We are Christ-centered Friends who equip and encourage all people
to respond to God's love and transforming Spirit.

All Churched Out?
October 11, 2009
Ephesians 3:16-20

"I pray that, according to the riches of God's glory, you may be strengthened in your INNER BEING with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to KNOW the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now unto him who by the power at work WITHIN us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

We are in the midst of a series this fall on Quaker spirituality. It is our aim to provide some background and context for our identity as Friends, especially for those who might be new to Friends, but also as a refresher course for you old timers. I hope that it will be a time for all of us to reflect on what we believe and why, to feel safe to ask our questions and to consider what it is that has drawn us to worship among Friends.

I want to emphasize that we are not trying to persuade anyone that Quakers are more spiritual or have a corner on the truth. Though our sign out front might be misleading, there are no secret handshakes. Nor am I suggesting that we go back and try to re-capture what Friends were 350 years ago, or 100 years ago, or even last year. How futile for us to hang onto tradition for tradition's sake, or words that hold no meaning for us today, or old models and structure that no longer serve the fresh wind of the Spirit in the present where we are living now.

I do suppose I hope that we will somehow capture the essence of the spirit of early Friends and be able to hear their mystical and prophetic voices reminding us to keep it real. These were people who found themselves "all churched out," who were more interested in being the church, than playing church.

Early Friends did away with the many of the meaningless trappings of religion and sought to simply gather in a spirit of expectancy, waiting for God to speak to them directly out of the silence. As Friends gathered in the simplicity of their worship they were led to go out to serve those in need.

I was inspired by a letter I received this past week from my dear friend, Ivor, a retired Episcopalian priest who served right here in our neighborhood, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church for 3 years and who is now back in his home in England. Over this past year, Ivor has been sharing his journey of transition out of 32 years of ordained ministry. It has been a time to question many things in his life, which has included the relevance of the church to which he devoted his life. This happens to be the work of many of us in mid-life. Who am I really? What do I believe? Why am I doing what I am doing? Having gained a measure of wisdom in his life, Ivor is trying not to frantically fill the empty space that retirement has brought but he is trying to listen to that which his Inner Guide is calling him toward in this season of his life. He has wondered if whether serving the church came before serving God, at times.

I had to smile as he recalls an occasion while living here in the states, that he and his wife, Anthea drove 800 miles round trip to attend a clergy retreat where they were taught how to give sideways hugs. He writes, "I am bewildered by a system that demands certificates, accreditation and permission and licensing for just about everything that is done in the church. . . even hugging. . . especially hugging! It seems one cannot even visit housebound Ethel without having been on a course for "Maintaining Safe Boundaries." In a previous parish when my neighbor fell out of bed and needed picking up off the floor at 4:00 am . . . all naked 32 stone of him. . . there was no place for safe boundaries and sideways hugs. It was get close and give a mighty heave. . . no risk assessment and no follow-up paper work submitted to the proper authorities."

I laughed out loud as I read my friend's words and I wondered how many times religion gets in the way of what God is really trying to do.

Thomas Kelly, a Quaker who lived early in this century sums up for me the spirit of the early Friends movement. He writes,

"The early Quakers were founding no sect; they were reforming Christendom, that had slumped into externals and had lost it sense of the Immediate Presence and the creative, triumphant power of the living God within us all. They had a message for all, for they had discovered that 'the Lord himself had come to lead his people.'
And in the same way the Quaker discovery, not of a doctrine, not of a belief, BUT of a Life, a life filled with God, a life listening, obedient, triumphant, holy-in that same way the Quaker discovery was only a rediscovery of the life and power and fellowship and joy and radiance which moved the early Church."

This is the essence of what I hope we can take away from our Quaker heritage. . . To BE the church, not just go to church, or play church.
What are some of the ways in which you see God alive and moving in your life, and in the life of this meeting? Let's identify it, and put our energy there and nurture that. Let's be willing to examine and re-evaluate the things we church people tend to hang onto for years and years that is draining our spiritual life force and depletes our physical energy and leads to burnout and loss of faith. What is the essential thing we need to be and to do as individuals in our own lives and as we gather here in this community?

Let me give you a example here in the meeting of how this might happen: When there is a vacancy on a committee within our meeting, because someone is being called in a different direction, do we become anxious and frantically try to fill that space? Maybe we should learn to think outside of the box and ask, "I wonder what God has in mind here for us? Maybe there is a different way to get the work done, or maybe it just won't get done. Let's wait and see what God is doing, instead of just trying to find a warm body because this is the way we have always done it."

Like my friend, Ivor, sometimes you need to step away from what you are doing and how you are doing it and get some distance, gain some perspective, and just wait.
Do we ask ourselves what drives our decisions, our actions, and our inability to think in new and creative ways? Do we periodically evaluate our assumptions and beliefs so that we are living more consciously and mindfully? So that we are making decisions out of what we really care about and value.

These are questions I, along with others who serve you on our committee for ministry and care want to be asking the larger meeting, as well as ourselves. I hope we will pay attention to fatigue when we are involved in too much, or when we are carrying a load of responsibility that no longer brings us joy. We need to learn to discern when it is time to lay something down.

We also need to pay attention to what we feel passion for and can joyfully commit ourselves to. Do we serve out of duty or guilt because no one else is willing, or because the Spirit is leading us to do it? I believe that life in the Spirit is always generative, life-giving. It is always a good indication that something is a God thing, when there is this vibrant, creative, energy surrounding it. As you pastor, this is what I want to nurture and be a part of. I do not want to sustain an institution.

I sense that we are at a place of transition and spiritual growth as a meeting. Transitions can feel awkward. Change is stretching. But there is always enough time to do what is essential.

I am finding that when God is leading us there will be harmony and ease and a willingness on the part of many to take up the work. The community garden is a great example of this. The food pantry project has felt this way through every phase of planning up to the unity we experienced to move forward with the project last Sunday in our meeting for worship and business. It feels life giving to me, and there has been a beauty to the whole process, as I see community deepening, and a vision for outreach going forward. We will keep you posted on our progress and how you can help as we go forward in our preparation of the Friends house/food pantry.

Maybe you are at a time in your life where you need to be questioning what you are doing in every area of your life and why? Check for signs of fatigue, a critical spirit, cynicism, a lack of joy. Maybe God is trying to get your attention. I have a feeling God does not applaud our busyness, nor our churchy-ness. Let's go inward and see what God has to say to each of us this morning.
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"I will stand like a tree. I will be in myself as I am."
--Wendell Berry's novel, "Jaber Crow"
(Integrity of inward and outward)
Sometimes we lose touch with who we are, don't we?
We get so busy we don't know who or what is driving us.
Insight and clarity deepen when we don't always try to fill the empty spaces
but slow down to listen to Christ, our Inward Teacher.

Think of yourself as a tree among other trees. (Draw one) Draw the roots that are beneath your tree. Reflect on the roots of your life. What have been the key beliefs and values that have supported your tree, that have reached down deep and have nourished and sustained your tree through the years?
What beliefs or values have remained solid over time?
Which ones have shifted or withered and died?
Let's give this some thought and take our drawings with us and work on it some more in the week ahead.
It might be a good discernment tool for you as you look ahead to see what God is calling you towards.