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| St. Paul's Church, White River Junction |
A mere fifteen miles separate St. Paul’s Church in White
River Junction and St. James’ Church in Woodstock. Yet two churches in the same diocese could
scarcely appear more different. St.
James’ Church is old and was designed to engender a sense of timeless tradition
while St. Paul’s has a modernity that belies its fifty years.
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| St. James' Church, Woodstock |
St. James enjoys an affluent community while
St. Paul’s situation is decidedly more working class. But appearances, as we
all know, can be deceiving. For these
two parishes have a lot more in common than appears at first glance. Both are embarking
upon a period of significant change and transition that both exemplifies the
stirring of the Holy Spirit and requires a deep faith and trust in that same
Holy Spirit.
St. Paul’s Church was built in the mid-20th
century and is characterized by utilitarian architecture and sleek, spacious
style. It’s not the prettiest church in
the diocese, but it certainly has its charm.
The sanctuary is almost “in the round” with pews on three sides of the
altar. This has the pleasing effect of
making even the furthest away pews feel intimately involved in the worship.
While there is a direct outside entrance to the sanctuary, most people will
enter from the parking lot which brings them first through the parish hall. As
you may imagine, meeting and greeting one’s fellow parishioners before worship
must also contribute to an intimacy amongst the congregation. This degree of
feeling comfortable with one another implies an informality in worship. Until
recently, worship at St. Paul’s, while maintaining due reverence, was indeed
informal. This is a congregation willing
to try new styles of liturgy and music.
Worship was enriched and accompanied by a rock band comprised of youths
from the congregation (called “the Pinks of St. Paul’s”). However, the kids
grew up and many have gone away to college forcing them to disband. That combined with the discernment process
they are working through in search of a new priest has directed the
congregation towards a return to the prayer book and introducing meditative
silence into their worship.
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| images at St. Paul's, WRJ |
As a testament to the diversity of its worship style, the
congregation at St. Paul’s opens itself to a variety of faith traditions. While
remaining assuredly Episcopalian, they are willing and able to witness the
value of other belief practices. Part of
the St. Paul’s campus includes the parish house which shares its space with the
Mindfulness Practice Center. The center was created through the nearby
monastery attributed to Thich Naht Hahn for the development of mindful prayer,
or centering prayer. A mindful prayer
group meets each Tuesday at the center. Over the fireplace in the parlor is a
quotation attributed to Thich Naht Hahn: “There is no way to happiness;
happiness IS the way.”
St. Paul’s also hosts other groups and organizations,
including a fellow who teaches drumming, a local theater group and more. St. Paul’s is committed to community
outreach. Because of this commitment, St. Paul’s along with clergy from St.
James’ in Woodstock purchased the old farmhouse next to St. Paul’s and
converted it into what is today The Haven, a community center that offers
shelter, food, clothing, case management, academic support, educational support
and learning opportunities for adults. From its earliest days, The Haven has been an
ecumenical outreach involving congregations from the Methodist, Congregational
and Catholic churches as well as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Besides its
involvement with the Haven, St. Paul’s tries to keep actively involved with
other upper valley interfaith outreach projects and programs. They take keen interest in “aging with
dignity” issues, transportations issues, and “title loans” regulation. The
congregation at St. Paul’s takes very seriously their baptismal covenant vow
“to respect the dignity of every human being.” Part of that is manifested in
the hospice choir that is part of their pastoral care ministry and in their
quick response to emergencies. The
latter was so vividly witnessed in their reaction to the effects of Tropical
Storm Irene two years ago when they set up a supply line for those in
need. This response to Irene has evolved
and led to renovating the Hartford Church with hopes of converting it into a
possible hostel. While many of St. Paul’s activities and ministries are
well-honed and self-reliant, it is easy to see that in spite of this interim
period (or maybe because of it) this church has a vibrant relationship with the
Holy Spirit.
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| images at St. James, Woodstock |
And so does St. James’ Church in Woodstock. But as suggested
earlier, the Spirit at St. James feel’s quite a bit different than that in
White River Junction. There is a certain kind of tension felt in both Woodstock
and St. James that arises from the dichotomy between absentee landowners and
those who are permanent residents; between those who own multiple properties
and those who own one or no property. This tension increases when trying to
build a community that includes a demographic of people who don’t have a strong
affiliation or vested interest in that community juxtaposed with a
cross-section of people who yearn for a sense of belonging to that same
community yet feel excluded. Thus, the energy at St. James has historically always
had a searching or seeking quality about it.
Because of the assumed affluence of the congregation, there lies a
danger of succumbing to “preciousness” derived from individual gifts,
restricted or otherwise. That is, material things, ways and methods, and
traditions risk becoming too precious and priceless because of their origins as
a gift from an individual to allow for change or even elimination of said
precious device. But St. James is taking steps to avoid that particular
trap. For the first time in ninety
years, St. James is embarking on a capital campaign to raise funds for major
building and renovation projects. The anonymity in giving along with the universality
in a capital campaign offers an added benefit of providing a vehicle for
community—everyone is in this together and no gift is more important than
another. The funds raised in the campaign will pay for improving the drainage
around the church, building and accessibility ramp, restoring the sanctuary
window, and modernizing the heating system with hopes of converting to a
biomass fuel burner. In fact, if all
goes to plan, the new biomass heating system may be an instrument toward
greater community connection as St. James hopes to partner with the town to use
locally grown wood. There is a model in the parish hall that shows the external
changes that are planned for the property, including the new ramp, the sheds
for the new heating system and woodsheds and the leveled courtyard between the
church and the rectory that may in time contain a community garden complete
with composting.
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| model of future St. James |
Since the arrival of St. James new rector, Rev. Norman
MacLeod, the congregation has revved up its zeal for environmental care and
earth stewardship. The new heating system will significantly reduce the carbon
footprint of the parish as well as create a partnership with renewable energy
groups. Having a community garden will also contribute to that goal but
providing more local food rather than relying solely upon imported foods. St.
James is developing a rapport with the Roosevelt-Billings National Park and is
hoping to work with the park for future earth stewardship projects. In June of
2014, St. James will be hosting a four-day weekend Earth Centered Liturgy
Festival. There will be a number of worship opportunities celebrating God’s
gift of creation and our responsibilities and stewards appointed by God to care
for this gift. Workshops will guide and
instruct participants not only in what stewardship of creation means, but in
how to be good stewards. Because this festival will coincide with the work
being done by the capital campaign, many of the events will necessarily take
place in partnering locations including potentially the national park and sites
in New Hampshire. For instance, plans are in the making for a kayaking evensong
on the Connecticut River. The festival is still in the ideas and planning
stage, but will soon be moving forward to implementing the event. Keep tuned to both St. James and the Diocesan
websites as things develop. And mark
your calendars now for the 26-29th of June so that you won’t miss this
innovative festival!
Clearly, God is an integral part of both St. Paul’s, White
River Junction and St. James, Woodstock.
Yet God’s spirit and energy in each parish takes on an entirely
different hue and cast. These two parishes contribute to the overall color of
the tapestry that is the Diocese of Vermont. It is not only that which we
perceive as “good and light” that speaks of our relationship with the Holy
Spirit, but the tension, strife and conflicts which complete our abundance. The response St. Paul’s takes to emergency
and outreach issues and the way St James searches for a more deeply connected
relationship with one another, their community and God both color our diocesan
tapestry with all the richness of jewel tones.
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