Here's what i wrote for our church newsletter:
On July 27 I went to Camp Noel Porter to serve as the chaplain for a week of camp with 4th through 9th graders. The camp relies on volunteer priests to provide the religious services and education. Each day I was responsible for a communion service with a sermon as well as an hour of religious programming. It had been quite some time since I had worked so closely with children. Prior to seminary I was a lay youth leader for four years and for my first job after seminary I was a chaplain at an Episcopal elementary school. But that was 15 years ago.
It was more work than I had anticipated, but it was also fun, and grounding. Canon Britt Olson came to work with the children one day and as she said, it is a treat to step away from big issues and big questions and get to focus on articulating God’s love to children. We used clips from the first three Star Wars movies (episodes IV-VI) as a springboard for discussing spiritual topics. I had forgotten what good movies they are. In the end, Darth Vader is saved by his son Luke Skywalker because Luke was willing to believe that there was still some good in his father. The end reminded me of Jesus’ parable of the wheat and weeds, and the fact that we are all a combination of wheat and weeds. The challenge when looking at others and ourselves is to see the wheat through the weeds. Such gracious vision can save somebody. Our concluding scripture refrain came from Paul’s letter to the Romans, “Don’t be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” This seemed to be a fitting tag line for the Star Wars saga.
I was aware that while I was singing camp songs and talking with children, the Anglican bishops were having their own “camp” experience. The Lambeth Conference has now concluded. It was mostly a time for bishops to talk, study and pray together. They did not pass any resolutions but rather enhanced their relationships so they can continue to work through the challenges that face the global communion. From the reports I’ve read there is a deep respect among the bishops and perhaps it will be harder for some to characterize others as being completely misguided weeds. While I’m sure Lambeth was vastly different from Camp Noel Porter, I think in both places the Kingdom of Heaven may have drawn closer.
Blessings,
Brian
http://blogs.deanbaker.org/
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1 comment:
Thanks - this is helpful, both for making sense of Lambeth (I'd just said it was more about listening than legislating) and of using movies for discussion of Christian themes - yesterday a parishioner told me she'd like to have an occasional (monthly?) movie night with discussion.
Kind of like what Mariette Hartley did on Odyssey (now Hallmark) following up on a proposal from Bill Lewellis of diocese of Bethlehem, Pa.
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