The Fullness of Circles

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Wells, VT and St. James Episcopal Church, Arlington, VT

As I made my visits this week to St. Paul’s Church in Wells and St. James’ in Arlington, I was impressed upon by the circular nature of life.  The life of a parish or congregation of people, while certainly longer than that of an individual, differs in cyclical pattern very little.  As I witnessed the light shine in the eyes of a young family who find love and comfort in the congregation of the newly restored church in Wells, the sense of growth and renewed fortitude was palpable.  And as I wandered St. James’ graveyard on a picture-perfect June day and read again and again on stone markers of a faith that in death is life eternal with God, I was struck by the notion that here and now is but a step in a continuous circle.  In both churches, as I expect is the case with all living churches, the everyday functions of life bear witness to the health and vigor of the parish, while the memorials remind of a past and presage our inevitable future.

images from St. Paul's church in Wells

In January of this year, St. Paul’s Church in Wells, VT celebrated the culmination of four years of restoration.  The foundation was firmed, the steeple shored up, and the rot and decay removed.  Like the building, the congregation, too, found invigorating renewal as they began this venture.  How could this tiny congregation afford this huge restoration project?  Yet, how could they not and not simply wither away and die?  It turns out that the whole community of Wells felt connected to the church, even if they were not “members.”  My sense is that the entire village of Wells are members of St. Paul’s, whether or not they are Episcopalians or attend services or are “on the rolls.”  So with the help of the immediate community and the larger community in the form of the Vermont Trust for Historic Preservation, the project was done.  The historical integrity maintains its balance with the addition of modern conveniences and necessities such as running water and accessibility.  And all this is as support for the spiritual home of its congregation.  A testament to the sacredness of this small New England Church is its inclusion in National Geographic’s Sacred Places of a Lifetime, featuring 500 sacred places around the world.  Today, St. Paul’s stands on the town green proudly refurbished and preening like a mother hen protective of her brood. 

This pretty little church has every right to its satisfaction, for it is loved by its congregation and

images from the parish house and surrounds

its surrounding community, and that love grows as the congregation grows.  With broad smiles that reached their eyes, members of the congregation shared with me that as thrilling as the completion of the restoration of the building is, the restoration and growth of the congregation is even more so.  For the first time in years, they are able to have a Sunday School because there are new young families with children attending.  Indeed, in the yard between the church and the parish house is a little toddler’s playground that seems to make the church building itself smile.  Okay, that might just be my fanciful imagination, but the smiles on the faces of those warm and welcoming parishioners I met were true and sincere!  The day I visited St. Paul’s just happened to be the day of their monthly rummage sale.  The rummage sale something of a permanent fixture and is open every third Saturday of the month. This, too, seems to be something the surrounding community encourages and supports.  The new parish house is also opened to serve the community with space for meetings and other gatherings.  The evidence of the Spirit may seem small and subtle, especially to those closest to it, but the impact and stirring in this community is grand and marvelous!

St. James church in Arlington

St. James' graveyard and resting place of founding fathers of the diocese

The congregation at St. James also shows signs of slight stirrings that create significant impacts.  St. James in Arlington is also known as “the cradle of the diocese.”  The first Episcopal worship services recorded in Vermont were conducted by lay reader Captain Jehiel Hawley out of his home in 1764.  Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Nathan Canfield led a group of families into forming the first Episcopal Society and installed Vermont’s first Episcopal priest, the Rev. James Nichols, in 1786.  The first convention of the Episcopal Church in Vermont was held in Arlington in 1790.  Much of this history is reverently displayed throughout the church and in the church yard.  The people of the parish have created a self-guided tour of the cemetery wherein many of these founding fathers are buried and memorialized.  These original stirrings have a continuing affect upon the generations of descendants that have followed.

As is wont to happen over years and years, the life of the parish ebbs and flows with periods of vibrant action juxtaposed with periods of quiet recuperation and everything in between. At any given time, depending on one’s angle of perspective, the parish can be seen as in the midst of any one of these periods.  Five years ago, Rev. Scott Neal, the rector at St. James, and Rev. Kathy Clark of East Arlington Federated Church recognized a need within their community.  That is childhood hunger.  Vermont has consistently ranked as one of the top ten hungriest states in the nation.  With 22% of Vermont children living in food insecure households (that is, households whose finances preclude regular and healthy meals), the mandated school breakfast and lunch programs have become crucial to more than 27,000

kicking off the summer lunch program with Holy Eucharist

children.  When school is out of session during the summer, hunger becomes even more problematic.  So, the two congregations worked together to make up for that loss.  Today, five years later, St. James and four other faith communities gather each week during the ten weeks of summer to fill over sixty grocery bags with enough food for five lunches and snacks for each child. Along with such staples as bread and tuna, a number of local growers donate fresh produce from their gardens to supplement each bag.  This week marks the kickoff of this summer’s lunch program, and begins with an ecumenical worship service with Holy Communion.  Now, some folks may feel that a five-year old program is well-founded and risks tending towards inertia. Yet to those grateful recipients—both the children and their parents—there is nothing stagnant about a well-run program that meets such a life-altering need.  It is a prime example of living out the teachings of Jesus: feed the hungry, not to receive anything in return, but because it is right.  The Spirit continues stirring up something right and good in Arlington.

As impressive as watching life draw circles may be, I find myself more drawn to what those circles encompass.  Like pebbles tossed into still water, the Holy Spirit creates tiny stirrings that ripple out into ring after ring, encompassing all that has come before yet excluding nothing as a possibility.  As life—an individual’s or a congregation’s or even a church building’s life—moves inexorably along its cyclical path, it is the faith and actions and love filling in and coloring the circles that tell the most gripping story.  And that is what impressed me at St. Paul’s Church in Wells and at St. James’ in Arlington.

Hope Found in New Beginnings

Church of Our Saviour, Killington and the "old" Christ Church, Bethel

There is a certain excited energy in the hopes and expectations of new ventures. And when the Holy Spirit is present, the fear of the unknown is transformed into the delight of adventure!  This is the case with both congregations of Church of Our Saviour in Killington and Christ Church in Bethel. This weekend, both congregations will celebrate new seasons of ministry.  At Church of Our Saviour, they will begin their new season with the installation of their new vicar, the Rev. Lee Alison Crawford.  At Christ Church, the Covenant Group will be installed as the new Local Ministry Support Team. The atmosphere in both parishes is akin to that of runners taking their marks for a race—and they’re off!

Church of Our Saviour, Killington

Church of Our Saviour is unique in our diocese, both in its history and its position for service. Still known as “Mission Farm,” the parish is no longer a working farm, but retains the earthy, prayerful serenity of a monastic-like farm.  Its historic connection to the Order of the Holy Cross reverberates in today’s contemplative ambience of the place. Vicar Crawford likens Mission Farm to the famous Carthusian monastery La Grande Chartreuse, calling the church “La Petite Chartreuse.” (No plans—as yet—for supporting the parish by brewing liqueur, however.) The monks of the Carthusian Order are equally famous for the vow of silence they take.  And to parishioners and visitors alike, there is a similar spirit of silence and quiet that permeates Mission Farm.  When I spoke with Senior Warden Donna Abramov, she agreed that the peace of the place wraps you up and makes it hard to leave even knowing you’ll be back soon.

"La Petite Chartreuse" Church of Our Saviour and trails

It is the fervent hope and wishes of the vicar and the congregation to translate that sense of the Spiritual within the Natural to inspire others to come and experience “la petite chartreuse.”  The Church property includes a guesthouse that is open to individuals and retreat groups, the vicarage, a bakery which produces wholesale baked goods for local establishments, and of course, a beautifully picturesque stone church nestled between the Ottauquechee River and the base of the Green Mountains. There are abundant mowed trails through the fields and woods for visitors to walk; and the river provides water-play opportunities like kayaking and tubing. The congregation has a garden that offers its own kind of silence in communal solitude.  The produce of the garden is offered to parishioners and visitors each Sunday after worship. Yet, the tranquility of Mission Farm ought not be mistaken for stagnation or non-progress. The

Mission Farm Guesthouse

quietude has a dynamism that the Rev. Crawford intends to offer to neighboring Killington (both the village and the resort). Church of Our Saviour is negotiating with the ski resort to offer on-site tri-lingual worship services (English, French and Spanish) to allow seasonal employees an opportunity to worship where they work.  Another hope, albeit far distant and more dreamlike, than hopeful at this point, is to combine the traditional with the contemporary. They would like to connect more intimately with the nature of the area, perhaps installing solar panels for power or using geothermal for heating and energy. A more immediate and potential plan for Mission Farm includes developing a Nature Camp for all and various ages at the guesthouse. Each plan, hope and prayer at Church of Our Saviour holds within its core the quiet yet adamant breath of the Spirit, gently stirring the souls of congregation and visitors alike.

Christ Church, Bethel -- the "Village Church"

Like Church of Our Saviour, the congregation of Christ Church in Bethel is also celebrating new beginnings.  Several years ago, this small congregation stood at a crossroads.  They knew they were a vibrant congregation, lively, caring and God-loving.  Yet they also knew they were too small a group to be able to maintain even a part-time priest.  So they decided to look into alternative ways to meet the needs of the congregation and its community.  Having assessed the gifts and talents within their own congregation, they discovered that they had the gifts and the means right here to create a Covenant Group—a priest (currently in the ordination process) who presides over worship needs, a stewardship minister who coordinates outreach and all other things stewardly, a preacher liaison who coordinates preaching voices and Christian Formation, and a mutual care minister who coordinates pastoral care needs. This Covenant Group has been in formation for the past two years, discerning exactly what needs require addressing and working out just what tasks each role will assume.  The members of the Covenant Group have generously and completely volunteered their services, thereby freeing up finances that can be used in other meaningful ways such as providing significant relief assistance to the Bethel community following the devastation of Tropical Storm “Irene.”  And at last, the group is ready to be installed as the Local Ministry Support Team on June 15! By the way, Christ Church would love to have you help them celebrate at the “old church” at 5:30pm on June 15.

The congregation at Christ Church whimsically refers to itself as “nomadic” as they worship in several

the "Old Church" Christ Church by Gilead Brook, Bethel

different locations throughout the year. During the darker, colder months of autumn, winter and early spring, they worship in the “village church” located in Bethel’s downtown.  When it gets really cold and prohibitively costly to heat the lofty sanctuary, they pack everything up and move it next door to their parish house.  They worship in that location usually from just after Christmas until Holy Week.  In the summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, everything lightens up and they once again turn into Vermont’s Bedouins.  They pack up once again and move everything to the beautiful old Federal-style church with its soaring multi-paned clear glass windows, gleaming aged wide-planked floorboards, and pew boxes complete with doors.  There’s pride they take in their buildings, for the old church (which was built in 1823 a mere 24 years prior to the church in the village) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Like our own Trinity Church in Rutland, the village church was designed by Bishop John Henry Hopkins.  Both churches stand on a firm foundation, yet suffer at the steeple.  There is currently a fundraising campaign in effect to restore the steeples on both buildings to restore the facades to their original appeal.

As Church of Our Saviour and Christ Church embark upon their new paths of ministry, the energy of hope dynamically permeates both parishes in markedly different ways.  Church of Our Saviour, with its bucolic setting, conveys a Spirit of gentle peace and quiet labor.  Christ Church, on the other hand, seems stirred by a Spirit of history and industry. Regardless, it is the same Holy Spirit that stirs both congregations as they anticipate their futures with loving trust in God.

A Place to Heal

Zion Episcopal Church, Manchester, VT

Many churches in our diocese experience an attendance lull during the summer, with folks traveling on vacation and business and leisure taking them away from home for periods at a time. Yet the opposite is true for Zion Episcopal Church in Manchester.  Manchester is arguably the richest parish in the state; it is considered a resort town.  A good number of Zion’s church members make their summer residence in Manchester.  In fact, to accommodate the increased numbers, Zion has an extra Sunday service held in their satellite chapel, St. John’s Chapel in the heart of Manchester Village.  But Zion isn’t stirred by wealth. To be sure, having parishioners wealthy enough to offer to have the church buildings painted is a very nice perk, and Zion certainly appreciates them.  But it is not what stirs this parish.

As I sat in the sanctuary waiting for the Wednesday service to begin, I thought about my impressions of Zion and what special grace God has bestowed upon this church. I felt welcome—but I feel welcome in just about any Episcopal church, especially those within this diocese.  I felt peace, and here I thought I might be getting somewhere.  The complex of Zion Church includes beautiful glass-paned corridors connecting the church to the two parish hall buildings.  The windows let the light, color and warmth of the daylight pour in and warm the bones and soul of one passing through. The genteel elegance of the receiving room continues in that theme of soothing comfort.  The large “Middle Room” is a jumbled collection of cushioned chairs and sofas that are arranged in several cozy circles.  In fact, all of the rooms, including the Sunday School rooms upstairs and the pre-school room in the back have a comfortable feeling of hominess.  The atmosphere created throughout allows one to relax and open up to the possibility of goodness and certainly contribute to the overall sense of “here is peace.”  The Wednesday service is also a healing service, and concentrating on that, I was persuaded that this was the key.  Zion’s stirrings involve healing.  During the worship service, the small congregation gathered around the altar and shared Holy Communion and human communion.  As we held hands with one another, linking us all together, we asked for God’s healing grace to reach those on whose behalf we interceded. This is a common enough practice and many congregations pray for others in need and have faith in the power of prayer.  But what makes Zion different in my own experience is the absolute depth of faith in the expectation of God’s healing grace.  Zion’s congregation is made up of folks who have been healed, who are in the process of healing, and who need healing—healing from physical, emotional, mental and spiritual ailments. So to them, there is no doubt that of course God will send His healing Grace.

Periodically, Zion invites special guest healers to visit.  Not too long ago in March, Fr. Roy Henderson of from The Ministry for the Renewal of Love and Mercy made his second visit to Zion to conduct a healing service. Fr. Henderson is a Catholic priest who, upon receiving the gift of healing after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, established his ministry with the express purpose of sharing the person of Jesus Christ through evangelization; that through Christ, true healing can happen. When Fr. Henderson offered his worship service at Zion, part of the service included prayers with laying on of hands.  Some of the members admitted skepticism that hands-on prayers could be any more effective than any other kind of prayer.  But having witnessed the results of this particular healing service, they set aside their skepticism. What they witnessed was not a miraculous and dramatic lame-shall-leap, blind-shall-see type of cure.  What they witnessed was a deeply sincere caring communicated through human touch from one member of the body of Christ to another.  And that communication allowed for a closed or doubting heart to be opened or moved, to accept God’s grace and God’s love. To witness such a wonder is the kind of “ordinary” miracle that keeps faith alive.

As I stood hand-in-hand with the small Wednesday afternoon congregation, with the variegated rays of color
shining through the lovely stained glass windows—each of which depicts a piece of a story conveying God’s healing grace—I came to understand that God’s Spirit stirs in Zion Episcopal Church through the love and faith and touch of each member, and the conviction that the healing grace of God is manifested through them.