Summer 2023

Greetings from the St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer!

FORMING DISCIPLES OF JESUS IN EVERY CONGREGATION

The St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer exists to form disciples of Jesus in every congregation. It seeks to do this by equipping and resourcing local congregations for the tasks and joys of faith formation, teaching and learning, catechesis, and the life of prayer.

Welcome to our summertime edition of our regular newsletter. (You can read the March newsletter here, and the May newsletter here; you’ll also find the original ‘ribbon cutting’ email here.) In our newsletters, we let you know all that is going on at The St. Paul Center (TSPC) - exciting things which are occuring now, and some of the events and happenings coming down the line. A reminder - if you haven’t yet signed up to our newsletter mailing list, please do sign up here, so you’ll be sure to receive all future news from TSPC!

A THOUGHT FROM TSPC

In many of our authorized eucharistic prayers, before we sing or say the Sanctus ("Holy, holy, holy...."), we say that we are "joining our voices with all creation as we sing...." Take a moment to pause with this important claim! All of creation is glorifying its creator. When we stand around the altar, asking the Spirit to work in the fruits of the earth, bread and wine, we are joining in an unending chorus of praise by the bread and grapes, the forests and seas, the jaguars and the antelope. Take this awareness into the Season of Creation as you gather at the altar.

The Very Rev. Amy McCreath

WHAT’S ON AT TSPC

THIS fall

Event with Rowan Williams – Nov 4th 2023

On November 4, Dr. Rowan Williams will be joining us for a virtual TSPC event. Bishop Rowan is the former Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the world’s most prominent theologians, and we are thrilled that he is partnering with the Center to help us engage with our calling to do theology in and with the Church. Bishop Rowan will be presenting a talk via zoom; an in-person event will be held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where folks can gather to watch the online presentation together, engage with Bishop Rowan, and interact with one another as we seek to go deeper into the content together. For those unable to join us at the cathedral, there will be a link to watch the presentation live, via zoom. More details to follow – sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date!

Lay Worship Leader Training - further opportunities

Lay Eucharistic Visitor Training will be offered via Zoom on two consecutive weeknights (you must attend both): Tuesday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Register here.

To be licensed by the bishop as a lay eucharistic visitor, one must complete training, be up to date with Safe Church training and have signed authorization from their congregation’s clergyperson. The application for licensing is online here.

For questions or additional information, contact Martha Gardner, Missioner for Networking and Formation

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ONGOING

Resources available now, for Fall formation in your congregation

As you consider the months ahead, perhaps planning formation opportunities in your parish, you may find it helpful to explore a couple of resources available for your use, here at TSPC.

Our Learning to Pray Video Series offers six videos exploring different practices of prayer, considering how and why we pray, and different forms of prayer that might enrich our spiritual lives. You can watch the videos online, and read our Conversation Guide for ways to use the Learning to Pray videos in your community. We hope to expand this series going forward with other forms of prayer as well, offering an ongoing series for congregations and individuals.

Our recent ‘Why go to Church?’ event included a booklet for participants to take home. You can find the booklet on our website; and read more about the ‘Why go to Church?’ days below. The ‘Why go to Church?’ booklet is divided into three sections, providing a structured opportunity for churches and small groups to reflect, discuss, and pray together through this central question. Download it for free!

PAST EVENTS

Why Go to Church? June 24th, July 15th

Workshops were held at St. Thomas’ Taunton and St. Paul’s Newburyport on June 24th, and at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on July 15th. 33 people attended in total. Sessions began at 10am, and ran until around 3pm. Those gathered shared a light lunch, and also celebrated Eucharist together.

Participants at all three venues seemed excited to attend, if a little uncertain as to what the day would entail! There was much enthusiastic discussion, with one participant commenting, ‘We don’t usually talk about Jesus like this in church!’

All took home with them printed materials, which are designed so they can be used for further discussion of the topic within parishes.

Dean Amy shared this photo of the group who gathered at the cathedral, as well as her thoughts on the day:

It was my pleasure to spend a day with a group of friends in Christ from a variety of Episcopal congregations reflecting on the question "Why go to church?"

"Church" is not a place, but a people. The Greek word for church is "ecclesia," meaning "assembly." Sometimes, the people assemble in a church building, sometimes in a home, sometimes in a park on a riverbank. The procession begins when we leave our homes and assemble with other members of the body of Christ.

At our gathering, I offered reflections on how the sacraments center us in the great good news of who God is and, therefore, who we are. Some people offered stories of how life in Christian community had rescued them from loneliness and revealed to them their dignity and given them purpose. Some offered great questions about what to do when church doesn't live up to its calling, wounding rather than healing. Some offered huge bowls of grapes, delicious sweets, favorite prayers, extraordinary listening skills.

And so as we continued, we made manifest one of the most precious gifts of going to church: each gathering of the body of Christ is so abundant and so unique, and as we worship, converse, break bread, and care for one another, God works in us and through us. So much of this emerges in the room, as specific people in their specific bodies with their specific voices, histories, joys and concerns show up for God and one another.

I hope you know how much you matter to the body of Christ! And the next time you go to church, I invite you to arrive with a renewed intention of noticing and giving thanks for the myriad gifts of the people around you and wonder anew about what God might be gifting you with through them.

You can find more information about this event, as well as a PDF of the materials provided, here.

Closing with … ideas for summer reading

Amy suggests:

‘Still Hungry at the Feast: Eucharistic Justice in the Midst of Affliction’, by Samuel Torvend.

Every Sunday, we come together to be nourished by the Eucharist. How does this commitment connect to how we use our credit card the rest of the week? How does it connect to whether and how we invest? How does it connect to your parish's endowment policy? Episcopal priest and scholar Sam Torvend helps us expand our experience and understanding of the Eucharist, as more than a personal encounter with the risen Christ.

Jarred suggests:

‘How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now’, by James K.A. Smith

This theological reflection on time invites us into the spiritual discipline of memento tempori (remember you are temporal). Too often we live temporally dislocated lives, lost in the nostalgia of the past and the ‘what could have been’, or by trusting in the deception that we live by and for an atemporal, ahistorical spiritualized reality and our histories don’t really matter anyway. Smith reminds us that the Chrisitian life is about the intersection of time and eternity, and that to live faithfully is to ‘keep time with the Spirit’, making ourselves vulnerable to the movement of God in and among us, the movements of our real lives in the ‘now’–lives that involved change, loss, grief, and joy. Being creatures of time–mortal, temporal beings–isn’t something to lament, it is a gift to be received as we learn to live lives textured by the Spirit’s time. Smith’s reflection is captivating and deeply personal. ‘How to Inhabit Time’ engages Scripture and philosophical and theological tradition not in a specialized or academic way, but by way of invitation–inviting us to live faithfully in the present by receiving the gifts of our histories and leaning into the hope that is to come.

What are you reading this summer? Let us know your thoughts - our email inbox is always open!