Dear Friends,

There has been some recurring vocabulary in committee conversations at Calvary Church the past several months with regards to ongoing questions: Who are we, and who we are becoming as a community of faith?  Allow me to list some of the more featured words in recent conversations at Calvary Church

Worship Surveys           Diana Butler Bass

Post-Modernism            Change

Wonder                         Transition

Community                   Music

Post-Christian               Taize

Paradox                        Liturgy

Participation                  Radical Hospitality

Budget Deficit               Practice

First Sunday                 Gospel and Praise Music

Mission Statement         Mystery

Ambiguity                     Institution

Communication             A Cappella

I have been told that much of this lexical list is scary and disturbing.  These words imply change and transition into unknown realms.

In the words of Mark Twain, let me assure you in the midst of all these conversations that rumors of the death of our traditions is greatly exaggerated.  The legacy of our liturgy and worship that began to take shape when St. Alban ventured into the British Isles with the Gospel in the beginning of the 3^rd century will not be discarded.  Nor is the wellspring of spiritual vitality that Celtic Christianity brought us going to be auctioned off at a church rummage sale.  Safeguarding the spirituality of the monastic movement, of Thomas Cramner and William Tyndale is my passion, as is cherishing William Wilberforce’s spirit of advocacy that was instrumental in abolishing slavery in 19^th century England.  The

influence of the Protestant Reformation and the arbitration of Richard Hooker’s “via media” has made Anglican Christianity a welcome place for both 16^th century Catholics and Protestants, as well as our diverse 21^st Century population in Santa Cruz.  This is our spiritual inheritance and will continue to define who we are at Calvary Church.

Perhaps a poem by William Stafford sums it up best.   At two recent diocesan workshops Stafford’s poem was read.  It expresses aptly how we, as a church with cherished traditions, might adapt to a changing world. As William Stafford suggests in his poem discerning and holding the thread of our Anglican legacy may be the key.

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

I have asked several people who attended the Diana Butler Bass workshop in May to share their impressions in this edition of the Crossroads.  Altogether there were 21 people from Calvary Church who attended the workshop.  Each committed a Saturday to thinking about how we might become an even more engaged and vital congregation.  I trust you will be inspired by and enjoy their thoughts and reflections.

Happy Easter; The Lord is Risen; It’s still Easter for another 11 days,

Father Joel P. Miller