Post on 07-Feb-2017
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Newsletter of the Community of the Gospel, a monastic community in the Episcopal Church, USA
May 15, 2016 - Volume 1, No. 3
Many years ago, before I was ordained,
I was at a service of Holy Eucharist on
Pentecost. Sitting in the pew, I was
wearing red clothing, a wonderful tradi-
tion on Pentecost.
The setting was a large church building,
with a sophisticated (for that day!) sound
system. As the Pentecost lections were
being read, the sound of wind came
through the PA system, at first faintly
then gradually louder until you could
barely hear the readers. By the end of
the Gospel reading, in several languages
at once, the sound of wind and the jum-
ble of languages mixed together into an
overwhelming experience of being in the
Upper Room and feeling the Holy Spirit
descend upon us all. Pentecost has been
one of my favorite feasts ever since,
right behind Easter and Christmas. Just a
few years ago, living in Manhattan, I
ordered a sound machine to help me
sleep through sirens and cars honking
and traffic noises. My two favorite set-
tings were ocean waves and white noise
(close to the sound of wind).
What I became aware of through the
sound of wind in that Pentecost liturgy
long ago was the sheer POWER of the
Spirit. That's what Jesus meant when he
advised us that the Spirit blows where it
will. The Spirit passes into and through
humanity, both individually and corpo-
rately, with mighty power to effect
change, to bring energy, to make the
seemingly impossible bloom into possi-
bility, to get us up moving when we'd
rather collapse into a heap and stay
there.
I think of all the heads I have laid hands
From our Bishop Visitor
Rt. Rev. Chilton R. Knudsen
on - to ordain people or to confirm them,
to seal them with holy chrism at baptism,
or to pray for healing. Each of those mo-
ments includes a specific invocation of
the Holy Spirit in the prayers appointed
for these rites.
The consecration of the bread and wine
at the Eucharistic Table includes an in-
vocation of the Holy Spirit also: "Send
your Holy Spirit upon these gifts, that
they may be the Body and Blood of
Christ".
Throughout Christian history, the Holy
Spirit has been understood to be femi-
nine, as shown (for example) in the femi-
nine gender of the Greek HAGIA SO-
PHIA (literally Holy Wisdom). It is en-
tirely appropriate to use the feminine
pronoun when referring to the Holy Spir-
it: Mystics and writers have done so
from the first century until today.
TRANSFORMATION is what the Holy
Spirit does. And not just for the sake of
expressing her power and creativity, but
for the sake of transforming the world
(and you and me) into what God has
always intended for humanity: The tri-
umph of peace, justice, mercy and love.
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS! COME,
HOLY SPIRIT!
The Spirit's blessing upon each of you
this Pentecost and always, +Chilton,
Assistant Bishop of Maryland
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Round-Up Western Retreat
By Sister Charity
My deep need for face to face prayer,
conversation and laughter has been met
for this year. Why? I attended the west-
ern retreat!
Br. John Charles Westaway staged the
2nd western retreat for the Community
of the Gospel once again at the Deserts
Journeys Retreat House on April 8, 9,
10, & 11. This facility was designed and
is maintained by Fr. David Caffrey as an
active ministry in his
retirement. It is situated
in the Desert of the 29
Palms in the interior of
southern California near
Palm Springs. The set-
ting is, for me, a "thin
space" of prayer and
quiet. The guest house
is comfy and inviting.
Trails to walk, a Laby-
rinth, Spring flowering
cacti, Icons in the De-
sert, a true treasure.
The retreat began with a sumptuous din-
ner at the 29 Palms Inn. An experience
not to be missed! The schedule of the
retreat was designed by Br. John Charles
for spirited discussions, daily office,
Holy Eucharist, and laughter. We
grilled, drank coffee, sang Hymns and
prayed for those on our Community
Prayer List.
A word about cost: this is most likely
one of the most affordable retreats you
can find. One reason is that there are
Brother John Huebner Now A Lay Preacher
Br. John Huebner first felt the call to
preach while working with the Missionar-
ies of Charity sisters in 2012. At the time,
he was living in Indianapolis Indiana and
working at the Queen of Peace Shelter, a
homeless shelter run by the sisters.
When the sisters found out he was ex-
ploring the religious life as a brother in the
Community of the Gospel, they took an
active role in his formation. He found
himself being included in their daily
rhythm of study, prayer, and service to the
poor. In addition to their homeless shelter,
the sisters were active in ministry at a lo-
cal nursing home, a community center,
and weekly home visitations. He espe-
cially remembers how the sisters often
discussed with him the vocation of all
Christians to preach the Gospel through
actions and words.
After moving to Asheville, North Caroli-
na in 2013, Br. John was invited to lead
worship and to preach on several occa-
sions at the local mission where he works.
His training with the Missionaries of Char-
ity sisters was being put to use. It was at
this point that he wanted to explore a more
formalized process for leading worship
and preaching. After discussing this with
Br. Daniel-Joseph and Bishop Chilton, he
was encouraged to pursue the process of
becoming a licensed worship leader and
lay preacher in his diocese.
Br. John met with his bishop and began
the process of obtaining the license based
on the requirements of his diocese. The
interim rector of his parish, a retired semi-
nary professor of NT studies and homilet-
ics, was assigned his mentor. A year later
after fulfilling all the requirements of the
diocese, the license was presented to Br.
John on February 22, 2016 by the Rt. Rev.
Porter Taylor, Bishop of the Episcopal
Diocese of Western North Carolina, at the
diocesan chapel in Asheville. Before the
license was presented, the bishop led a
short service in the chapel which included
prayers, anointing, and commissioning
with the laying on of hands.
cheap deals traveling into LAX .
I want to encourage everyone to come
next year; start saving now! My deep
need for face to face prayer, conversation
and laughter has been met for this year.
Thanks to Fr. David and Br. John Charles
for deepening my monastic practice. And,
their gift of pure presence. See you all
next year!
Br. John & Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor
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By Br. Daniel-Chad, IN
When I converted to the Episcopal Church
after a lifetime in the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), an ecumenical and
progressive denomination, I had one thing
in mind: I was seeking a liturgical and
communal setting where I could thrive and
grow in the Spirit.
To be honest, life with the Disciples had
prepared me for this next step: The Disci-
ples celebrated weekly Eucharist and were
becoming more and more welcoming and
diverse. The clergy were generally well
prepared. Social justice was significant to
the denomination and it was and continues
to be important to me as well.
But something was missing. I especially
needed to learn to pray again. The beauty
of the Anglican liturgy literally blew me
away and from my first encounters, I never
looked back. I am not exaggerating when I
state that the Book of Common Prayer and
its collective use in the liturgy, jump start-
ed me again in prayer.
Looking back on the period when I moved
from lifelong affiliation with one church to
another, I now realize that the missing ele-
ment was a setting where I could pray, feel
awestruck with the majesty of the Holy
One, and sit in deep and generative silence.
For many reasons, I had hit a brick wall in
my spiritual development and needed a
very big change in order to repair my soul.
It was about me and not about the denomi-
nation that had so faithfully nurtured me
and my family over multiple generations.
When I walked into Christ Church Cathe-
dral for the first time with its beautiful and
well-preserved architecture and interior, I
felt that I had entered an alternative uni-
verse of sorts: incense, physical acts of
devotion (bowing, genuflecting, kneeling),
long and pondered readings of Scripture,
elegant language and intelligent preaching
on the Word. One day I told the Very Rev.
Robert Giannini, then Rector, about how I
felt the Anglican world I had entered for
worship was “another world.” His com-
ment was: “Good! That is exactly what
we hope for.”
Membership in the Episcopal Church
opened up new insights and options for me
beyond the power of the liturgy itself. I
was a volunteer at the 2006 General Con-
vention of the Episcopal Church in Colum-
bus, Ohio. It was all very exciting for me
as the church was in the process of electing
a new Presiding Bishop. As I went
through the hallways, I noticed a number
of monastics in full habit. This was an
astonishing discovery for me! Until then, I
thought that monastics belonged to the
Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
I remember having coffee with several
brothers of the Brotherhood of St. Grego-
ry. They described their community and
how non-residential monastic communities
work. Until sharing coffee and cinnamon
rolls with the Gregorians, I never imagined
that I, too, could be a monastic without
leaving my day job.
Back in Indianapolis, I started reading eve-
rything I could about monasticism. Some
of my reading took me to the Desert Fa-
thers and Mothers where I realized force-
fully how crucial stillness, silence and
meditation are in the monastic tradition. I
even spent the Triduum of 2007 at Holy
Cross Monastery in the Hudson Valley of
New York state. I reached out to the Ben-
edictine sisters at Our Lady of Grace Mon-
astery near Indianapolis who welcomed me
warmly and invited me to the Divine Of-
fice. Later they were to train me in spiritu-
al direction.
One afternoon I was browsing my just-
arrived edition of the now defunct Episco-
pal Life. In the classified ads section there
was a tiny announcement from the Com-
munity of the Gospel inviting persons in-
terested in exploring religious life with this
non-residential community to get in touch.
I visited the web site and was much im-
pressed with the freshness and simplicity
of the monastic concept that was offered. I
started thinking that maybe I, too, could
live a life of prayer, service and study
alongside other members of the communi-
ty. Especially attractive to me was the
name: Community of the Gospel. Could
I, too, be a part of this community of the
Good News?
So after mulling it over for some weeks, I
took the leap and contacted Brother Daniel
-Joseph Schroeder. He began patiently and
very systematically working with me on
novitiate requirements (actually, we called
novices at that time “associate members”).
One thing that drew me to the community
was the kindness of the Guardian and his
from-the-gut commitment to the monastic
life. I figured that I could offer my obedi-
ence to this ex-cop from Milwaukee, if I
ever got that far in the process.
And I did get that far! On September 25,
2008 I was received as a novice in the
Community of the Gospel during a won-
derful sung evensong at Christ Church
Cathedral attended by many family and
friends. On April 15, 2009, during the
community’s convocation, I was received
as a full member (along with Br. John
Charles Westaway) at All Saints Episcopal
Church, Appleton, WI. I chose the name
“Daniel-Chad” to honor my patron saint,
St. Chad of Lichfield +672 who was
known for his simplicity, pastoral concern
and monastic commitment. His feast day
is March 2. Coincidentally, that was the
first Mass ever celebrated in the Commu-
nity of the Gospel by our Chaplain, the
Rev. Tyrone Fowlkes. Finally, by 2013 it
Called To Be A Brother To The World
St. Chad of Lichfield
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seemed clear that I was stable enough in
my monastic calling to offer life vows.
This happened at the Convent of the
Transfiguration, Glendale, OH in the
presence of our entire community, mem-
bers of my parish, friends, and other reli-
gious including two Benedictines from
Our Lady of Grace, Indianapolis, and an
Oblate of Julian of Norwich (who is my
spiritual director), as well as one mem-
ber of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory.
Has it worked? I mean, has my goal of
becoming more prayer-full taken hold in
my life? While I know that there is plen-
ty of room for improvement, my days are
organized around prayer and meditation,
service through my spiritual direction
practice, and study. In the past, when I
imagined this period in my life, I never
dreamed that I would be here doing what
I am doing. It is thanks to my childhood
Christian nurture with the Disciples, my
on-going care and involvement in the
Episcopal Church, and the embrace of the
Community of the Gospel that I am
called to be a brother to the world around
me.
When I entered the community, it was
very, very small. There was no assurance
that it would survive. We had not yet
secured recognition from the bishops of
the church. There has never been a lot of
money in the accounts. Yet, we seem to
have all of our needs met—and more.
Now I see our community as an estab-
lished non-residential community of the
Episcopal Church with strong leadership
from our guardian, bishop visitor and
chaplain. The members of the communi-
ty take absolutely seriously their voca-
tions as religious. We are growing in
numbers, diversity and in the joy of the
Gospel. I believe deeply that this com-
munity and other non-residential and mo-
nastic expressions are agents for the re-
newal of Christ’s church. The Communi-
ty of the Gospel points to a hopeful future
and I am glad to be a part of it.
Called To Be A Brother
To The World
continued from page 3 What do I know of the Holy Spirit? I can only tell you a story.
A girl in her twenties is sitting at the organ in a cold, dark chapel in Germany. Her
fingers are half frozen on the keys. Still, there is practicing to do.
She turns to a hymn that has sung in her since childhood.
Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art;
And help me love Thee as I ought to love.
This, she knows, is the prayer of her heart. The prayer that sings in her veins, awake
or asleep.
I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies;
No sudden rending of the veil of clay;
No angel visitant, no opening skies;
But take the dimness of my soul away.
She knows she is lying. She longs for the rending of the veil of clay, for angels visi-
tant, for opening skies.
Well, then, something within her says, what will you do?
And in her mind’s eye, she sees Abraham, ready to sacrifice his beloved, his Isaac.
What is my Isaac, she wonders? But she already knows. It is the stage. The joy and
relief of being other people.
But in her quest to be other people, she has become fierce. She has become skilled at
putting doubts about other actresses in directors’ minds, so that, in the end, they cast
her. This is not the person she wants to be.
Very well, she says. If giving up the theater will open the skies, then I will do it.
The very next day she writes a letter resigning from the play in which she has just
been cast. The agony of driving past the theater is very real and does not lessen with
time.
Forty years pass. Years when skies trembled and opened briefly; years when the
skies remained stubbornly closed. Years when, in her frustration, she would give up
on God and return to the stage, only to discover she couldn’t be herself there, but only
someone else.
She lives in a world where the language of sacrifice is rarely spoken, and then, usual-
ly, only in ritual. It isn’t for the likes of us, is the unspoken word.
But what if it is? What if the voice in that cold, dark church was the Holy Spirit?
What if it wasn’t? Discernment, that is what is needed; another of the Spirit’s gifts.
She only knows that those moments when the skies opened, however briefly, were
worth any sacrifice.
And what, a voice asks, if none of it was necessary? What if it wasn’t such a holy
spirit asking this of you?
She smiles. Well then, she says, He will understand what I meant, and take me at my
best. It is His Nature.
A Pentecost Reflection by Maria Lundgren ,
the former Sr. Hilary-Grace
Editor’s Note
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
George Croly, 1854
Frederick Atkinson, 1870.
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The Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th centu-
ry (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and
Gregory of Nazianzus) described the Trini-
ty as a continual dance of self-emptying.
The Father poured Himself into the Son,
the Son poured Himself into the Spirit, and
the Spirit poured Herself into the Father.
This, they said, was how God shows what
love is like – a continual dance of a love
offering.
St. Paul described the process in his letter
to the Philippians, “Let the same mind be
in you that was in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God…
emptied himself taking the form of a serv-
ant…humbling himself,” all for love. This
self-emptying of one’s love for another is
referred to as kenosis; to release one’s own
will and allow the loving will of God to fill
the void, and eventually spilling out to be
shared.
So, what does this have to do with Pente-
cost? Just about everything.
This dance isn’t just among the Creator,
Redeemer, and Sustainer – it’s also a
dance with the creation – you and me.
God’s love cannot be contained, but must
be poured out. It must permeate every-
thing from cosmos to neutrinos.
Pentecost, like all the seasons and Holy
Days of the Church year, are continuing
affirmations of God’s love for us. This
dance of love is the next logical step in the
flow of love from one to another, from
God to us.
But it doesn’t end there, either! Our re-
sponse to this love is to join the dance – to
empty ourselves of our (false) selves, and
to receive this love from our Creator.
Then, become aware of when and where
it’s most important to pour forth this love
unto someone else, some other of God’s
creatures, or on the natural world He gave
us to organize it all.
Peter sums it up well when he writes,
"Divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of God, who called us to share
in the divine glory and goodness. In be-
stowing these gifts, God has given us the
guarantee of something very great and
wonderful to come. Through them you'll
be able to share the divine nature." (2 Pe-
ter 1:3-4)
Anyone care to dance?
by Br. Daniel-Joseph, Brother Guardian
Important Dates
Pentecost
May 15
St. Mary the Virgin,
Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
August 15
Holy Cross Day
September 14
Convocation 2016
October 27-31 Our next issue of the Bell Tower is
planned to come out for Holy Cross
Day, September 14. (if God allows!)
Would love to see some pre-convocation
articles submitted by you all. Also look-
ing for articles on what the cross means
to you . If you have an idea for an arti-
cle that does not fit these catego-
ries , do it anyway and send it in.
Maybe this newsletter can become
one of the forums we need between con-
vocations and retreats. Submissions
should be sent either in email or word
document form to
athanasius1953@hotmail.com.
Next deadline is September 1, 2016.
Thanasi - editor
Invitation 2 Submit
The Bell Tower is the newsletter of the
Community of the Gospel, POBox 414,
Hortonville, WI 54944
www.communityofthegospel.org