Being a Beacon within the Community

Many church congregations ponder ways in which they can be more visible in their communities. Some even set goals and achieve them.  But there a few churches who really are actively involved with their communities.  These churches are not visible because their church was built in a prime location; rather they are visible because they are working out God’s purpose within the greater community.  For them, it’s not about being seen.  It’s not even a political thing.  It’s about listening to the needs and dreams of the people and then working together to meet those needs.  I recently visited two such churches that are beacons in their communities, and whose light shines in very different ways.

Holy Trinity Church, Swanton, VT

Holy Trinity Church in Swanton somewhat defies pigeon-holing in its identity. It doesn’t really qualify as a “rural” church since it stands right in the middle of a downtown small town/city. And yet, it reaches out to very rural people, nestled as the town is in the midst of the largest dairy farming community in Vermont.  It certainly doesn’t qualify as an urban church as it lacks typical city amenities.  Yet, located in the center of town, it is vulnerable to the occasional urban distress—like breaking and entering and theft. Holy Trinity’s congregation also struggles with a certain identity ambiguity.  On the one hand, the sturdy work ethic instilled in its members that allows them to take pride in a job well done, alternately has them a little embarrassed that much of what they have in the way of the church and its appointments has been given to them through no fundraising or work effort of their own. (The church has been well endowed with gifts that leave them in a financially comfortable position.) It seems they struggle to understand that gifts are given out of love rather than as payment for labor and marketing skill. Certainly, Holy Trinity is a church and spiritual home worthy of that kind of love!

For it is clear that the parish of Holy Trinity has a deep love for the people of its community. 

images at Holy Trinity's community center

Holy Trinity earnestly wants to embrace its community in a reverent and spiritual relationship. And so it does. Just a few years ago, the parish rebuilt its parish hall and renovated part of the main church building in effort to be more connected and involved with its community. The intent was—and is—to provide a space for other organizations throughout the area to meet, provide offices and even educate one another. The community center at Holy Trinity is now home to myriad organizations and programs.  The local school district holds teacher inservices there as it is an off-campus site that is close to all schools should an emergency arise during one of their meetings.  The area Bar Association holds meetings and trainings there. All kinds of self-improvement classes are held there, including yoga, zumba, Tae Kwon Do, and the like.  The scheduling calendar is full and covered in red and blue inked inserts.  Holy Trinity, in an ecumenical effort with the Roman Catholic church and the Methodist church, hold once-a-month community dinners.  When it is Holy Trinity’s turn to host, the hall is filled with visitors.  They also have their own program of bi-monthly breakfasts. One of the really BIG outreach efforts at Holy Trinity is the newly established Franklin Alliance for Rural Ministries (FARM).  This program is dedicated to helping the Mexican migrant workers at area dairy farms get the immigration and social services and assistance to basic human rights that they need. The program works toward more fair and equitable farming practices in global economics.  In January of 2013, F.A.R.M. opened its office in the community center building at Holy Trinity.

St. John's, Highgate Falls, VT

Holy Trinity’s history is wrapped together with that of St. John’s Church in Highgate, located four miles up the road from Swanton. The people of Swanton attended this church until Holy Trinity was built in town, and in 1896, the two parishes were combined.  St. John’s is under the custodial care of Holy Trinity and is used for weddings, Evensongs and special fundraising events—especially concerts.  St. John’s has the distinction of possessing the oldest in situ pipe organ in the state. The Henry Erban organ was constructed for this building in 1836, just six years after the church’s consecration, and was recently restored by Peter Walker of Walker Pipe Organs of Brattleboro, VT. Together, Holy Trinity and St. John’s churches shed a loving light of welcome to all in the area.

Grace Church in Sheldon shines with a similar, yet completely different light.  And yet, like Holy Trinity, Grace serves the needs of its people.  First and foremost, Grace is a haven for the worship of God.  The space itself implies all the welcoming warmth of the Holy Spirit’s embrace simply by its warm, wooden interior. 

Grace Church, Sheldon

The building stands in the midst of farmland in its own large field.  A steep-pitched roof protectively shields the brick building.  The entrance ramp and steps were fairly recently built, but were cleverly and artistically designed to look as if it was part of the original 1816 structure. Grace Church has a small congregation as is typical of a somewhat remote and rural church.  Being small, they recognize the necessity of collaborating with others in the community.  So they will often join forces with the United Methodist Church just over on the next hill for events like food drives, community flea markets and social events. 

images evoking Grace Church's history

Yet, the real strength of this small congregation lies in individuals who reach out to one another, with church as the main connection.  One gets the feeling that the events and day-to-day activities and missions of this congregation haven’t really changed all that much in the nearly 200 years of Grace’s history. There is an historical marker just a short distance up the road that tells of a Civil War Action that occurred in Sheldon.  It tells of how Confederate soldiers planned to raid the local bank, and set fire to the covered bridge (which is no longer standing, but not as a result of that fire).  The fire alerted the community who not only raised the alarm, and put out the fire before the bridge was destroyed, but foiled the raid attempt and chased the detachment of soldiers away.  This kind of pulling together is not an unfamiliar to modern parishioners at Grace Church, Sheldon either. It is at a church event—any event, even if it’s not worship—where one might chat with his neighbor about getting enough hay in before the freezing weather sets in. In hearing the worry about having enough time or farmhands’ help to make a fourth and final cutting, the good neighbor offers his own time and his son’s as well.  And the relief is evident in the farmer’s two-handed handshake as he accepts the kind offer. (This was an actual conversation I overheard at a recent concert event at Grace Church, and I believe this is one of the tenderest examples of living Jesus’ commandments that I’ve ever been privileged to witness.)

Grace Church commands an air of sturdy self-reliance.  Yet as its name suggests, there is also a charming and whimsical grace evoked as the centuries of history co-mingle with the present day.  Grace has a tradition of offering a Summer Concert Series featuring local musicians.  It’s the type of program that could easily have been practiced 100 or 150 or nearly 200 years ago. The series runs for a number of weeks during the summer and concerts are held Friday evenings.  As an example, one recent Friday a musical group called Full Circle performed. Full Circle is comprised of five women of, shall we say, “mature” years who agree that retirement means time to do what they really love.  It is places (and people) like Grace Church that allow others to grow and flourish.  Surely, Grace Church meant to provide an evening of entertainment for members of its community.  But in doing so, its community expanded to include this musical group in whom the Spirit is bursting to be released and shared.  And that touches others.  And the beacon shines on.

These examples, as seen in Holy Trinity, Swanton with St, John’s, Highgate and Grace Church, Sheldon demonstrate what it means to be a beacon in the Diocese of Vermont.

The Scepter and the Throne

Conference Center at Rock Point

Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington

As a scepter is a symbol of authority in the hands of a ruler, so the beautiful property of Rock Point is emblematic of the Diocese of Vermont. Juxtaposed with the natural historic appeal of the Rock Point property stands the testimony to the modern creative imagination of mankind in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul—the “throne” of the Episcopacy. The two represent all that is diverse in our diocese and celebrate, even invite that diversity. More than any other properties in our diocese, these two entities belong widely to all of us. Inasmuch as our parishes are our church homes, Rock Point and the cathedral are our “back yard and playground.”

Vermont Episcopal Institute, archived photo

images of the Bishop's House

Rock Point’s colorful history parallels its scenic beauty. The property was “given” to the diocese by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. under the condition that Bishop Hopkins debts and his own incurred in the purchase of the land be absolved and that the bishop’s dream of establishing a school and seminary on the grounds be secured. And so in 1860 the Vermont Episcopal Institute was opened for use and included an academic wing for a boys’ school and a theological wing for the seminary. Both schools shared a central chapel.  The Institute functioned as a school and seminary until 1899 when it was closed. The building stood empty for decades until the diocese converted it into a Diocesan Center. Meanwhile, in 1888, Bishop Hopkins Hall, which is now Rock Point School, was opened as a girls’ school.  That school, too, was closed in 1899 as costs for these academies became prohibitive. However, the school in Bishop Hopkins Hall underwent a number of incarnations, and today is a coed school for students with special educational needs and has an entirely different history line than that of the other schools housed in the building. In 1895, the current Bishop’s House was built under the auspices of Bishop Arthur Hall.  Bishop Hall was a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, and thus designed the building after the “mother house” in Crowley, England (a capital H footprint). Looking out of the dining room window, one can see the Bishop’s Cemetery wherein all Vermont Bishops and their kin may be buried. In 1937, the Chapel of the Transfiguration, more widely known as the Outdoor Chapel, was consecrated adding another element to the total property.  It became apparent in 1968 that the business of the diocese needed meeting and office space other than that in the bishop’s residence. Rather than including offices in the ongoing Institute building renovations project, the current Diocesan Offices were built.  In 1979, the beautiful gothic building that was the old Institute was destroyed by fire and its remains demolished and buried on site. Since it was insured for replacement value, work for the new conference center was set immediately into motion, and on September 30, 1980, Bishop Booth Conference Center was consecrated. The most recent and exciting addition to the Rock Point properties is the solar array which was consecrated on April 30, 2012 and is designed to provide 75% of the electricity use on the Rock Point property.

images at Rock Point School

Today, Rock Point is a serene hub of diocesan activity.  Rock Point School is home to 30-40 students during the academic year from all over the country; 15 during the summer session. The school was and is actively involved with the solar array installation, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn about renewable energy and sustainability. Right next to the solar array and on both sides of the Diocesan Office is a large community garden that helps provide locally-grown food to the surrounding community.  At any time during the day, you will likely see someone tending the many beds.

images at the diocesan offices

The Diocesan Office is an unassuming building that provides an open and welcoming atmosphere to all visitors. There must be a story about the ornately carved grandfather clock, but it’s a story you’ll have to find out on your own!

VT Bishops, clockwise from top left: John Henry Hopkins,
William A. H. Bissell, Arthur C. A. Hall, Samuel Babcock Booth,
Vedder Van Dyck, Harvey Dean Butterfield, Robert Shaw Kerr,
Daniel Lee Swenson, Mary Adelia McLeod, Thomas Clark Ely

In the hallway, you will find the walls adorned with portraits of most of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont bishops (Bishop Hall, the 3^rd bishop is elsewhere and Bishop Hopkins graces the conference room).  Up the road from the office building is the Bishop’s House. The house is H-shaped with a common room in the center and the Bishop’s Wing on the left and the Family Wing on the right.  The Bishop’s Wing includes the library (which is now an archaic period piece), the bishop’s study and upstairs is the chapel which has been used for private baptisms, confirmations and other services.

Bishop Booth Conference Center

And just a little beyond the residence are the buildings of the Bishop Booth Conference Center. The center includes the Bishop Van Dyck dormitory building, the Bishop Butterfield main hall with more rooms, a dining hall, a library and meeting rooms, and the Bishop Kerr building which houses St. Michael’s Chapel and conference facilities. BBCC hosts several retreats throughout the year, including Advent and Lenten retreats, family retreats, and a host of other conferences. The center is nestled in a gentle wooded glade that overlooks Eagle Bay on Lake Champlain.  A path leads down to the bay where summer campers can go swimming, boating and exploring. A short walk down an overgrown road brings you to the Chapel of the Transfiguration across from an open field where once stood the Vermont Episcopal Institute. And just beyond that, you will find the summer camp cabins. As you make your way down to Lone Rock Point, you will see some of the rarest, oldest and most interesting geology in the world! The overthrust is an exposed ancient fault where two distinct plates are visible and the crushed rock between the plates indicates the fault.  The upper layer is rock that has moved some 30-50 miles from the east! Rock Point has trails that will lead to this site and many others around the peninsula.

images from the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington

Two miles south of Rock Point, and less than a ten minute drive brings you right into the heart of downtown Burlington. On the corner of Battery and Cherry Streets, right above the lakefront, stands the imperious majesty of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.  The controversial building is ultra-modern in its architecture and composition, being constructed of enormous blocks of stressed concrete.  The church was built in 1973 on its new location overlooking the lake and the Adirondack Mountains after a devastating fire in 1971 destroyed the old St. Paul’s Church. The Cathedral Church of St. Paul has something of a Janus-like character: it is both a parish church with local pastoral responsibilities and is a diocesan cathedral church with services and hospitality offered for the parishes within the diocese. For instance, two of every three diocesan conventions are held at the cathedral. And of course, the Hopkins Bookstore is housed at the cathedral.  The cathedral serves in partnership with Cathedral Square, a housing development for seniors and low-income households. St. Paul’s also partners in JUMP (Joint Urban Ministry Project) with other area churches, which promotes physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of those in need of pastoral care. The church has supports the work and mission of the Integrity Vermont Group. Integrity affirms the LBGT community in God’s family and works for full inclusion of this community in all of the sacraments.

"Viola Finding Her Voice" by Melinda White-Bronson

The parish has a large and active children and youth contingent, with the youth group (SPY-St. Paul’s Youth) taking mission trips each year, most recently to El Salvador. Many children sing in the Treble and Canterbury Choirs. The Treble Choir is comprised of children in grades 2-5 and trains young singers using the Royal Chorister Training Program.  By the time they graduate to the Canterbury Choir, grades 6-12, singers are well able to sight read music and learn advance methods of choral singing.  Together, these beautiful choirs enhance the 9:00am Sunday worship service at St. Paul’s.  Music is an integral part of cathedral life.  This summer as part of the Cathedral Arts program, a visual arts exhibit called “Drawn to Music” displays unique music-themed artwork by local artists.  Cathedral Arts also includes performing arts. It is supported by and supports the local chapter of Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA), a church-wide program exposing local area artists. Each year, an aspect of Episcopal life is chosen to be the theme for the artwork entered in the display.

St. Paul’s is currently in the midst of renovating its St. Francis Chapel. The chapel will be a meditative haven for contemplative worship. The 8:00am service is a Contemplative Holy Eucharist that includes a 10-15 minute quiet period of meditation following communion. To sit in quiet company, each in his own silent space, really deepens one’s sense of connection with God in one another. The Cathedral offers a Meditation Center where meditation groups gather three times each week at different times to accommodate one’s schedule. The Meditation Center is an offering to the diocese and other Christian communities in Vermont and upstate New York.

The descriptions in this blog are merely a glimpse of all that Rock Point and the Cathedral Church of St. Paul have to offer our diocese. For those who have never experienced either place, do not lose the chance to do so at your earliest opportunity! These are true treasures of our diocese, and ought not to be kept secret! I encourage you, dear reader, to visit these sites (both physically and virtually) with all my enthusiasm!

Rock Point—Bishop Booth Conference Center: 

http://rockpointcenter.wix.com/rockpointcenter

Rock Point Blogspot:

http://rockpointvt.blogspot.com

Rock Point School:

http://www.rockpointschool.org/

Cathedral Church of St. Paul:

http://www.stpaulscathedralvt.org/

The Dinner (…and Lunch…and More) Church

It seems like all churches have a thing for feeding each other.  But it seems especially so with Episcopal churches.  On any given Sunday, worship may be endured just to get to fellowship!  And if a smorgasbord of delectables can’t be had at coffee hour, then chances are pretty darn good that a potluck dinner is to follow.  But the need to feed doesn’t stop with feeding one another; Episcopalians take dearly to heart the mission to feed the world! Feeding the hungry, both literally and symbolically is what Episcopalians do.  Not the least example of such a church is St. James Church in Essex Junction.

St. James Episcopal Church in Essex Junction, VT

Most Episcopal churches collect food for their local food pantries—some even ARE the local food pantry. 

Many churches participate in local and ecumenical food distribution projects.  Quite a few offer community meals.  Well, St. James does all that and more!

St. James' shield

Their symbolic shield should picture three oysters-on-a-half-shell rather than merely the three scallop shells that typify St. James, for everyone knows that oysters make good eats. Each oyster shell would represent a branch of feeding: the community at large, one another, and spiritual nourishment.  Tuesdays are busy days in the summer at St. James.  Not only does Meals-on-Wheels, which operates five days a week out of the St. James kitchen, come in to prepare meals for their day’s patrons (roughly 125 per day of both hot and cold meals, tailored to individual dietary requirements), but it is also the day folks come in to pack bags full of a week’s worth of lunch provisions for hungry children who don’t have the benefit of the school lunch program during summer vacation—the Ecumenical Lunch Bunch or ELB.  Some people donate food supplies, others donate their time to help organize and pack the grocery bags.  Still others help with the distribution.  St. James has a community garden and some of the produce from that garden goes into the lunch bags. Like St. James in Arlington, this program is an ecumenical one with participants from a number of area churches of various denominations: Catholic, United Church of Christ, Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, etc.  And of course, it goes (almost) without saying, they collect for the local food shelf.  In these ways, St. James does its part to feed its neighbors.

feeding the masses

Equally important to feeding the hungry and providing nourishment to those in need is the notion that food also serves a social and fellowship function. When people enjoy a meal together, that common experience brings them closer together and relaxes the dynamic of the group to enable a healthy exchange of ideas.  So food becomes a centering device for a number of St. James gatherings. Members of St. James participate in Foyers, a fellowship program where small groups gather at different conveners’ homes for a simple meal and good conversation. Periodically, they have fun programs like “Pancakes and Parables” where they gather for breakfast and a Bible Study. This takes the concept of coffee hour to a whole new level! But perhaps their most meaningful or spiritual food-centered gathering is their monthly Dinner Church.  This is essentially a meal surrounded by worship. Holy Eucharist is shared, and between the sacraments of bread and wine, a meal is served.  Casual conversation is shared during the meal and then attention is re-gathered with the Word of God as the service proceeds to its close. Food for the meal may be prepared by a small group or it may be provided as potluck. Dinner Church is held on the second Friday each month.

Lest you think that St. James, Essex Junction is only about food, this congregation is vibrant and active in

images from St. James Church, Essex Junction

many other ways. Worship is augmented with music provided by a number of choirs, including a cherub choir made up of very young children.  They also have an active bell choir, and adult choir. St. James’ Kids offers the youth of the congregation opportunities to learn about outreach through activities offered at least once a month.  Sometimes the outreach that is offered is barely recognizable under the cloaking of fun! On the other end of the age spectrum, St. James has Sole Mates.  Sole Mates consists of any single person over the age of 65.  Like St. James Kids, Sole Mates gets together for fun activities, day (or even longer) trips, and various “good works” activities. St. James sponsors a Sudanese mission in Africa and each April hosts a fundraiser to support that mission. Outreach is an important element of mission at St. James, and almost all their activities endeavor to reach out to others in faith.

It makes a certain amount of sense that healthy faith communities such as St. James, Essex Junction would center much of their mission on food.  For food is the source of nourishment, not only for the body and mind, but for the spirit as well.  To be able to nourish a deeply spiritual faith with both literal and symbolic food is a special gift.  It is gift that St. James has in abundance and is more than happy to share!