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The Very Rev Ruth Lawson Kirk

The Rev Canon Pamela Jane Mott

The Rev Canon V Gene Robinson

Biography

“The single greatest challenge facing the church, its congregations, its clergy, and its people, is to keep Christ at the center of all we are, all we do, all we say. This may sound simplistic. But the reality is that we live in a time and in a culture where it is very difficult to stay centered in Christ...The only appropriate response to this challenge is prayer.”

The Very Reverend Robert L. Tate became Rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, a 750-member parish in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, in 1995. Elected Dean of Wissahickon Deanery in 1999, he supervises 14 parishes in the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s most racially and economically diverse deanery and serves on the Human Resources Committee of Episcopal Community Services. Bob is Vice President of the Governing Board of the College of Preachers, Washington, D.C., was a member of its adjunct faculty from 1989-1995, and in 2003 was named a Fellow. In 2000 and 2003 he was elected as alternate delegate to General Convention.

At St. Martin’s he developed lay ministry and leadership, increased commitment to outreach and community service, and completed an award-winning $3.5 million renovation. “I am convinced that strategic planning has to be a tool employed continuously in all our parishes and institutions.” The parish has a companion relationship with three parishes in Guatemala’s Mayan Highlands and a North Philadelphia Hispanic mission. “By word and example, I have called every parishioner to be actively involved in ministry in the world.”

Bob helped found the Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry, an ecumenical ministry of emergency assistance. In 1998, he joined the Board of the Reinvestment Fund, with $150 million in assets used for loans and technical assistance to housing projects, jobs programs, and small business development in the Camden/Philadelphia/Wilmington/Baltimore region.

A graduate of Princeton University, Bob received his B.A. in Religion in 1972. In 1976, he completed the M.Div. at the Berkeley Divinity School of Yale Divinity School, and interned as Assistant University Chaplain. He spent four years as lay Chaplain and Head of the Religion Department at The Wooster School, Danbury, Connecticut, where he developed the religion curriculum, taught, and coached sports. He was ordained Deacon in 1979 and Priest in 1980.

At the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Diocese of Bethlehem, Bob assisted the Dean and founded Bethany House, a diocesan shelter and soup kitchen. As Diocesan Youth Coordinator, he established and directed Camp Susquehanna, a two-week diocesan summer camp.

During eleven years as rector of Christ Church, Capitol Hill, Washington, Bob aided parish development and initiated a $1.2 million renovation. He served on the diocesan Stewardship Commission, chairing it for two years. As stewardship consultant to over 10 parishes, he wrote the Diocesan Stewardship manual and conducted an annual stewardship conference.

Bob is married to Ann N. Greene, a Ph.D. candidate in American History at the University of Pennsylvania. They have two children, Elizabeth, 20, and Andy, 13. Bob’s favorite activities are golf, hiking, canoeing, sailing, reading, and playing the guitar.

“Together, we need to get the word out. Together we need to issue the invitation to everyone. Join us! Get involved! Come to the banquet of the Lord!”

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The Very Rev Robert L Tate
Responses to Questions

Describe three contemporary saints who have influenced your ministry.

I would define a saint as a person who is transparent to the presence of God: a person who is a window through which others see the light of Christ. I have known many saints in my life. Some are still very much alive, some have long since gone to join the angels and archangels. Three come immediately to mind:

John Verdery. From the age of 26 until he retired at age 70, The Rev. John Verdery was the Headmaster of The Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut. He was simply the best teacher, the best preacher, the best fundraiser, and the best priest I have ever known. John invited me, while I was in my junior year at seminary, to come to Wooster and give some chapel talks and teach some classes. My senior year, knowing that I was conflicted about being ordained, he offered me a position when I graduated as lay Chaplain and Chairman of the Religion Dept. In my four years at Wooster School, John was my mentor. John had what I would call an “essential humility.” At the end of his career, he was considered one of the greatest preachers in the church. And yet he would say that he knew nothing about preaching, that all he did was wrestle out loud with the connections between real life issues and the gospel of Jesus Christ in ordinary language and always with a dose of humor. John was considered one of the great fundraisers in the church. And yet he would say that he knew nothing about fundraising, that all he did was talk passionately to people about the mission of the school and people would send him money. John was a great educator, in the true sense of the word: one who draws out the best in others. He saw something in me that, at the time, I couldn’t or wouldn’t see in myself: a priest. And slowly, carefully, he helped me discover my vocation. He would say that he didn’t know anything about teaching, that he simply hired good faculty and got out of their way. All I know is that he taught me more about preaching, about stewardship, about being a priest, than anyone I have ever known.

Jean. Jean was a senior researcher and writer at the Smithsonian. I was a 33 year old neophyte rector of Christ Church, Capitol Hill. Soon after I arrived, Jean was elected by the vestry as Sr. Warden. Over the next eleven years, until I was called to a new position in Philadelphia, first in her capacity as Sr. Warden, then in a variety of other roles, we worked together on every aspect of Christ Church. On first appearance, Jean was a completely ordinary person. Divorced, with grown children. A recovering alcoholic with twenty years of sobriety. A writer who was forever missing deadlines. Yet Jean had some amazing spiritual gifts. She knew how to listen. She could hear, not just what people were saying, but more importantly, what they were not saying or were avoiding saying. As a result, she had an amazing ability to read people, groups, and situations. Probably because of her AA experience, she was great in a tough situation. No matter what the crisis of the moment, the church boiler exploding the day before Christmas, the downsizing of the federal government in the early 90’s when scores of parishioners lost their jobs, the annual “budget wars” in the vestry, she was always an island of calm. Like anyone else, Jean would get angry, but I almost never saw her overreact to a situation. She could instantly recognize denial or pretense and would confront it immediately and head on. “Speaking the truth with love” is the biblical phrase that comes to mind when I think of Jean. She wasn’t afraid of failure, didn’t worry much about what others thought of her, and literally, took one day at a time. I know that she would protest my saying this, but she was a woman of great devotion and prayer. In retrospect, I realize just how much she taught me by her example about living in Christian community and being a parish priest in community. She died of cancer several years ago, but every now and then, when confronted by a challenging situation in my ministry, I find myself thinking about what Jean might have said or done, and it always seems to help me respond a little more effectively and faithfully.

James. When I became Dean of Wissahickon Deanery, I soon got to know Jim. He was then the Rector’s Warden of the House of Prayer Episcopal Church (“HOPE Church”) a small African-American congregation in a critical “transitional” neighborhood of North Philadelphia. The parish had been without a rector for over a year and was relying on supply clergy to celebrate the eucharist on Sundays. The parish considered itself a failure because it could not afford a full time or even a part time rector. Jim, who had recently retired as a school teacher, decided to make HOPE his retirement project. Three years later, HOPE is considered one of the great success stories in the diocese, an “anchor institution” in its neighborhood. How did they do it? By force of Jim’s unshakable faith that all things are possible with God, his infectious enthusiasm, and his absolute conviction that every Christian is called to ministry. Jim helped an entire congregation discover the true meaning of lay ministry. Where for years the congregation had relied on the rector to do almost everything, now the parishioners are pastoring each other, the parishioners are preaching and teaching, the parishioners have raised the funds to restore the church buildings, the parishioners are in charge. And the congregation is thriving. A few months ago, on the recommendation of the deanery, Bishop Bennison named Jim as Lay Pastor in Charge of HOPE, Now that HOPE can afford a rector again, Jim’s greatest fear is that if and when they do call a rector, the congregation and priest will somehow collude in reclericalizing the ministry of the parish. Not if I know Jim! Jim reminded me of what so easily gets lost in discussions of church growth: that a small congregation is not just a failed big congregation or even a potential big congregation. Small congregations have a special reason for being. And Jim reminded me of something that so easily gets lost in discussions of leadership: that the role of the priest is never to do the ministry of the church, but rather to call every parishioner to ministry, and then to work together, baptized Christian and ordained Christian, as the one body of Christ.

What risk have you taken for the Gospel?

In many ways everything I do as a priest involves taking risks for the gospel. In preaching, I am constantly striving to wrestle with difficult issues, risking that someone will disagree with me, or misunderstand me. In my sacramental ministry, I have introduced the Journey to Adulthood curriculum, which postpones confirmation to age 15 or 16, not always to universal acclaim. I have asked that couples in preparation for marriage be at least willing to consider becoming active members. I have required catechumenate preparation for parents and godparents of babies being baptized, declined to do private baptisms, declined to baptize grandchildren who are not members unless requested to do so by their home rector, and restricted baptisms to the days specified in the Prayer Book. In my teaching and programming, I am constantly finding ways of lifting up the ways in which the gospel is countercultural. I have led this congregation to take real risks, even physical risks, in partnership relationships with three Mayan parishes in Guatemala and a diocesan Hispanic mission in North Philadelphia. We now talk about stewardship all year and talk about Annual Giving and money at canvass time in the fall. I tell the congregation what I am giving and why. This year I took a big risk and called a newer, younger member of the vestry as Rector’s Warden instead of one of the older vestry members that everyone expected to be named, in order to send a message to the younger families in the parish. The first person I called to serve on the staff as Adjunct when I arrived was a retired African American priest, the first to serve this predominantly white congregation. I openly and actively supported our gay organist and his partner when they adopted a Chinese child; the whole congregation celebrated his baptism. I am constantly taking risks, in the parish, the deanery and the diocese, to openly support our rather controversial Bishop. None of this would quality me for martyrdom, but taking risks for the gospel is what the daily life of a parish priest is all about.

How have you been called as a leader and a Christian to respond to the events of September 11th? How have you led your faith community to be a witness in the post-September 11th world?

On September 11 our immediate response was to keep St. Martin’s open all day for private prayer. There was a constant stream of people all day. I made sure one of the clergy staff was present at all times for counseling. That evening, more than 300 people spontaneously showed up at the church and we held a meditative prayer service incorporating the Litany at the Time of Death, with a lot of silence. The following Sunday, I preempted the scheduled Adult Forum and gave people a chance to talk with each other about their feelings. We have done that several times since. In the weeks that followed, the clergy intentionally preached on related themes such as the reality of evil and death, grief, praying for our enemies, how to deal with children and death. The intercessors have incorporated similar themes into the Prayers of the People. Our Spiritual Growth Committee hosted a workshop on Global Insecurity that was attended by over 100 people from all over the diocese. I was instrumental in calling for a revitalization of our Episcopal Peace Fellowship Chapter, which has been meeting monthly ever since, with 15 to 20 people gathered to react to unfolding events. On the anniversary of 9/11, I preached at an interfaith service which St. Martin’s helped sponsor at a neighboring church that was extremely well attended by the entire community. This month, the EPF chapter sponsored a lecture on US. Foreign Policy and Iraq. Bethany Putnam, Director of Labor of Love, who coordinated the response at St. Paul’s Chapel/Trinity Wall Street, is going to be our guest preacher on St. Martin’s Day next month.

Identify the top three issues or trends in the life of the Episcopal Church today and how you envision us as a diocese under your leadership relative to these issues and trends.

Keeping Christ at the Center. The single greatest challenge facing the church, its congregations, its clergy, and its people, is to keep Christ at the center of all we are, all we do, and all we say. This may sound simplistic. But the reality is that we live in a time and in a culture where it is very difficult to stay centered in Christ. Instead of being the Living Body of Christ, it is so easy for us to become just another charitable institution or social service agency. Instead of being disciples of Christ, offering ourselves and our lives in joyful service to the gospel, it is so easy for us to become consumers of religion and critics of church politics. The only appropriate response to this challenge is prayer. We must be constantly inviting our people and our communities into deeper personal relationship with Christ through prayer. The single most important thing I have done as a rector in two parishes does not appear on my resume or CDO profile. I have asked that every gathering of any kind begin and end with prayer. Prayer, I believe, is responsible for the spiritual vitality of these two parishes. As a bishop, I would strive to be, above all, a spiritual leader. I had a wonderful role model for this in Bishop Mark Dyer when I was in the Diocese of Bethlehem. While Bishop Mark was a good administrator, he was first and foremost a person of deep spirituality and prayer. While he was excellent teacher and pastor to the clergy, he was first and foremost their spiritual friend and mentor. In his parish visitations, what people remembered most was not his brilliant sermons, but the way he modeled for all Christians a way of being, a way of living, immersed in the presence of God. For all my other gifts, I would strive to be the kind of bishop who keeps Christ at the center, as the source of our unity and strength.

Developing Leadership. One of the greatest needs of the church is for inspired leadership, both baptized and ordained. Good leadership does not just happen, it needs to be developed and nurtured. As bishop I would work with the clergy of the diocese to maintain a collegial environment where we are supporting and pastoring one another. I would work with the leadership throughout the diocese to develop programs at the congregational and diocesan level where new leaders are identified, trained and supported. I would pay particular personal attention to youth ministry, campus ministry, and the discernment of vocations in younger men and women. I would use my gifts as an educator and administrator, my experience with the College of Preachers, our seminaries, and the Standing Commission for Ministry Development, to actively support the existing programs of clergy and laity development and to lead the Diocese of New Hampshire in finding new ways of addressing this critical need.

Developing Creative Vision. Three years ago the Diocese of Pennsylvania challenged every congregation to develop a strategic plan for its future. The diocese supplied trained planning consultants from its budget. For some congregations, this was a dramatic new experience, imagining the future that God is preparing for them. The results have transformed many parishes. Parishes that were in decline have started growing and have discovered a new sense of mission and purpose. Now our entire diocese is developing a strategic plan. We are dreaming about doing some exciting new ventures together as a diocese. I am convinced that strategic planning has to be a tool employed continuously in all of our parishes and institutions. Yet a major challenge remains: our buildings. I researched and drafted the congregational development section of our diocesan strategic plan and was stunned to realize how the costs of maintaining and repairing our aging buildings are squeezing budgets, eating away endowments, and overwhelming the mission and ministry of so many of our congregations. The costs of starting up new congregations are just as daunting. I am not sure what the answer is, but I am convinced that the church has to find a solution to this problem. As bishop, I would use my experience with strategic planning, community development financing, and fundraising to find new, creative, collaborative ways to assist congregations in making capital improvements and enhancing their ministries.

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The Very Rev. Robert L. Tate
SUMMARY OF PASTORAL EXPERIENCE

Pastoral Care: Basic Clinical Pastoral Education, 1978; Chaplain and counselor, Wooster School, Danbury, CT, 1976-80; Volunteer Chaplain, St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, PA, 1980-84; Training and supervision in spiritual direction, Nave Clergy Program, National Cathedral/Shalem Institute, Washington DC, 1990-95; Development of Lay Pastoral Care Team at St. Martin’s, Philadelphia, with monthly supervision by Samaritan Counseling Center, 1995-; as Dean of Wissahickon, pastoral care of deanery clergy and their families 1998-; I have been in spiritual direction (monthly) since 1984 and in a colleague group (bi-weekly) since 1995.

Teaching: Instructor in Philosophy and Ethics, Phillips Academy Summer Session, Andover, Mass, 1974-75; Chairman, Dept. of Religion, Wooster School, 1976-80; Adjunct Faculty in Pastoral Theology, Moravian Seminary, Bethlehem, PA, 1980-84; Adjunct Faculty, Assistant Director of Field Education, Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA, 1990-95; Adjunct Faculty, College of Preachers, Washington, DC, 1989-95; Instructor in Homiletics, School of the Diaconate, Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, 1998; Founder of Episcopal Clergy Association of PA Diocesan Clergy Leadership Institute, 1998; named Fellow, College of Preachers, 2003; Design and leadership of adult education programs, forums, seminars, book groups, lecture series, etc. at Nativity Cathedral, Christ Church, and St. Martin’s, 1984-present.

Ministry with and to Children and Youth: Chaplain and Head of Religion Dept., Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach, Varsity Boys’ Tennis Coach, Wooster School, 1976-80; Diocesan Youth Coordinator, Bethlehem, PA, 1980-84; Founder and first Director, Camp Susquehanna, Diocese of Bethlehem summer camp, 1982-84; Bishop’s representative to Board of Trustees, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Bethesda, MD, 1992-95; Development of St. Martin’s children's ministries program, 1995-2003 (one of five parishes highlighted in National Episcopal Church’s “Children's’ Charter” videotape produced for 1997 General Convention); Development of special service for preschool children and their families, St. Martin’s, 2000-; Development of Rite 13, Journey to Adulthood, Young Adults in Church programs at St. Martin’s, 1998-; “Rector’s Rock Revue” (play guitar and banjo, in band with teenagers and adults), St. Martin’s, 2002-.

Congregational Development: At Christ Church, instituted Newcomer’s Ministry, Liturgists’ Guild (design and leading of worship, lay preaching), Theology Study Group, strategic planning, building renovation, 1984-95. At St. Martin’s, instituted Liturgists’ Guild, Parish Spiritual Direction Program, Lay Pastoral Care Team, Planned Giving Program, Discernment Committee (lay ministry development), catechumenate program, strategic planning, and award-winning building renovation, 1995-; Reorganized vestry, staff, and lay leadership into oversight clusters for development, program and administration, 2002; as Dean of Wissahickon, drafted the Congregational Development section of the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s “Our Holy Experiment” Strategic Plan (2002) and consult with vestries and search committees throughout the deanery 1998-.

Stewardship and Evangelism: Diocesan Stewardship Commission, Diocese of Washington, 1990-95, Chairman, 1993-95; National Episcopal Church Star Stewardship System Training, Delray Beach, Florida, 1990; wrote Diocese of Washington Stewardship Manual, 1994; helped organize annual Diocesan Stewardship Conference, 1990-95; stewardship consultant to over ten parishes in three dioceses, 1990-2003; At Christ Church, DC, doubled membership and attendance, tripled giving, initiated $1.2 million capital campaign, 1984-95. At St. Martin’s, Philadelphia, completed feasibility study and $3.5 million capital campaign, 2001-02, and initiated Planned Giving Program, 2003.

Ecumenical and Interfaith Work: Founder and first President of Southside Ministries, Bethlehem, PA, 1976-80; President, Capitol Hill Group Ministry, 1989-92. Active involvement in Northwest Interfaith Movement, Philadelphia, 1995-; ECUSA representative to Board of Lutheran Academy of Preachers, Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia, 1998-; Diocesan representative to Board of Servant Year Episcopal/Lutheran Urban Internship Program, Germantown, PA, 2002-.

Leadership in Outreach and Social Justice: Intern as Assistant to Yale Univ. Chaplain, 1974-76; Founder of New Bethany House, diocesan soup kitchen and shelter ministry, Bethlehem, PA, 1984; Companion Diocese Committee (Bethlehem/Puerto Rico), 1980-84; Established companion parish relationship between St. Monica’s (an African-American parish on Capitol Hill) and Christ Church, DC, 1990-95; Established companion parish relationship between St. Martin’s, Philadelphia, and three Mayan Guatemalan parishes, 1998-; also between St. Martin’s and Christ and St. Ambrose Diocesan Hispanic Mission in North Philadelphia, 2002-; Founder and First President of Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry (ecumenical emergency aid program), 1999-; Board of The Reinvestment Fund ($150 million community development fund), Philadelphia, 1998-, Board and Human Resource Committee of Episcopal Community Services (the social service arm of the Diocese of Pennsylvania), 1998-.

Administration, Personnel and Finance: Probably my strongest pastoral specialty; Rector of 750 member, multiple-staff parish with $850,000 budget, 1995-; 25 years of training and experience in human resources, strategic planning, financial management, fundraising, and personnel supervision in every parish and diocese I have served; Experience on numerous boards, including Episcopal Community Services, The Reinvestment Fund, the College of Preachers, the National Network of Episcopal Clergy Associations, the ECUSA Standing Commission for Ministry Development; Past President, Episcopal Clergy Association of Pennsylvania, 1997-98; Alternate Delegate to General Convention, 2000 (Denver) and 2003 (Minneapolis).

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A sermon preached by the Rector, The Very Rev. Robert L. Tate, on 2 Lent B, Sunday, March 16, 2003. Propers: Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 16: 5-11; Romans 8:31-39; Mark 8:31-38.

I.

Today, the second Sunday in Lent, we have three of the most important texts in the entire Bible. I want to suggest that these texts, taken together, offer a roadmap for the development of faith. We start with Abraham’s blind, uncomprehending obedience, move to Peter’s dialectical theology, then to the early church’s proclamation that Christ is risen, and finally to Paul’s call to a mature faith in the Christ who is with us always.

The story of Abraham and Isaac in the Book of Genesis is an ancient myth, dating back to at least 2,500 BC in what we call the prehistory of Israel. It is the story of Abraham’s absolute obedience to God. God had given Abraham and Sarah a miracle, a son named Isaac, born to them in their old age--a son whom God had promised would be a blessing to the nations and whose offspring would found a new people with a special relationship to God. And then, just as Isaac reaches adulthood, God commands Abraham to take him up a mountain, bind him and kill him as an offering to God.

Biblical scholars remind us that when the people of Israel told this story down through the centuries, they understood that it was a myth, probably reflecting the time when human sacrifices were outlawed in favor of animal and plant offerings. The whole point of the myth is that God’s command to kill Isaac is absurd. Abraham knows it is absurd. But still he is prepared to obey. And God, having tested Abraham’s obedience, provides an alternative, a lamb for the sacrifice.

We might call this initial stage of faith development “blind faith,” or perhaps more accurately, “blind obedience”. God, for Abraham, is unfathomable and incomprehensible. God gives Isaac life; God commands Isaac’s sacrifice. The Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Religion seems to demand obedient sacrifice of that which is most precious in order to appease or placate God. Theologians call this a theology of propitiation. This stage of faith is actually very Lenten. Ashes reminding us that we are but dust, that we are mortal and God is immortal. Acts of penitence and self-denial offered to God. A child-like trust that somehow, someway, the Lord will provide.

When I think back on this stage of faith in my own life, I remember the first time I was sure God existed. I was in fifth grade, and I had an English paper due for Mrs. Hoag, who had been a WAC Army sergeant before becoming a teacher. The paper wasn’t close to being finished and I was terrified. I remember, that night, doing something I had never done before. I literally got down on my knees next to my bed and prayed to God for a miracle. The next morning I woke up to discover that, unexpected and unforecasted several inches of snow had fallen during the night and school was cancelled. No question. The Lord had provided. I was a believer. Who knows, maybe I am a priest today because of that snowfall!

II.

The second stage of faith development is perfectly illustrated by Peter in today’s gospel passage. Mark’s gospel begins with the declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. There is no question as to his identity. Dramatic tension is created as the disciples persist in misunderstanding his true nature. Throughout the first half of Mark’s gospel, Jesus gradually reveals to the disciples his true nature as the Messiah. But the disciples just don’t get it. Like a lot of other people, they think Jesus is a prophet, or a divinely inspired healer, or a holy man. And every time they seem to be getting close to understanding, Jesus warns them to keep it a secret. Scholars call this the “messianic secret” in Mark’s gospel.

Finally, one day, Peter says, “Jesus, you are the Christ.” The theologian Paul Tillich called this single verse “the center of gravity of the gospels.”

Jesus responds by telling Peter openly and clearly that Peter is absolutely right, that Jesus is the Messiah, but not exactly in the way Peter thinks. Where Peter, like many people in Israel, expects the Messiah to come as a powerful warrior king who will drive out the hated Romans, Jesus tells him that the true Messiah must undergo great suffering, be rejected, and be killed, and then after three days rise again. Jesus tells him that through his own death and resurrection, not through his power and might, God will save the world.

Peter can only hear this as bad news. That Jesus must be rejected and killed cannot possibly be good news. He rebukes Jesus.

At this point Jesus gets about as angry as we ever see him. He curses Peter, calling him a devil, tells him to stop thinking in purely human and worldly terms, and demands that he start thinking in more spiritual and divine terms.

We might call this stage of faith represented by Peter the dialectic of faith and doubt. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Peter wants to believe that Jesus is the Christ, but he cannot accept the cross, and has no comprehension at all of the resurrection. Peter can accept an incarnate God, but not a crucified God. How can Good Friday be good? How can the cross be anything but a sign of failure? He is wrestling with Jesus’ claim that he will be the lamb sacrificed so that others may live, the Passover lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world. Theologians call this a theology of substitution. This stage of faith oscillates between Palm Sunday and Good Friday, between Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his passion on the cross.

We all go through this stage of faith development--some of us, over and over again. I remember being a religion major at college, taking every course I could in Philosophy of Religion, Theology, Ethics, but nothing at all in the Bible. I had left childish things behind. In retrospect I was trying desperately to think my way to God, to prove God’s existence rationally. Like Peter, I was fascinated with Christ, but only on my terms.

III.

The third stage of faith development is our Easter faith that Christ is risen. Christ is not dead, but is alive, and is calling us to new life. The cross is not the end of the story. Jesus points Peter in this direction when he says that “Anyone who would follow me must deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow me.” Christ has shown the way for all. This is our baptismal faith that we die with Christ and are resurrected with him. But Peter cannot go there. Yet. He will deny Jesus many times over in the years to come. It will take Peter and the rest of the disciples most of the rest of their lives to live into this Easter baptismal faith--that in Christ, the world has been reconciled to God, once and for all time. Theologians call this the theology of atonement.

For me, personally this stage faith happened in my first two years of Yale Divinity School, when for the first time I started doing ministry instead of studying religion. A very wise Dean refused to let me take graduate courses in Philosophy and Theology and instead insisted that I study the Old and New Testament. I was assigned as a ward chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital counseling terminally ill adolescents. We talked about life and death. Dreams and nightmares. Hopes and fears. Many of those patients died. They were some of the best teachers I ever had. I was becoming an Easter Christian. Ever since, I have known that I am not, first and foremost a scholar, but a baptized minister. Not a theologian, but a parish priest.

IV.

The final stage of development we find in the magnificent passage appointed for today from the 8th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. It is a passage often read at funerals. I want it read at my funeral. We might call this stage mature Christian faith. It is a faith filled with the Holy Spirit of God. The Sprit of Pentecost. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . . We are conquerors through him who loved us. This is a theology, not of sacrifice, but of oblation. Self-offering. For me, this is what life in the church is all about. Life in community. The body of Christ. Christ with us, always, through the power of the Holy Spirit, even to the end of the age. This is what I have discovered in three different parishes I have served, and especially what I have discovered here at St. Martin’s.

In this stage of faith we pray together and we work together, in Christian community, to respond to the challenges of the day. We gather together with others to pray and work for peace, to pray and work for those who are poor, to pray and work for justice.

I could give many examples. The one that occurs to me this morning is that weeks ago, at the beginning of the war in Iraq, a small group of parishioners decided to meet daily in the chapel for evening prayer, with special attention to prayers for peace. Day by day their numbers have grown. I have attended occasionally. I couldn’t possibly exaggerate how much it means to me personally, and to the whole congregation, knowing that, whether we are present or not, St. Martin’s parishioners are gathering for prayer every single evening in this difficult time. This is what it means to be the Body of Christ.

This final stage of faith development incorporates the first three phases--Abraham’s obedience, Peter’s confession and denial, the early church’s baptismal credo--into one joyful proclamation of faith in Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and who now intercedes for us.

As we walk the way of the cross during this Holy Season of Lent, may God draw us ever deeper into relationship with this Christ. Amen.

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