ABUNDANT Times Winter/Spring 2023

Loving the Questions

This issue of ABUNDANT Times features the wonderful ministry we have here in Western Massachusetts called Loving the Questions. You know who else loves questions? Jesus. Consider this: in the four gospels Jesus asks 307 questions. Others ask Jesus 183 questions. Out of those 183, he only answers three directly. (source: Jesus is the Question by Martin

I think Jesus asks so many questions because he doesn’t want us to just observe faith. He wants us to engage faith. Our Church follows this path by making the Baptismal Covenant a series of questions. Three asking us what we believe and six asking us what we will do about what we believe.

I have a question for you. What are your favorite questions from Jesus in the Gospels? Which ones engage your soul so much that you can recall them right now without looking at the Bible? What are the questions that stayed with you?

If you want to stop reading this column and just reflect on that, great. My job is done. If you want to keep on reading, here are the ones that jumped out at me.

Of course, one of them comes from my favorite Bible story - the Feeding of the 5000. The accounts all slightly differ in wording. Matthew tells the story twice, one about Feeding the 5,000 and then

From the Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher

9th Bishop of Western Massachusetts

quickly followed by Feeding the 4000 (showing that even in the days of Jesus, average congregational attendance was in decline). In the Feeding of the 4000, after a day of preaching in a deserted place, Jesus knows the people are hungry and wants to feed them. The disciples ask one of those 183 questions directed at Jesus: “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus answers with another question “how many loaves do you have?” They answer “seven and a few fish.” Jesus takes that, thanks God, breaks it, gives it away, God multiplies the grace and all are fed.

That question of Jesus speaks to me because he asks for what we have and not for what we don’t have. And that will be enough. Many times in the past couple of years I have shared with you a prayer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that includes “in these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail…” How do we respond to these problems? We start with what we have.

And yet God’s grace goes way, way beyond me. That brings me to another question of Jesus that stays with me. It is in Luke 15 when he tells the story of a shepherd and 100 sheep. “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness, and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”

The crowd listening that day to Jesus would have responded, “None of us, Jesus! Leave the 99 in the wilderness? Not in a barn. Not in a stable. In the wilderness? Think wolves, Jesus! None of us would do that.”

But God would. Because God’s compassion goes beyond my limited understanding of grace.

That goes to two more questions of Jesus lodged in my soul. One is from the powerful Good Samaritan story which is Jesus’ answer to a lawyer who asks “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells the story of the man beaten and lying on the side of the road.

A priest and a Levite pass him by. A Samaritan stops, cares for him and then assures the man receives continuing care. At the end of the story, Jesus asks the question: “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” That is how the question has been translated into English from the original Greek. But I have been told that a better translation is, “Who became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” How am I becoming a neighbor to those in need?”

And lastly, this question. On the first Easter Sunday, according to John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb to anoint the body of her beloved Jesus. The body is not there and she is frantic. She cries. Angels ask her, “Why are you weeping?” The Risen Jesus, whom Mary thinks is the gardener asks, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”

This question stays with me because it shows that Resurrection begins with compassion. Compassion is at the heart of resurrected life—for Jesus and for all of us.

Your turn. What questions from Jesus engage your soul? ♦

Loving the Questions

is a community of contemplation and discernment that honors the Spirit’s unique call from God to each person.

Everyone, everyone, everyone is welcome to participate in the Loving the Questions community. Our contemplative community of discernment honors the Spirit’s call to you however that is defined in the Church and in the world.

Our primary focus is necessarily on our relationship to the divine, on knowing the One we call God more deeply and, in that process, learning to listen more deeply and intently to God's gentle and loving desire for each one of us.

Letting Our Lives (and God) Speak

Too often in the church, the word “discernment” is equated with transition and choice points associated with vocation. More specifically, our work in the world and the specific orders of priest and deacon. This is true and it is also true that we are all called to be Christ’s hands and feet in this world every day. God calls to us to live holy lives all the time: calling us to different vocations both inside and outside the Body of Christ, and into a way of being that tells the story of God’s Good News in Christ.

This is what Jesus taught his disciples. It is what the Communion of Saints bears witness to in their own place and time. We need spaces where we can practice listening for God’s movement both in the moments of daily life and through the arc of our lives, especially at transition

points. This is the work of Loving the Questions. It is a "both/and" space.

We wonder about vocations. We consider gifts. We search God out. We ask (in a variety of different ways):

• God where is your presence?

• How is the Spirit moving in and through my life and my neighbors?

• Where am I getting in the way?

• If I were to let go of my need to be certain, where might my curiosities lead?

• What new ways might I try on being?

While we wrestle and work our way through the questions, our community is shaped by three central Foundations (from Shalem Institute’s model of Group Spiritual Direction) which shape our container:

• Spiritual Discernment

• Spiritual Community

• Intercessory/Interconnected Prayer

Some come to clarity about next steps. Some do not. Some move forward to continue to discern the priesthood or the diaconate. Others decide the work of being a teacher, an engineer, a caretaker, or a prophetic voice on their vestry are just as holy.

Come and See: Prayerful Discernment in Community

the Questions

What happens when one enters into a community of discernment? What are the hopes and intentions for those seeking to discern in a small group or in community?

In a recent small group spiritual direction time, one member shared an image with us to symbolize their hope for our community of discernment. The image was a forest path in winter that was visibly short, and led into a dark wood.

The mystery of that image stays with me. It evokes a sense of wonder and hope of what might lie within the darkness of the wood. The snowy path is dotted with footprints; people have walked the path before.

So, when was the last time you listened to the life longing to emerge from the chaotic current of daily demands? To let the questions which get pushed down or brushed aside float their way to the top and break through the surface? To be seen and known in a community of people who are also curious? What would it take to give yourself permission to claim such a space for yourself?

These are the gifts and the space Loving the Questions seeks to inhabit. Your presence with us would be a gift. Come and listen with us and let God, through your life, speak. ♦

The image of the wood recalls for me the story of two inquisitive disciples asking Jesus where he abides. He replies with an invitation to his two friends to “come and see.” The image of the path into the wood invites me to come and see.

Gatherings of prayer-filled discernment in small groups offer this same invitation — come and see. It is here that I’ve found a most precious gift of connection, one infused with the wonder and mystery of Jesus in new, surprising, and utterly profound ways.

Prayerful discernment in community reveals Jesus’ presence through silence, sharing of hearts, and gentle and patient listening by fellow group members. In this space I am alerted to the many ways I am a stranger to myself, to others, and,

Continued on next page

notably, to Jesus. I realize how very little I really know of God, and other human beings, even in my closest relationships. However, in the breaking open not of bread, but in the communal and prayerful breaking open of hearts to one another, I recognize Jesus in my midst, and I recognize the otherness of another. These are "touches" of Jesus; they are short and momentary, yet filled with hope as I deepen in my knowing of Jesus and of the other.

Clarissa Dalloway, from Virginia Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway, has this to say about the unseen parts of our soul being brought to life:

“...we have apparitions … a part of us that appears …that is so momentary compared with the other unseen part of us. This unseen part which spreads wide might just survive and be recovered. The unseen might be recovered in our attachment to another person. The unseen might even be recovered in the haunting certain places after death... Perhaps?

A person’s soul is like a tree. A small part, the visible part, is above ground. Below, invisible, is a much larger, vast, and complex root system. So it is with the human soul.

Jesus’s invitation to his two friends to "come and see" is an invitation to know and to be known — to be seen. Within all of us is a desire to be seen. And perhaps there is no greater definition of love than to give to another the gift of being seen. Come and see, says Jesus. ♦

One of my favorite stories in the gospels comes from the first chapter of John. John the Baptist points out Jesus to two of his disciples. The two disciples begin to follow Jesus and he turns to them and asks, “What are you looking for?” The two disciples respond to his question with a question, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus does not answer them directly with a location but with an invitation: “Come and see,” and the disciples follow him. This was a huge moment for them, and their decision changed their lives.

“What are you looking for?” That question was certainly the gateway for those disciples into a life of deeper meaning and I would argue into more questions. Nathaniel asks, “Where did you come to know me?” Nicodemus asks, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” The Samaritan woman at the well asks, “Where do you get that living water?” And Jesus, in the rabbinic tradition, often

tested his disciples with other questions: Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? After washing the disciples’ feet, he asks: “Do you know what I have done to you?” In Matthew’s gospel Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”

Indeed, questions are fundamental for deeper understanding into our identities as "followers of Jesus"—not only who we are, but also how we might serve God both as individuals and as a corporate body, the Church. What are our gifts? How might they be vital to our charism as witnesses of the gospel message? How might we bear witness to Jesus in the context of our lives, careers, and passions?

In my own life, when I said "yes" to Jesus, I had no idea what that would entail. As a monk, I have often asked the question: “How in the world did I end up here?” I had other plans for myself as a musician and teacher, yet I find myself now living in the greater Boston area, living a monastic life in a community of diverse individuals, and doing work that both

enriches and challenges me. I take great comfort that questions are a normal part of the Christian life and not the exception.

The word "vocation" comes from the Latin "vocare", which means "to call". Vocation is never discerned alone. To be called means that there are others involved in our discernment: you, Jesus, and a wider community of others also discerning and asking questions, just like Jesus’ disciples. Loving the Questions is a rich and dynamic community that helps people discern the big questions of a life of faith, whether those questions be about identity or vocation (and how those question are often related to each other).

If you find yourself in a place of questions in your life with Jesus, this community is for you and will not only help you lean into the questions but enable you to love those questions as you seek to deepen your relationship with Jesus. If you are wondering if Loving the Questions is for you, well...come and see! ♦

You Can't Google God

Is it possible to love a question when you do not have the answer?

I’m sure I’m not alone here when I say that I prefer answers over questions.

I’ve built my adult life on being a person who knows a lot of things. For example, I can tell you what my family’s schedule is on any given day of the week. I know that my 15-year-old son will soon need another pair of soccer cleats, because I noticed the other day that his pajama bottoms are getting too small – again! – and his feet always grow another size after he has a growth spurt. At work, I know how to troubleshoot our church’s printer, livestream computer, and our coffee percolator. I know that we buy a new paschal candle on odd-numbered years (budget savings, of course), that our safe in the sacristy often won’t unlock easily in the cold months, and that our parishioners overwhelmingly prefer a medium-blend coffee to a dark roast.

I’m also the first person to pull out my phone for a Google search when I am presented with a question to which I do not have the answer. That’s the beauty of the internet; we have knowledge at our fingertips – within moments we can have answers to every question.

Not Knowing, then, can be really uncomfortable. Especially when it relates to our lives, vocations, and our ministries. The questions that come from this unknowing are deep, burning, and seem to come from the very depths of our bones. What is our purpose? Why are we here? What are we meant to do with the time we have in this incarnation on this earth? These questions are always present; nagging at us.

There is no limit to what we can do to distract ourselves, either. We can lose ourselves in tasks and schedules and

to do lists and social media scrolling and Netflix binges and newsfeeds and internet games and glasses of wine and staying busy and doing, doing, doing. When we do take a moment to rest, when the questions come up again, we try and think our way around it. We long for an answer, for a clear vision of what God has in store for us.

The problem, though, is this: You can’t Google God.

God works in and through us in quiet ways. In whispers, hunches, impulses... and yes, questions. It’s only through the process of creating an intentional space for silence that these questions can deepen and lengthen and perhaps begin to open up to us. It requires stillness and patience, which is uncomfortable. It’s so much easier to stay busy in our lives than it is to slow down.

For the past year and a half, I’ve participated in Loving the Questions –first as a participant, and now as a small group facilitator. Every few weeks, we gather, sit in silence together, and reflect on the questions we feel in our hearts. In that stillness, we ask ourselves: God, what is your prayer for me? For us? What do I need to surrender to you in order to join this prayer? Is there something about this prayer that I should name out loud?

In our meetings, we intentionally keep silence for each other, which, yes, in the beginning, feels awkward. But over the course of our gatherings, leaning into this silence, together we become aware of the places where God lives.

I continue to be amazed and fascinated by the way the Holy Spirit shows up in every one of our meetings (and through Zoom, of all places!). I’ve experienced times where we’ve all underlined the

same phrase in one of our readings, where in the midst of our meeting someone references the closing prayer without knowing it ahead of time, where an image or spoken response to someone’s sharing makes clear something they hadn’t known until that very moment. We help each other understand God’s call.

This is why Loving the Questions has become an integral part of my own personal discernment. There are so few places in our lives – our church services included! – where we can carve out a space for sitting in silence and listening to God. God’s call is there for every one of us; not just those who may be discerning a vocation to Holy Orders. God calls us all to live fully into our purpose.

There are questions for all of us to answer, if only we’d spend more time in the quiet together, listening.

So yes, it is possible to love the questions, even when you do not yet have answers. And it has been my profound honor to help create a space for others to do the same within Loving the Questions. ♦

Coaching: A Gift Offered in Discernment

The. Rev. Canon Gail Avery Coach for 2023-24 Episcopal Church of New Hampshire

Ibelong to a congregation that hands out Epiphany Stars to serve as a guide for the coming year. Each star is beautifully etched with a word uniquely different from another. It is believed that the star actually chooses you. It’s your word to ponder throughout the year, to pray over and discern its meaning for you.

This year, my star word is discern. Though no stranger to discernment and the gifts it brings, I momentarily questioned the efficacy of this year’s word since I actually did not choose my own star. It had been handed to me in an envelope as I hurried into the church just before the opening hymn.

Was it actually my word? Had that particular star chosen me? Do I need to choose another envelope? And then I settled down a bit, recalling that true discernment is never a solitary act. So why wouldn’t choosing a star involve another?

To be effective, discernment is always done in and with community. It requires guidance from others. A witness. A trusted partner. A companion coming alongside to hold a reflective light. There may be times when more focused listeners are needed, such as the Loving the Questions community, who are committed to journeying together. And it may take someone like a coach or spiritual director skilled in listening deeply and asking powerful questions that can lead to a different way of being.

I saw first-hand the benefits of coaching while on diocesan staff. One of my roles as Canon was to help congregations and their clergy to recognize and share their God-given gifts among the communities they served. The coaching process was an effective way for individuals and congregations to step into their full capacity. My role was not as coach but a resource to those wanting to be coached. When an opportunity arose to help facilitate a coaching training, I was all in. What better way to get to know the coaches I would be recommending?

What I didn’t expect was that it would lead to my own discernment in becoming a certified professional coach and offer my coaching services to the Loving the Questions community.

Coaching is different from spiritual direction, which is more of a conversation with a skillful guide who can help others to see where God is working in their lives. While spiritual direction helps us to see and name where God is in the middle of the questions, coaching helps us to live the questions, especially when one might not even be sure where to begin, watching for what emerges along the way.

identifying resources and a path forward that holds the coachee accountable.

As with spiritual direction, this process requires deep listening on the part of the coach and asking powerful questions to help the coachee discover for themselves what might be getting in the way— modeling what Heifetz calls, “getting off the dance floor and onto the balcony” in order to see alternative paths along the way.

I’ve witnessed this phenomenon multiple times with an individual I’ve coached through the Loving the Questions discernment program. A new awareness occurred, a simple step taken that moved the individual forward and changed how that individual now approaches life—fully integrated and on the path God chose just for him.

One might say, he’s discovering his own Star. ♦

The coaching process is self-directed and begins with the coachee coming to the session with something they would like to work on. Together, the coachee and coach explore how to move towards what the coachee would like to accomplish, with the coachee discovering for themselves possible next steps, Photo: www.nhepiscopal.org

Discernment: A Shared Sacred Journey That Blesses

2023-24 Episcopal Diocese of Spokane

It is my honor and joy to work as the Canon for Discipleship in the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane. I’ve had the opportunity to be part of Loving the Questions for the past two years, as both a participant and facilitator.

In my work, I have the privilege to think on a diocesan level about how we are following Jesus, and to offer support with each congregation in how they discern and practice following Jesus. This plays out in prayer, evangelism, adult formation, stewardship, environmentalism, justice matters, church planting, pastoral care training, small groups development, and many other ways.

In a conversation with a colleague one day, it suddenly “clicked” how ubiquitous discernment is in all aspects of discipleship. We step into discernment in vocational and other major life decisions, in times of transition or change, in mutual ministry review processes, in vestry meetings and decisions, in developing mission statements and missional outcomes, in what direction the Spirit is calling us as a diocese/congregation/individual, etc. We faithfully engage discernment in our ordinary moments of following Jesus, and sometimes we faithfully engage discernment in extraordinary seasons of courage and curiosity.

In discernment, we offer our longings to God to discover God’s longings for us. It is a shared sacred journey that blesses and changes everyone involved, unfolding sometimes surprising revelations of who we are and who God is. This is the gift that is offered in Loving the Questions. From our individual Zoom boxes, we engage silence, wondering, and reflective listening to one another, to scripture, and to the Spirit. We practice audacious hope in God’s relationship with us, trusting that God has desires and prayers for us already and, even more audaciously, that we are invited to join in those prayers on behalf of one another.

The pace and practices that I have learned while being a part of Loving the Questions have shown up in every part of my life. I lean into prayer and silence more quickly, I reach out to colleagues and friends for reflective listening more readily, and I incorporate time for deep wonderings and silent reflection before opening up space for discussion in meetings and gatherings.

I have been changed by my experience in Loving the Questions, and I am so grateful for how it has deepened my relationship with God. It has also been a joy to join the incredible facilitators of Loving the Questions in offering space and time for others to encounter the presence of the Spirit in community.

It fills me with excitement and hope to see our church engaging this deep work of discernment! As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, we know the changing dynamics of our world and of our congregational data. And we know that we follow a God who still creates and recreates, who still breathes over the chaos of our world, who still speaks goodness and love over all. We need intentional spaces of silence, of prayer, of being deeply known and deeply knowing others, of listening for the voice of the One who loves us—calling us, once again, to follow. ♦

Questions That Linger in Our Hearts

The Rev. Peter Feltman-Mahan Facilitator for 2023-24

Loving the Questions provides an opportunity to live out our baptismal covenant in our daily lives; to further explore who we are as part of God’s creation, and how we can live in the fullness of God’s love. The program is focused on the questions that linger in our hearts, the questions may be centered on the large matters in life, but they can also focus on matters that are important, but somewhat smaller.

As a participant, I found that Loving the Questions meetings allowed me to be part of a community that was filled with like-minded individuals, solely focused on supporting our ability to listen to God’s presence and movement. Engaging in this work as a community was profoundly meaningful. Although members did not offer specific counsel or advice, their listening, reflections, and responses provided me with language, images, and perspectives that God could use to increase my understanding about the questions that held my attention.

During this past year, the time spent in small-groups has focused on learning how to nurture the listening, not the speaking portion of our prayer lives. During small group sessions, members begin by considering a scripture, idea, or question, and then share their reflections. As they verbally share what they encountered during their time of reflection the other members of the small group hold that person in prayer. As they listen, they are encouraged to focus on four prayerful questions by Lois Lindbloom:

• God, what is your prayer for this person?

• God, what would you like my prayer to

be for this person?

• God, is there anything I need to surrender in order to be present in your prayer?

• God, is there anything you desire me to say (or not say) on your behalf?

After listening to the speaker, the group members pause in silence. They then take turns sharing what they noticed from the speaker’s reflection. Members practice not offering advice, solutions, or even comfort. Rather, they offer simple words about what came to mind as the person spoke, or they decide that they may not have words to share and offer their presence, nothing more. This sounds like it would be infuriating, but it is not.

These four prayers are simple, but frequently generate powerful and formative responses for the original speaker. They require one to pause, to be absolutely present with others in the group, and to consider how God’s Spirit may be whispering to us as we listen for ourselves and others. Throughout the meeting, God is present in each word, each tear, each bit of laughter that is shared.

The Loving the Questions leaders, Rev. Jenny Gregg and Craig Hammond have, so prayerfully, recognized that the process of spiritual discernment must be meaningful for individuals who have engaged in the program each year; the devotions that become part of the program, the guest speakers, the activities, and the movement of the group over time vary year-to-year, based on the needs of the group.

During 2020, the sessions moved online. Although this change was necessary as

caring for the health needs of others took on new focus, an online format is very effective for the work that happens in Loving the Questions. There is something very authentic about being at home, in the space where we normally find sanctuary and comfort, as we pray. Listen, and share about God’s movement in our lives. To nurture the skills in the sanctuary of home makes sense.

During Loving the Questions meetings, participants have shared important discoveries about God’s movement though their prayers and listening; discoveries that God was calling participants to pursue dreams that they set on hold, discoveries about pursuing (or not pursuing) holy orders, discoveries that their gifts are able to be used in the church in unexpected ways, discoveries that their gifts can be used to enrich the lives of others in their family and neighborhood. It has been a blessing to listen to these moments in the lives of each other. ♦

I will be a new kind of listener.

Meredith Haider Participant 2022-23

I’m sitting in a waiting room when an acquaintance plops down next to me.

“I know you’re dealing with a lot of medical issues,” she says. “Do you mind my asking what’s wrong with you?”

I want to turn to her and brightly say, “Not at all, but you go first!” Instead, I swallow my sarcasm and succinctly explain some of the chronic illnesses listed in my medical charts. I’ve learned that sharing anything more than a sound bite means people lose interest. I make sure to end on a positive note in a preemptive effort to ease this woman’s discomfort with my reality.

“Hmm…” she says after a second. “That sounds difficult. Even if it is karma, it’s still tough, huh?”

I emit a non-committal grunt and nod with a fake half smile, feeling stunned. Karma? I don’t know why her words surprise me. I’m frequently greeted with thoughtless questions and comments. Perhaps it’s the fact that my acquaintance’s message is filled with even more assumptions than most.

Later, I will mention the encounter to several friends who can relate. They each live with chronic illnesses. We’ll repeat the common refrain, “You don’t get it ‘til you get it.” Then we’ll shake our heads and wryly laugh at how tactless people can be.

I am 8 years old, 12 years old, 16, 18, 21, 30. I am a listener. My friends say to me, “You’re the only person I can trust with this.” They shower me with praise for the depth of my listening. I pride myself on being the keeper of secrets while rarely sharing my own. Then I am 50. I have hidden behind the role of confidant for so long that I’ve forgotten who I am. I choose to acknowledge the validity of my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences

and to be vulnerable by sharing them with others. I begin to seek out active leadership roles in new arenas. In these positions, I value listening and speaking. I long not only to know others, but also to be known.

Eager to discern my next steps as a lay leader, I jump into Loving the Questions, the first encounter I have with group spiritual direction. I trust that I’ll be accompanied by others willing to hear God’s call. I am not disappointed. In the heartfelt sharing and deep listening, I find spaciousness. Each of us inwardly agrees, over and over, to let go of our egos, our judgements, our worries, and our sage advice. We choose instead, to connect to God’s presence, to open our hearts to God’s wishes, to join with God in prayer for one another, and to share only that which we discern through God’s Spirit.

No one person dominates the conversations, at least not all the time. No one hides themselves, at least not fully. Those prone to advice-giving check themselves. Those prone to oversharing are gently redirected. Those who sit on the sidelines are bathed in loving attention. We are all striving to be intentionally present to one another through God. I know this is right.

I discern a possible path for myself as a lay leader. I want to sit with those who suffer. I want to listen. I will be a new kind of listener, though. I will invite God to accompany me, to hold me and those to whom I listen. It will not be my job to take care of them or for them to take care of me, because God will do both. Instead, I will open my heart to God’s wishes, joining with God in prayer for the other, and sharing only that which I discern through God’s Spirit. I will bring the gifts of group spiritual direction with me.

If I can do this, I wonder how such a spacious, affirming practice might spread. What would it look like in the home, the workplace, or the supermarket? What might it have looked like in the waiting room, when my acquaintance sat next to me? What could it look like in the wider Church? I continue to ponder this.

It’s some months later. I participate in a training for facilitators of group spiritual direction. It’s the last day of an intensive three-day learning process. I am tired and in pain. I recite a quote from a book that means a great deal to me, but I can’t recall the title of the publication. I want to share it, but I need extra processing time. I’m about to explain that this is a result of my health issues. I’m about to ask for a moment of silence. I stop myself. I don’t need to do that here. This space is sacred, and no one is rushing me. I take a moment. No one tries to read my mind or fill in the silence with guesses. No one looks at the clock. No one assures me that the title doesn’t matter, really. Everyone in this small group simply waits.

Like a flash, the title pops into my mind. I share it, smile inwardly, and silently say a prayer of gratitude. ♦

A Highway with Off Ramps

We like to think of our approach to holding community as one of a highway with off ramps.

Our main highway consists of our 14 "Core Meetings," which is dedicated to small group direction and discernment.

One off ramp on offer is a Holy Orders and/or Lay Ministry exploration. This consists of an optional four sessions that allow participants to begin to explore ministry possibilities that align with your unique gifts.

Other off ramps are optional offerings in the form of short workshops aimed at supporting participants spiritual journeys. These include such areas as developing a rule of life, life coaching, spiritual direction etc.

Lastly, for those who wish to formally pursue holy orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, we have posted the meeting schedule for what is called Communities of Discernment (these five meetings run from March to July after Loving the Questions is concluded.) ♦

from www.lovingthequestions.org

Loving the Questions 2023-24 will be held virtually via Zoom and will run from September through March.

Each year brings a new group of participants with their own unique desires, needs and questions. A core guiding spiritual principle is that none of us know exactly where the Spirit is leading, participants or facilitators. Thus, we are on a path of discovery together, and much of how we engage and what we include is up to what the Spirit reveals along the way.

Find

Diocesan-Wide Sacred Ground Circles in 2023

The Diocese of Western Massachusetts, through the Beloved Community Commission, will be offering diocesan-wide Sacred Ground circles this year in the fall of 2023. Interested participants from any Western Massachusetts parish will be invited to register, as will friends and family who wish to join. While the series is part of the Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community, anyone is welcome to enlist in the program which will be conducted via Zoom.

A brief information session will be offered via Zoom for those who would like to know more about the program before making the commitment to participate. Registrants will indicate their preferences for meeting days and times. Since circles should not be larger than 10 or 12 people, multiple groups may be offered at different times, depending on the number of registrants.

There will be 3 options offered:

1. Registration for the complete, updated 11-part Sacred Ground series. Sessions will occur every 2 weeks to allow preparation time for reading and viewing of video resources; therefore, the circles will likely be scheduled

bi-weekly from early September until mid-February, with a break for Christmas.

2. Registration for a 4-session series that includes new materials for parishioners who previously completed the full Sacred Ground curriculum. The 4 sessions will offer a “Deeper Dive” into Sacred Ground and an expanded opportunity to explore the work of racial healing, reconciliation, and justice.

3. Registration for facilitation coaching and support for individuals who wish to convene circles within their own congregation.

Sacred Ground is a film- and readingsbased dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

The 11-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, the Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. While originally designed to help white people talk with other white people about racism, the series is now recognized as a program to help all become more aware of the impact of their histories, feelings, and prejudices. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is an enthusiastic supporter of Sacred Ground: “Everywhere I travel, people are bursting to tell me about the transformational impact Sacred Ground has had in their lives.” After the curriculum was evaluated and revised in 2022, the presiding bishop noted “The Lord is building Beloved Community through this movement, and in its updated and expanded form, Sacred Ground will help many thousands more take the next steps in the lifelong work of racial healing.” ♦

Participants reflect on Sacred Ground

Previous participants of Sacred Ground in Western Massachusetts offered their endorsements of the series in response to the following question: What should people who are thinking of taking the Sacred Ground course know about it and how it has affected you personally?

[...] the material was not easy to take but was something I needed to experience. A great program – one of the best I’ve ever done!

I highly recommend for everyone. Being able to discuss in a small group really added much more than just reading/ watching things alone...

Spending time with these articles and videos opened my mind to an issue I grew up with and wasn’t aware of.

This experience has given me a better understanding of [...]how slavery and racism has influenced every aspect of our history and culture.

This course has “awakened” me to the sin of racism in a lifechanging way.

I’m seeing interactions through a different lens now and I believe it makes me a better person.

Sacred Ground requires considerable reading and usually an hour or so of video viewing before each session. However, the materials are excellent...

I thought I knew a lot about African American History and racism. I discovered that I really knew very little.

Anyone who is interested in knowing more about Sacred Ground and the opportunities to participate can contact either Katharine Burnett at katharine.burnett@gmail.com or Jahn Hart at jahnhart@sbcglobal.net.

Amherst Windows Subject of New Book

ASlant of Light: The StainedGlass Windows of Grace Church, published in December 2022, tells the story of the stained-glass windows at Grace Church in Amherst, Massachusetts. The book calls attention to a remarkable suite of 20 windows whose creator can now be named, thanks to dogged digging in the church’s archives and in the Special Collections at Amherst’s Jones Library. The ledger book of the Building Fund for the church’s construction in 1866 records four payments made to “William Gibson”– one in May, two in July (the building was consecrated on 3 July 1866), and one in November. They total $1,600, a very substantial amount at the time.

An article in the Hampshire Express of 2 August 1866 clinches the case: “Six

memorial windows have already been placed in the Church. The glass for these, of what is called ‘the cathedral tone’ was made by Gibson of New York. The windows are of the medallion style, with foliated borders and with emblems in the circle heads. They are noticeable for their brilliancy and for the purity and truth of the designs.” [See Photo 1.]

William Gibson had been trained in 13th-century techniques of glass staining in Scotland, which had been revived to complement Gothic Revival architecture. In this technique clear, colored, or frosted glass was painted with vitreous enamel paint, which was made by mixing ground colored glass, an adhesive such as gum arabic, and water. After the paint dried, the glass pieces were fired at a very high temperature so that the ground glass melted, the adhesive burned away, and the colored glass bonded permanently with the underlying glass substrate. [See Photo 2.] This process made it possible to depict details like hands, feet, faces, and vegetation, which were difficult or impossible to execute in an alternate process that juxtaposed shaped pieces of glass that were uniform in color throughout.

Gibson emigrated from Scotland in 1833 and immediately opened a business in New York City featuring stained glass and other forms of interior decoration. He had only a few competitors. (In later advertisements, Gibson styled himself the “Father of American Stained Glass”.) He initially found little demand for stained glass, however. New England Congregational churches, New York Dutch Reform churches, and Pennsylvania German Reform churches were plain, without ornamentation and with clear glass windows. With few commissions available, his competitors closed their shops and went back to Great Britain.

Gibson continued as an interior decorator, producing stained glass when he could convince a client. He created stained glass for Southern churches, and as the Gothic Revival architectural style began to catch on in the North, received more calls for stained-glass windows there. By the 1860s, Gibson’s firm was at its peak, employing up to 100 workers, although the Civil War caused fewer artists and workers to immigrate from Europe and made materials scarce.

Gibson’s windows at Grace Church almost all employ painted stained glass,

though the windows run counter to viewers’ initial expectations. There are few depictions of the human form. There are no scenes of Jesus’ life, the miracles, the parables, or the Crucifixion. [See Photo 3.] Instead, the memorial windows feature symbols, texts, and ribbon mottos related to that individual, and other windows address doctrinal issues. Second, they frequently use “grisaille” work—painting in black, gray, or brown on small diamond-shaped “quarries”— as a background for larger medallions. Similar 13th-century examples are found at Canterbury Cathedral. [See Photo 4.]

Gibson glass is rare today. One documented window survives in New Orleans, LA, and Trinity Church (Episcopal) in Abbeville, SC has a few attributed works. In his 54-year career, Gibson must have had at least a hundred commissions for stained glass, in churches, hotels, theaters, and public buildings. Much of it has apparently been lost to fires, demolition, replacement in favor of later artists like Tiffany and La Farge, or is simply lost-to-memory. Most churches do not know who made their stained glass, and most windows are not signed.

In 1853, Christ Church in Springfield, MA commissioned a window by William Gibson for the building’s new chancel— part of the renovations to accommodate a growing congregation. But just 20 years later, the building was once again too small for the congregation, so it was demolished and replaced by a neoRomanesque building, which eventually became the cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

What happened to the cathedral’s Gibson window? Is there any church in the diocese that might have “inherited” a window? Perhaps some of Gibson’s signature techniques in the Grace windows—a rippled border of white glass; a ribbon “snarl” containing text; removing a small dot of vitreous enamel before firing to give circular elements a sense of three-dimensional roundedness—will help identify other Gibson windows hiding in plain sight.

Whether as a result of a conscious decision to preserve, satisfaction with the status quo, or a bit of neglect, Grace Church is blessed with 20 painted stained-glass windows by the “Father of Stained Glass,” William Gibson—a display that is unequalled in America. ♦

future of the church in New England is boldly ecumenical

Martha Whyte Assistant to the Bishop

New England Synod, ELCA

Ecumenical leaders gather thanks to Together We Thrive grant

The future of the church in New England is boldly ecumenical,” said Bishop Hazelwood at the conclusion of an all-day retreat that involved leadership from the New England Synod (NES), the Episcopal Diocese of Western Mass (TEC - https://www.diocesewma. org/), and the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ (SNEUCC - https://www.sneucc. org/).

The New England Synod House was host to this gathering of ecumenical leaders this week, who spent the day connecting with their counterparts across the synod, SNEUCC, and TEC. Together they shared their expertise, experiences, resources, successes, and challenges. They also delved into opportunities that exist for collaboration across and between the three church bodies. What are we doing separately that we could do (better) together?

Rev. Jenny Gregg (TEC) who serves in Pittsfield, MA shared the story of a partnership event around the Easter vigil where the worshiping group moved between the Episcopal, Lutheran, and UCC churches in the area. Reaching out to the local school system in a show of support for teachers and staff resulted in 1,200 letters of support being written to area school teachers by members of the three congregations. Collaboration made this happen!

The gathered staff discussed multiple points where resources might be shared including:

• resourcing small congregations

• shared worship or fellowship events between congregations

• congregations sharing pastoral staffing

• clergy training programs

• first call clergy support

• lay leader training programs

• environmental issues

• diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives

• building bridges from congregations to communities

• creating a collective narrative of transformation

• biannual meetings of staff counterparts to encourage further collaboration

The retreat, organized by Together We Thrive (TWT) (https://www. togetherwethrivegrant.org/), comes as the grant funded initiative for clergy support and development winds down this year. It marks a transition point for the work of TWT as the Program Director Rev. Heather Ramsey Mabrouk and the advisory board look ahead to the end of the grant period and discern the work that might be continued with these three judicatories, who came together for the original grant initiative. ♦

The

Trail Magic on the Appalachian Trail in Western Mass

There are trail angels that live in the Massachusetts Berkshires and they happen to be church members. The rector of Christ Trinity Lutheran/Episcopal Church of Sheffield, MA, the Rev. Erik Karas, and his church decided to take on a local mission project. They decided to minister to the thru-hikers who are hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) who come through their community every summer. With seed money provided by the discretionary fund of the Episcopal Bishop of Western Massachusetts, the Rt. Rev. Douglas Fisher, and also with the receipt of a grant, Rev. Karas and his church were initially able to provide hospitality to thru-hikers on the AT coming through their community.

Starting in 2017, and taking only one year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Christ Trinity Church along with members of the First Congregational Church (UCC) of Sheffield, MA (also known as Old Parish Church), have staffed a large tent to feed and provide comfort to AT thru-hikers. The tent, built by church members, is an A-frame, 15 feet high and 20 yards long, and is located 200 feet off of the trail, close to the AT crossing of West Road in Sheffield.

The trail magic, usually provided by four or five trail angels at a time, consists of free: grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and

veggie burgers; homemade brownies and cookies; candy; a cell phone charging station; and chairs with backs to relax in. The tent is manned six days a week from 10 am to 2 or 3 pm, from mid-June to August 20th. (Rev. Karas determined that those dates are when the bulk or “bubble” of the thru-hikers comes through Sheffield.) All of the trail angels working the hospitality tent this year served 747 thru-hikers (mostly north bounders on the AT).

McKelvey, a bishop who last served his church in the Rochester, NY, area, who mans the hospitality tent three days a week, is fascinated to hear the thru-hiker stories, and likes to tell some of his own. He often asks the thru-hikers to “Tell us why you’re here” or “Why are you doing the AT?” He says that we are not proselytizing, and that they are happy to answer any questions the hikers may have. Jack said that the most thru-hikers they’ve had visit their tent on one day was 45 and the least was one. The trail angels have a book that the thru-hikers write in and that news along the trail travels fast. The trail angels request that the thru-hikers send them a picture of themselves once they complete the AT, and most do just that.

How do these two churches in Sheffield keep their mission going? There was an October 21, 2022, fundraiser for the upcoming 2023 thru-hiker season.

Why this mission project to thru-hikers from these two Berkshire area churches?

Jean Chapin, the administrator of Christ Trinity Church, said the aim of the churches is “non-religious” and that they want to provide “a corner of kindness and offer hospitality” to the thru-hikers coming through their community.

One of the stalwart trail angels, 81-yearold retired Episcopal Bishop Jack

Several outside groups, some from the Boston area, help out with the Appalachian Trail Hospitality Program. Perhaps your church or organization would like to help out. If so, contact either of the two Sheffield churches. ♦

Village to Village: Mafi Dove, Ghana and Ashfield,

MA

Over 25 years ago, St. John’s Church in Ashfield began a partnership with a small village in Ghana. The village is called Mafi Dove, and it sits on the Volta River, about three hours by car from the capital city of Accra.

A young parishioner, Nellie Todd, was a Peace Corps volunteer from 1997-1999 and through her, many development projects were initiated that St. John’s agreed to help support. The vicars during that time were the Rev. Beth Long and the Rev. Gordon Dean. The projects included:

• Providing pumps for the bore holes to provide clean water for drinking

• Collecting clothes to be sold for revenue to reopen the long-closed kindergarten

• Raising funds for the construction of household latrines (A $100 donation would give you a named latrine in Ghana.)

• Supporting the building of a new junior high school

Looking back, a lot was accomplished during those years, but once Nellie returned home and entered the rest of her life, the partnership went into a hiatus. In 2011, however, the Rev. Eliot Moss, Robert Harris, Thomas Kreek, and Nellie returned to Mafi Dove to set up a computer lab in the junior high school. One year, not long after that, the Rev. Dean engaged his large and loving family in a Christmas tradition of supporting a charity, rather than giving one another a gift. Mafi Dove became that focus, and so $300 was raised. As no trip was planned the money just sat in

a designated account, patiently waiting. Contributions to the village have to be hand delivered in cash or wired to a village representative.

After Thanksgiving this past year, Nellie let us know that there would be a funeral for the chief of the Village during her time there—Chief Togbe. She enticed a few of us to accompany her, and on February 1st, we set out. In preparation for the trip, we asked what the village needed so that we could bring a gift in memory of the chief. Their request was for money for their new kindergarten, begun six years ago and now sitting idle, waiting to be finished. Primarily it needed a roof and floors. Through the generosity of the Global Mission fund, St. John’s Church, and several friends, we were able to bring the village $3200 (including that $300!) to make a presentation to the village leaders following the funeral and religious services. ($3200 goes a long way in Mafi Dove for much of the labor is volunteer.)

This history was unknown to many of the current members and friends of St. John’s, so the trip to Ghana was a chance to recount the past relationship. As Nellie is my daughter and I, of course, was a part of the congregation during the late nineties, I related the story of St. John’s and Mafi Dove.

What most of them also did not know is that the wooden cross in the nave above the altar of St. John’s came from Ghana. This is the story I told on January 22nd:

“Toward the end of Nellie’s service, Peter Elenois, senior warden at the time, came to me. He said, ‘Ghanaians do beautiful wood carving. Do you think Nellie could find someone to make us a cross for

over our altar? The one we have was always meant to be temporary.’ We know how that is. Nellie found a man named Christian, who worked at the now closed American Club in Accra. We were to send the dimensions, shape, and design to him. Beloved parishioner Herb Libby took the proportions of our brass cross at the back of the church. [I asked those present to turn around and look at it and then look at the cross behind the altar. They could see that the two crosses speak to one another.]

Herb made a drawing of the brass cross and figured out the size the new cross should be. He made a drawing with all the measurements on it, and we faxed it to the American Club. We paid Christian an amount that I don’t remember –perhaps $100. In November of 1999, Nellie flew home with the cross on her lap.

Anne Judson, former librarian in town, put a finish on it. Gifted carpenter, Arnold Jones, figured out a way to hang it on brackets at the right level so we could easily lift it off on Maundy Thursday. It was blessed by the Rev. Gordon Dean and the Bishop of Kumasi during one of our diocesan conventions where he was a guest speaker.”

When the financial gift has been used toward the completion of the kindergarten, the village council will send along pictures of the work to St. John’s. We can then assess together what they would need to finish the project. $600 has been set aside as a Mafi Dove line item for the future. It gladdens the heart that a partnership from 25 years ago has been rekindled and is still full of possibilities. ♦

The Rev. Dan Collier

Trinity Episcopal Church Milford

The people of Trinity Episcopal Church, Milford called the Reverend Dan Collier to serve as priest-in-charge, beginning March 1.

For nearly 160 years, Trinity has been deeply engaged in the local community. Today, Laundry Love and a weekly Community Meal attend to the needs of neighbors in Milford.

Welcome to WMA

Dan is a Massachusetts native. He holds an MA from Weston Jesuit Theological School, a Certificate in Anglican Studies from EDS, Cambridge and a Ph.D. from Northeastern University, Boston.

Ordained deacon in 2005 by Bishop Thomas Shaw, Diocese of Massachusetts, and priest in 2006, Dan served the people of St. Paul's, Bedford (2005-2007) and St. Andrew's, Manchester, NH (20072012). In our diocese, he has served several congregations in need of a bridge ministry. ♦

Ordinations to the Sacred Order of Deacons

April 15, 2023

Misty Kiwak Jacobs

Misty is a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. While a student in Moscow, Russia in her early 20s, Misty felt the call to Christ and was baptized in 1990.

Misty earned a Master of Divinity and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Yale Divinity School in 2020. After graduation, she served as a Chaplain Resident at a Level I Trauma Center in 2020-2021 during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. She is currently back at YDS finishing a Master's of Sacred Theology with a focus in Homiletics. ♦

Margot Skene Page

Margot moved to Western MA in 1990 from Cairo, Egypt where she had lived for 13 years. She settled in Williamstown, MA, where she found work as a musician and music teacher in the local public school and attended St. John’s Episcopal Church.

St. John’s nurtured and encouraged her growth into service both within the worshiping community and outside the walls. She feels called to work among the Beloved communities that navigate through the challenges of life on the margins with God inspired grace and dignity. ♦

James Daniel Pickett

Jimmy was baptized and raised at Christ Church in Rochdale, MA. He studied Sustainable Agriculture in Unity, ME. After college, he spent a year as an intern with the Brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE), a summer at Plainsong Farm, and a year at Lawrence House where he served at St. Paul's in Holyoke.

In the fall of 2020, Jimmy embarked to study at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS). He has served as Seminarian at St. Paul's in Old Town, Alexandria and Emmanuel Church in Delaplane, VA. ♦

Parish Administrators Connect

Since late 2020, a small group of our parish administrators has been meeting together approximately every six to eight weeks. The communications platform Zoom has made this possible. I recall that several years ago the diocese gathered our parish secretaries together occasionally for a more formal meeting. This included lunch and was hosted by a parish. These meetings gathered a larger group together, but also took up much of the day. Perhaps in the future we could do this again occasionally. Our current Zoom meetings offer a less formal environment and afford more opportunities for discussion with each other. The admins are encouraged to connect with each other in-between gatherings.

These Zoom get-togethers are open to all parish administrators. The group consists of admins who are brand new in their position, as well as others with many years experience. This range of experience levels is helpful as they share their collective knowledge and varied skills. Supporting one another is encouraged. When polled, Mondays or Tuesdays seemed to work best as a time to gather but individual workloads determine whether they can join at any given time.

Our “agenda” is loosely structured and includes brief devotions, introductions, and checking in, followed by informal discussion on topics of their choosing, or one of my favorite topics—that of wellness amidst the chaos! As this group was begun during the height of COVID-19, our topics have included managing stress, working in isolation, coping strategies, losses during the pandemic, what works and what doesn’t, and the “new normal” for these times.

More recent topics have included asking for assistance when overloaded (i.e. volunteers); organizational skills;

programs other than Microsoft Word for creating bulletins; letters of transfer; parochial reports; digital programs replacing parish registers; transitions within the parish and within life; defining the role of a new admin; flexibility; effective communication; and maintaining healthy boundaries—for yourself and for others.

If you are interested in joining our next gathering please email me at kwarren@diocesewma.org.