak in ways that presume to know more than any human can know, the listener intuitively rejects our message because they know it couldn’t be true.” Good advice – and the “oral cathedral” image is an insightful model for approaching the Sunday homily. Preaching workshops and retreats. Besides going to the movies on company time, another great part of this job is meeting Connections subscribers at workshops and preaching conferences. It has been a wonderful experience to lead classes and coaching sessions for priests and deacons on the communication dimensions of preaching (writing, delivery, etc.) and to participate in study days and retreats on the ministry of preaching. If we can help you explore the possibilities of such a program for your presbyterate, deacon formation class, deanery, conference, etc., please don’t hesitate to call our office. Christmas blessings. One of my favorite verses in the Gospels is the final line of Zechariah’s canticle (Luke 1: 68-79), sung every morning at the office of Lauds: By the tender mercy of our
God, May the light of God’s compassion illuminate all of your days – especially your preaching -- in the New Year! Jay Cormier
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