As I write this pastoral message I do so from a long, thin peninsula that juts out into the Salish Sea with Drayton Harbor to one side and Semiahmoo Bay to the other. I feel certain I could solo swim across to the boarder town of Blaine if I had a wild hair to do so, though the icy cold water might present an unwelcome challenge. On the opposite side, the neighborhood hills of White Rock, BC look close enough to spit on, though I would never think of it.

The location of this year’s clergy retreat for the Diocese of Olympia couldn’t be more wonderfully chosen. The natural beauty of God’s creation, and the sense of being away but not too far away, make for the perfect setting to breathe deep and connect with friends and co-laborers. And though being at the Semiahmoo Resort feels (to my mind) a bit luxurious for a clergy retreat, one can be grateful that Bishop Phil has prioritized relationships, dialogue and connection for the clergy he is tasked to lead. The truth is connection, rest, and renewal is essential for all of God’s people. It helps one gain some perspective, and that’s never a bad thing. 

The presenter of Tuesday’s workshop took the room on a veritable tour of the depth and breadth of liturgical expression in the Episcopal Church, asking everyone to consider where their congregations might fall on a spectrum of various practices. Questions were posted around the room with the most extreme answers at either end of a long line. Is it the Hymnal 1982 all the way or a creative mix of music drawn from random sources? Is your worship calm and contemplative or warm and lively? Does your community prefer transcendence and mystery or intimacy and welcome? Is your liturgical life pretty stable or always changing? Participants were invited to take a marker and put a line where they thought their church landed. As I went from question to question making marks on behalf of our community a sense of gratitude welled up for the church that we are. We love the 1982 Hymnal, but we also have a music director and choir who lead us into spectacular music beyond that one wonderful book of hymns. We are a church that embraces quiet and contemplative moments (Holy Week services and Selah, anyone?) and one that’s full of intimacy and welcome. We are a stable Prayer Book congregation and one that will use other resources and try new things from time to time.

As we finished up the exercise I thought the picture of our diocese that would emerge would be obvious. Everyone would either be clumped in the middle or clumped all the way to one side on every question. I was completely wrong. The tick marks that spread across each line were beautifully well distributed. There were solemn and traditional churches, and there were boisterous and lively ones. Their were Book of Common Prayer all the way churches, and there were churches who never met an alternative liturgy that they didn’t like. And there were “broad” churches like St Aidan’s that largely embraced the spectrum. As it turns out, our brothers and sisters across the diocese are as diverse as can be! (Within the Episcopal tradition.) There is truly a place for everybody.

What unites us as a worshiping people will always be Christ, in whose name we gather around the altar. Our liturgy is holy and useful for our worship, but what fills our hearts is not the liturgy but Christ himself. As we come together from Sunday to Sunday we do so with all of our differences and struggles, but what makes us one is the Lord and his love working in and through each one of us.

As you make your way through this month may the Spirit bless you with an appreciation for the beauty and wonder of life and the diverse gifts God has given us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yours in Christ,
Drew+