“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (Book of Common Prayer p.265)
Every Ash Wednesday we proclaim this invitation to our congregation. In the tradition of the early English church, it is part of a longer exhortation to the community about the nature and purpose of Lent. In those days when many people were not able to read, it was the church’s responsibility to explain what we were doing and why. The invitation to a holy Lent describes the history and spiritual purpose of our observance of Lent.
Today, a holy Lent might include taking on something rather than giving up something. It is possible to create a new, good habit during the 40 days of Lent. Perhaps regular bible study or alms giving or volunteering with one of our ministry partners would be a habit worth starting. Whether one gives something up or takes something on, the observance of a holy Lent has the capability to change our hearts and souls by reminding us of God’s love in all we have and all we are able to do. We are invited to live out our faith and grow in Christ for the 40 days of Lent.
If you forget, start over. Lent is all about starting over.
So come join us in the observance of a holy Lent and be changed by the grace of God.
Mike+

“FROM WHAT ARE YOU TEMPTED TO FLEE? WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO TRUST GOD HERE?” (Br. Luke Ditewig, SSJE, https://www.ssje.org/monasticwisdom/stability/?utm_source=SSJE&utm_campaign=1a2a3b1794-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_10_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d17480dad0-1a2a3b1794-54045989)
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT FEELS LIKE STAYING PUT IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY. THE BEST MOVE IS TO MOVE ON, LEAVE THE AREA AND START FRESH IN A NEW “PLACE” – WHETHER THE “PLACE” IS A PHYSICAL ONE OR AN EMOTIONAL ONE.
PSYCHOLOGISTS WOULD TELL US THAT THIS IS OUR NORMAL, INHERITED “FIGHT OR FLIGHT” RESPONSE THAT IS BUILT INTO OUR DNA. IF WE SENSE DANGER, WE TURN TOWARDS THE DANGER AND BRACE OURSELVES FOR CONFLICT OR WE RUN AWAY FROM THE DANGER AND LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.
THE MONASTIC TRADITION TELLS US SOMETHING DIFFERENT – STAY. JESUS SAYS, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
THE WORD “ABIDE” MEANS TO REST, TO STAY ROOTED IN, TO HANG IN THERE. JESUS CALLS US TO STAY ROOTED IN HIM IN THE FACE OF OUR DANGERS, CHAOS AND CONFUSION. TRUST THAT HANGING IN THERE WITH GOD WILL BRING US TO A PLACE OF PEACE AND RESOLUTION AND NOT TO A PLACE OF DESTRUCTION AND LOSS. ALTHOUGH AT TIMES, LOSS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED IN ORDER TO BE MORE ROOTED IN GOD.
TRUTH BE TOLD, OFTEN TIMES, OUR DESIRE TO FLEE IS BASED ON THE FEAR OF LOSING SOMETHING WE VALUE IN OUR LIVES, IT IS A REFUSAL TO LET GO OF THE FAMILIAR AND ALLOW THE NEW TO ENTER INTO OUR LIVES. WE FLEE IN ORDER TO AVOID THE PAIN OF CHANGE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE PAIN OF LOSS. AND YET, IF WE ARE ABLE TO FOLLOW THE INVITATION OF JESUS IN JOHN’S GOSPEL, WE STAY, WE ABIDE, WE HANG IN THERE AND LET GO OF THE FEAR AND REPLACE IT WITH TRUST. GOD IS AT WORK.
“WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO TRUST GOD HERE?”
IF WE ARE ABLE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND ASK THE QUESTION EACH TIME FEAR ARISES IN OUR HEARTS, PERHAPS WE CAN LEARN THE ART OF ABIDING. PERHAPS WE WILL NEED TO TALK WITH A FRIEND OR TRUSTED SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR OR COUNSELOR. PERHAPS WE SIMPLY NEED TO SPEND A FEW MOMENTS IN SILENCE. PERHAPS WE NEED TO TAKE A WALK OR PLAY SOME MUSIC. WHATEVER WE DISCERN AS HELPFUL IN THE FACE OF OUR FEAR WE CAN ACT UPON KNOWING THAT THIS IS OUR WAY OF ABIDING IN GOD.
THE GOOD NEWS – WE ARE NEVER ALONE IN THE FACE OF OUR FEAR. GOD ABIDES WITH US, GOD’S LOVE IS DEPENDABLE AND RELIABLE IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE. ABIDE IN GOD, REST IN GOD, HANG IN THERE WITH GOD AND BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A NEW PLACE OF STABILITY AND HOPE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OUR FEAR. GOD IS WITH US.

“[God said] I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ 11But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ 12He said, ‘I will be with you;…”               (Exodus 3:11-12)
“[The Lord said to Joshua] 5No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them.” (Joshua 1:5-6)
“… do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:9-10)
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.” (Amos 5:14)
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:20)
“16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,* to be with you for ever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in* you.” (john 14:16-17)
When I was in college I began a quest to know God. I was encouraged by a classmate who was involved with an evangelical group which was very bible based. My NIV bible has a section at the back called “Promises from the bible”. It lists promises of love, forgiveness, salvation, the Holy Spirit, everlasting life, peace, and many more. I even memorized a few of those promises of scripture in my early years (For God so loved the world…)
However, life seemed to offer a different story than those biblical promises offered to me. Things often went wrong or I failed to follow God’s will or I got sick or sad or hurt. It seemed that following God did not protect me from being subject to life’s indignities and disappointments. So what’s the point of following God if God is not going to protect me from harm and pain and loss?
Seminary offered a broader picture of the biblical tradition which we have inherited. The stories of scripture come from so many different voices and places and times. Where are the ongoing themes of the God revealed in scripture?
One theme is the promise of presence. Again and again we hear God promise to be with us. The Israelites were different in their worship because they worshipped a God who went with them. While other cultures worshipped gods who were connected to a particular region or human need, the God of the Israelites went with them wherever they traveled. For a time the ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s presence for them, and then later the temple in Jerusalem, but the ark was lost and the temple destroyed. Yet, God still went with the people of Israel, and Jesus showed us just how much this God wants to be with us – so much so that one of the names of our savior is “Immanuel” which means “God with us.”
This promise of presence is manifested most decidedly in the Incarnation. Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, ends with the words, “I will be with you always…”
That is a promise of God that is worth remembering. God is with us. In those times of confusion and chaos, pain and loss, God is with us. In those times of great joy and celebration, God is with us. When we are lost and searching, God is with us. When we are traveling the road of faith and growing in grace, God is with us. And knowing that we are never alone gives us hope and strength to go on – living, loving and serving in Jesus’ name.
Peace,
Mike+
 

The language of scripture sometimes throws me. However, in John’s gospel Jesus offers us a beautiful simplification of our call to serve the world in his name. Jesus tells us in chapter 13, verses 34-35:
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We have talked a good bit about being disciples and discipleship over the last two years. The word disciple means to be a follower or a student, and we are often tempted to believe that as students of Jesus, our role is to learn about who Jesus was and what Jesus said. However, the true concept of disciple is to be one who learns to live the way that Jesus lived. We learn the way of love. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, “And I will show you a still more excellent way…” and then he begins to speak of love – patient and kind and generous – “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…”
Perhaps it would be more understandable if Jesus had said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you do love for one another.” Doing love – living the way of love – takes courage and involves taking risks. We might be rejected or ridiculed or rebuffed in our efforts to do love. But that is what disciples do. That is how disciples live. We are called to live the way of love, and everyone will know the One whom we follow, Jesus Christ, who loved us all the way to the cross – and beyond.
Mike+

We have lots of interesting terminology in the church. As we begin to welcome our new Assistant Rector, Erin Rath, we will be challenged even a bit more.
In the monastic tradition, the abbot of the monastery was the one who went out into the town and celebrated Eucharist. He was Father abbot and the title has stuck for the anglo-catholic tradition ever since. Male priests in this diocese are referred to as “Father” when addressed in conversation or on a salutation in a letter. When we began ordaining women to the priesthood, we found ourselves in a bit of a dilemma. We would not call a woman “Father”, so what would the appropriate title be for a woman priest? Following the same anglo-catholic tradition, the best term is Mother, as in “Mother Superior”, the abbess of a monastery. Hence, in this diocese many churches use the term “Mother” for their female priests.
However, the church also requires that all priests serve a minimum of six months as a transitional deacon. Thus, Erin Rath will come to us as “Deacon Erin”. After her six months of service as deacon is completed and when our bishops can arrange a date for ordination, Erin will be ordained to the priesthood and become “Mother Erin”.
In all cases, all of us answer to the name given to us by our parents, so Mike, Erin, Fred and Susan are also quite acceptable.
We look forward to Erin’s ministry among us and learning together about the ministry of the transitional diaconate.
 

22 YEARS AGO WE HAD A CRAZY IDEA. PERHAPS THE CHURCHES HERE IN THE GOLDEN STRIP COULD WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE A TANGIBLE DIFFERENCE IN A FAMILY’S LIFE. WE CONTACTED HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND BEGAN RAISING FUNDS AND SOLICITING GIFTS IN KIND FROM OUR LOCAL CONTRACTORS. THAT FIRST HOUSE IS ON HEDGE STREET IN SIMPSONVILLE AND THE OWNER HAS PAID FOR IT IN FULL.
WE BUILT THAT HOUSE IN A WEEK. IT WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL BLITZ BUILD THAT HABITAT OF GREENVILLE HAD EVER ACCOMPLISHED.
22 YEARS LATER SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED – WE ARE TAKING 12 WEEKS TO BUILD THIS HOUSE RATHER THAN ONE, WE HAVE TIGHTER REGULATIONS, WHICH MAKE FOR A SAFER HOUSE, IT IS A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE, AND WE HAVE ADDED A FEW MORE PARTNERS IN THIS ENDEAVOR.
BUT ONE THING HAS NOT CHANGED. EACH HOME WE BUILD TOGETHER ACCOMPLISHES TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.
FIRST, WE HELP PROVIDE AN AFFORDABLE HOME TO A FAMILY THAT COULD OTHERWISE NOT AFFORD ONE.
AND SECOND, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS FROM ALL DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS.
WE BREAK DOWN BARRIERS FOR THE FAMILY AND FOR ONE ANOTHER AS WE WORK TOGETHER ON THIS COMMON GOAL.
I AM GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THIS YEAR’S HOUSE IS BEING BUILT FOR A YOUNG WOMAN WHO I HAVE KNOWN SINCE SHE WAS A TODDLER. NICKY YOUNGBLOOD HAS DONE THE WORK AND PREPARATION REQUIRED OF HER IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS HOUSE AND TODAY WE BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TOGETHER MAKING HER DREAM COME TRUE.
THIS HOUSE IS OUR TANGIBLE WAY OF LIVING OUT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT TO LOVE GOD AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. TOGETHER WE ARE SERVING OUR GOD AND HUMANITY. THANKS BE TO GOD!

It is interesting to think about how we have grown and changed over the last 20 years. When I first arrived, we had a gravel parking lot and our back yard did not extend past what is now the first set of parking spaces. As we grew, we expanded our facilities to accommodate more ministry. A larger worship space, which in turn provided a larger parish hall, which allows us opportunities for expanded worship and fellowship.
The expanded space also incurred expanded expense and thus an expanded mortgage. fortunately, interest rates have been dropping ever since we built the new building and we are now at a 3.89% rate on our existing debt. However, those payments are being made out of a building fund that needs to be revitalized. currently there is about $89,000.00 in the building fund and we have pledges totaling $334,000.00 over the next five years. Our hope is to increase those pledges to $1,000,000.00. Any one who wins the lottery is politely asked to tithe, but knowing the odds, we cannot afford to count those “chickens” because they are not likely to hatch. So, it is up to us to secure our financial future. Your Vestry and Program Council are participating in our capital campaign, and we need everyone to do what they can to reach our goal. A pledge of $278 a month for 3 years is a $10,000.oo gift to our campaign. It would only take 70 pledges of that size to reach our goal.
While we have grown and changed over the last twenty years, the world has grown and changed as well. Here at Holy Cross we are exploring new ways to reach out and live and proclaim the message of Jesus Christ in the world. Each generation has a different view of what matters when it comes to our spiritual lives. Our “millennials” seek places where they can do hands on ministry in the community and make a difference in the world. Showing up at church on Sunday morning is one option among many other competing options. The question that used to be, “what do you want to do after church on Sunday?” is now, “do you want to go to church on Sunday?” And for some families, kids competing in sports or extracurricular activities means missing church in order to be present for competitions.
Despite these changing dynamics, the Christian community is always going to need a space where we can gather as a body and worship and plan ministry and celebrate our lives together. We have a great space for all of that here at Holy Cross. We have a great ministry and a bright future. Please help us eliminate the cost of debt so that we can continue to expand our ministry and celebrate Christ in our midst.
Mike+
 

I have been asked this question on several occasions so I thought it might be good to give everyone an update on our progress. Currently we have raised over $313,000 in pledges and have also been given a $150,000 life insurance policy. While those numbers are encouraging, they pale in the face of our current $1.3 million debt. Our goal for this campaign is to raise $1 million in pledges and gifts in kind. We are currently at 46% of that goal.
Our building is serving us well and is a wonderful place to worship. The construction allowed us to transform the previous sanctuary space into a much larger parish hall that can accommodate our congregational needs for liturgical and fellowship functions. Now that we have been in our new building for over 7 years, it is all too easy to think it is all paid for, but it is not.
John Ackerman, our treasurer is in the process of refinancing our current loan at an amazing rate of 3.89%. The loan will be amortized over a 20 year period, but has to be refinanced again in 7 years. The new, lower interest rate will save us about $80,000 over the life of this loan. Be sure to thank John for his hard work and the resulting savings.
To those of you who have pledged, Thank You! Your leadership in this important effort has helped us to build a strong foundation for the campaign. For those of you who have not yet pledged, please consider participating in this important effort. Reducing our debt will open the way for more ministry.
Hopefully, everyone has received a packet and pledge card in the mail last month. If you have misplaced your pledge card or would like more information about the campaign, please contact me or Johnna Reed (our information can be found on our CCB website.)
This building has been a blessing to our common ministry and mission. Please help us reduce the burden of debt so that we are able to accomplish our mission in the world unimpaired.
God’s blessings to you all!
Mike+

What’s Happening with the Capital Campaign?
I have been asked this question on several occasions so I thought it might be good to give everyone an update on our progress. Currently we have raised over $313,000 in pledges and have also been given a $150,000 life insurance policy. While those numbers are encouraging, they pale in the face of our current $1.3 million debt. Our goal for this campaign is to raise $1 million in pledges and gifts in kind. We are currently at 46% of that goal.
Our building is serving us well and is a wonderful place to worship. The construction allowed us to transform the previous sanctuary space into a much larger parish hall that can accommodate our congregational needs for liturgical and fellowship functions. Now that we have been in our new building for over 7 years, it is all too easy to think it is all paid for, but it is not.
John Ackerman, our treasurer is in the process of refinancing our current loan at an amazing rate of 3.89%. The loan will be amortized over a 20 year period, but has to be refinanced again in 7 years. The new, lower interest rate will save us about $80,000 over the life of this loan. Be sure to thank John for his hard work and the resulting savings.
To those of you who have pledged, Thank You! Your leadership in this important effort has helped us to build a strong foundation for the campaign. For those of you who have not yet pledged, please consider participating in this important effort. Reducing our debt will open the way for more ministry.
Hopefully, everyone has received a packet and pledge card in the mail last month. If you have misplaced your pledge card or would like more information about the campaign, please contact me or Johnna Reed (our information can be found on our CCB website.)
This building has been a blessing to our common ministry and mission. Please help us reduce the burden of debt so that we are able to accomplish our mission in the world unimpaired.
God’s blessings to you all!
Mike+