You probably didn't even notice I'd gone again.
my congregation has had a relationship with the Lakota People
on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
We've worked with HFH in home building;
we've collected supplies and money for
White Buffalo Calf Woman's Society,
the first domestic violence shelter for indigenous women in the country;
we've had coat drives for their elementary schools;
we've donated bears, knit items and money
for first responders to give to trauma victims;
we've provided funding for heating
during harsh LONG winters
in substandard housing;
we've provided new roofs, stoves and storm windows;
we built a softball field 20 years ago that's still being used
by the community today ...
but, the best thing we've done
has been to keep returning;
to be known as "the church that comes back'.
and to be known by them;
not as representatives of a 'better' culture or way of being
but as perfectly imperfect and human as 'they' are.
We're in this together.
In 2023,
one of their historic congregation,
Holy Innocents, established in 1890,
was destroyed by arson.
A painting of the original church
and interior.
You can't and don't replace history.
But you can rebuild.
We were invited back for the consecration of their new church -
a metal 'pole barn' that is connected to a metal Guild Hall
which will serve them differently in this changing world
but just as faithfully.
(the church is on the right,
the red/white color way reflecting the original paint
and the Guild Hall, in blue
on the left)
and a feast afterward -
with old and new friends;
in Lakota and English;
with ordained clergy and indigenous Spiritual leaders in attendance;
exactly what beloved community looks like.
Here's the reflection I wrote immediately after getting back:
At first, I thought it was a metaphor so perfect for the reservation -
the building was incomplete,
work continuing up until 20 minutes before the service started.
No insulation on the walls or ceiling,
a close look revealing walls not meeting the foundation,
no permanent electrical source,
extension cords running to a source in another building;
white sheets stapled over bare walls,
twinkle lights strung overhead,
the building was incomplete,
work continuing up until 20 minutes before the service started.
No insulation on the walls or ceiling,
a close look revealing walls not meeting the foundation,
no permanent electrical source,
extension cords running to a source in another building;
white sheets stapled over bare walls,
twinkle lights strung overhead,
providing enough magic to distract from the reality
of all that remained unfinished
An overall sense of what needed to be accomplished
but no concise, clear plan of how to get it done -
everyone doing their small part of
both the celebration and the feast that followed.
That’s when I realized the metaphor was perfect for all of us -
for the church -
we are ALL unfinished -
all works in progress -
with our own versions of ‘twinkle lights’
to distract from all the ways in which we’re incomplete.
Thanks be to God, we don’t have to wait for ‘completion’ before we gather
to celebrate relationship with the Holy
and feast with beloved friends as community.
Thanks be to God, we don’t have to wait for ‘completion’ before we gather
to celebrate relationship with the Holy
and feast with beloved friends as community.
It also reminded me of a writing by Bishop Oscar Romero
which always helps me keep things in perspective.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is Gods work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we're about: We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it's a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen
Oscar Romero.
~~~~~~~
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is Gods work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we're about: We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it's a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen
Oscar Romero.
~~~~~~~
especially in times like these
when those in power would prefer we be separated and estranged.
Even Mother Nature out there isn't buying that version of reality.
