St. Pete's on the Mountainside: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

What is an Episcopalian?

Some reflections from the youth confirmands:

"Being an Episcopalian is just being a person in one big family trying to make a difference...as followers of Jesus Christ...and we believe in the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. We strive to love our neighbors and respect the dignity of every person."

"Being an Episcopalian means caring to everyone...means we are accepting of others...means we believe in one God and have a set of beliefs that affects me every day. I look to God in times of need...the shooting at Newtown was hard to deal with...I leaned on my faith to help me come to terms with it. Without my beliefs I don't know what I would do."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Book Recommendations: Open Heart & Lamb

'Open Heart' By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, underwent emergency open-heart surgery at the age of 82. Open Heart is his reflection on that event and the events of his life. The result is a slender volume in which he considers the power of memory and hope in his life.

"I belong to a generation that has often felt abandoned by God and betrayed by mankind," he writes. "And yet, I believe that we must not give up on either. … We must choose between the violence of adults and the smiles of children, between the ugliness of hate and the will to oppose it."

'Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal' by Christopher Moore

While Christopher Moore watched a PBS Frontline special called From Jesus to Christ, which talked about the life of Christ, what we know and what we don't, including the missing years from twelve to thirty in the Gospels; Moore thought, "Someone should write that story. And since I know nothing about religion or history, I should be that someone."

It is a comedy. It is fiction. And as Moore states at the end, "I like to think that while he carried out his sacred mission, Jesus of Nazareth might have enjoyed a sense of irony and the company of a wisecracking buddy."

I recommend both books for the good of your soul.