Síochán leat

"Peace be with you," in the Irish language. Recently, my family and friends from the Erie Playhouse had an opportunity to share our award-winning production of THE GLORIOUS ONES with our friends of the Dungarvan Dramatic Club in Waterford County, southeast Ireland. I found myself wishing old friends and new acquaintances "peace," in their homes, in the work, in their creating, and in our time spent together.

Síochán leat. The wishing of another "peace" is a universal greeting, parting, and well wish. My Arabic students greet me with Salaam alaikum, "Peace be upon you." In our Christian Eucharistic liturgy, we greet one another with the phrase "Peace be with you," and respond with "And also with you" or "and with your spirit. These are the words that Jesus used to greet his friends during his resurrection appearances, and words that should have a sacred and honored sincerity each time they are uttered.

The extension of peace, though, is not always a concrete wish. In point of fact, by our actions and by our words, we often are not invoking a sense of calm or ground, but a sense of anxiety, conflict, and tension. Many of our prayers for peace are empty, as we actually wish ill upon one another. Can you imagine if you were greeted, or you greeted someone yourself, with "Pain be with you." or "Anxiety be upon you." or "Hatred be with you."

We disciples of Christ are in the world, but not of the world, says Paul. We recognize the hypocrisy and disingenuous psyches of individuals and institutions around us. But we need not adopt or employ such negative tactics in our own interactions and relationships. In fact, we are called to imitate Christ, to reach out to those with whom we may disagree, or to those who may harbor ill will towards us and those we love. And we are to wish them peace.

So to those who are intolerant, unwelcoming, voluntarily ignorant of the millennia of Christian teachings on שָׁלוֹם, or ειρήνη, or pax, or peace, I say to you:

Síochán leat.

Salaam alaikum.

Peace be with you.

In the Peace of Christ,
Fr. Shawn

The start of a new chapter...

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.’

I Samuel 3:11

I have always loved novelty and change. As a child, I enjoyed new toys, new games, new houses. I loved new television shows, especially new cartoons at the beginning of each new season (Does anyone else remember watching the Saturday morning preview promotional shows that whetted our appetites for the new Josie and the Pussycats or Star Trek cartoons?).

So it is not surprising that I am giddy about my new appointment as vicar of St. Stephen's in Fairview, Pennsylvania. It is a congregation in West Erie County with a strong tradition. Founded in 1964 by faithful families that were also looking to initiate a something new: an Episcopal presence and ministry in a growing community. It is a church with a strong history of commitment to authentic and engaging ministry (the architectural style has a Virginia flavor with an emphasis on congregational participation), a desire to be vital in the township (with a newly initiated community garden), and a love of children and their teaching/learning (housing one of the areas most respected and loved pre-school programs).

The first scripture on my first Sunday at St. Stephen's is the reading from I Samuel where he is called by God in the midst of transition to an unknown future. While God expresses anger with the way his people are living their lives (which is not a characteristic of St. Stephen's), he also affirms that Samuel is gifted with attributes, talents, and passions which will help his household and community to weather the changes that they would encounter.

My prayer, as I start this next chapter in my priestly ministry, is that my attributes, talents, and passions will help inspire the good people of St. Stephen's to embrace their various ministries and do the good work that God has given them (and me) to do. I look forward to our new relationship and to the exciting days to come.

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Shawn

The War on Lent

“The War on Christmas” is a ruse – there are more Christmas lights, more Christmas greetings, and more Christmas celebrations every year. And while Christians, and those who appropriate Christianity for personal gain, cry out that secularism has stripped Christmas of Christ, the only sane response to the allegation is, “Bah! Humbug!”

The real war is the “War on Lent.” For centuries, faithful Christians have taken the forty-days and forty-nights from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday to be a time of sincere and deep self-examination. Unfortunately, the season has been written out of some traditions and practice (“It’s too serious.”), or has become a website pop-up survey (“Which of the following do you do during Lent? A. Read the Bible B. Replace beef with haddock. C. Swear less. D. Other”).

Lent demands the seriousness of looking into a mirror and being honest with ourselves. It needs more than a buffet of giving up and taking on of novel actions. Christians don’t always seize the blessings of a season that invites us to remove the mask and shed the armor of religious hedonism, and view ourselves through the eyes of God who has gifted us with gifts we don’t employ: empathy, sympathy, generosity, and love.

My Jewish friends take the period of penitence from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur extraordinarily seriously. My Muslim friends enter the month of Ramadan with a piety that is worth emulating. If we Christians honestly took the time to examine how our actions affirmed our love of God and the love for our fellow humans, imagine the hope, peace, and justice that would be released into our lives, our homes, our communities, and our world.

In the War on Lent, for Christians, our only enemy is ourselves; and we are an adversary worth confronting, knowing that the battle waged will end in our triumphant reconciliation with our Creator and with one another.

With compassion and mercy, let us love and serve the Lord.

Fr. Shawn+

New Year's - 2018

God does not show favoritism. - Romans 2:11

Today was an extraordinary day. Due to my spouse's engagement as a primary candidate for mayor in the City of Erie, today we celebrated with the winner of the general election, Mayor Joe Schember. Throughout the campaign, Almi and I found Joe and his wife, Rhonda, to be terrific people: caring, constructive, positive, and visionary. While we were certainly in the primary to win, we were happy, after the primary, to join the Schember campaign and support Joe and his team in their bid for City Hall.

It was an honor to sit in the packed city council chambers today and celebrate the inauguration of Erie's 38th mayor. It was moving to hear the words of the oath of office spoken by our next civic leader, and to hear his optimistic words of hope for our city and our region. It was a joy to raise our voices in song, along with friends Mike Malthaner and Linda Wingerter, as we led those gathered in a rendition of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun (a song that takes on incredible meaning after the seven feet of snow we've had since Christmas Day!).

As the ceremony drew to a close, though, I had a profoundly moving experience. Mayor Schember had decided to have one of Erie's Muslim leaders, Benjamin Aysan, the Executive Director of the Erie Turkish Cultural Center, chant the opening of the Quran, first in Arabic then spoken in translation. It was a powerful assertion that our new administration was going to be one of inclusion and welcome, of radical celebration of diversity and strength in our shared identities and member of the Erie community. It was beautiful to be reminded that we have many New Americans, many of whom came to this extraordinary country, and our beautiful lake shore, in search of opportunity and the possibility of learning and growing.

I was reminded that, while many feel that they are particularly blessed or advantaged, God shows no favoritism or partiality. While the quote from Paul's Letter to the Romans was focused on our shared brokenness, it is not hard to imagine how it applies also to our wonderful individuality and gifts of distinction. I loved hearing both the English and the sung Arabic affirmation of what it is to be part of Creation that is infinite in its creative diversity. If God can imagine all the beauty and good that we see, how can we not imagine that all that is distinct and beautiful is of God? Our neighborhoods, our cities, our regions, our nation, our world are all strengthened by the celebration of diversity, and by the embracing what what we share - our love for family, friends, and the wonderful universe in which we live.

The mayor's choice to have a spectrum of voices in his inauguration portends a powerful future for our city under his leadership. I have extraordinary hope because of Mayor Joe Schember. I anticipate even more optimism with his positive and engaging voice. I am thankful to be a part of the fabric of this wonderfully diverse and gifted region.

Namaste/Peace/Salaam/Shalom,
Shawn+