This Week's Diolog: Episcopalians Embrace SXSW, March Magazine Online, and More

Episcopalians Embrace SXSW As Austin becomes the center of American cultural experiences for SXSW, Episcopalians plan to capitalize on the opportunity to blend art and spirituality with a spirit of Texas hospitality. Click above to read more.

Visit tinyurl.com/diologenews to sign up for this and other newsletters. LOGOS Project Available on iTunes Podcast The LOGOS project is a series of encounters with global faith leaders speaking on the topics of their expertise. While LOGOS will remain a video series, we wanted to make the audio versions available for anyone to download to their phones or mobile devices so you can listen in the car, at the gym or anywhere you want! Search "Logos Project" on the iTunes Podcast app or click here to access. Or, you can find it on the Libsyn app or online here. Podcasts will be added on an irregular basis, so be sure to hit "subscribe." Happy listening! Brené Brown Speaks at Christ Church Cathedral Tonight Christ Church Cathedral will host a five-part Lenten series on Wednesdays. The series will offer two components — noonday prayer service with a lecture (12–1 p.m. in the Cathedral) and also an evening facilitated question-and-answer session (6:30–8 p.m. in Latham Auditorium) Brené Brown is one of several fantastic speakers lined up. Learn more here. Can't Make SXSW? St. Mark's, Houston, Has Free Alternative If you live in or near Houston and like free stuff, music, or food, St. Mark's has something just for you. Learn more here. Taizé Brothers Visiting Texas in March and April In the spring of 2014, as part of the "pilgrimage of trust on earth," three weekends for young adults will be held in Texas. Join them in Austin March 21-23, Dallas April 4-6, or Houston April 25-27. Learn more here. FREE ECW Spiritual Growth Workshop in Salado on March 15 Join the ECW at St. Joseph Episcopal Church, 881 N. Main St., Salado for a free Spiritual Growth Workshop entitled "Tending Your Spiritual Garden" on March 15 at 10 a.m. The Rev. Mary Koppal from Good Shepherd, Austin, will share her advice on taking care of ourselves so that we may better take care of others. Workshop stations will include making bath crystals, rock salt potpourri, prayer beads, lotions and recycled paper with wildflower seeds. The workshop is open to all women. Gather your best friends for a relaxing day in Salado. This is a free event, but please register here. Johnny's Walkers Raise Record Amount Canon John Logan's Houston AIDS Walk team raised $16,192, the most ever by the team. Thanks to all who contributed! National Renovaré Conference Comes to Houston, April 3-5 Renovaré is a ministry committed to Christian spiritual formation. The Diocese of Texas is a co-sponsor this year, and the conference theme is "Formation for whole life: identity, community, and mission." Register now. Walking the Mourner's Path Group at Palmer Memorial, Houston Walking the Mourners' Path, a small group program for those mourning the death of a loved one, will be offered at Palmer this spring, beginning after Easter. Meeting for 8 weeks on Tuesday evenings, the faith-based group will be led by trained facilitators and follows a curriculum. Palmer is located at 6221 Main St. in Houston and invites all interested persons to contact facilitators Sue Hamblen at essayhamblen@att.net or Betty Key at bettykey@sbcglobal.com for more information. Join a National Gathering to Challenge Violence, April 9-11 Presentations, workshops and panel discussions examining violence in all its forms in American society, with a hard look at what can be done, are the elements of  a special Episcopal Church gathering: Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: An Episcopal Gathering to Challenge the Epidemic of Violence. Bishops, clergy and laity from throughout the Episcopal Church are invited to gather April 9 – 11 at the Reed Center and Sheraton in Oklahoma City, OK (Diocese of Oklahoma). Read more. TENS Stewardship Conference Offers Many Ways to Participate, June 6-7 The theme is Walking the Way. Sister Joan Chittister, The Rt. Rev. Robert Wright, Bishop of Atlanta, and The Rev. Canon Charles La Fond, Canon Steward at St. John's in Denver, will serve as keynote speakers. You can visit in person, sign up for a live webcast or a recorded webcast. Click here for more information. More Upcoming Events March 15 - Lenten Retreat at Grace, Houston, with Francis Bennett March 21 - The Missing Link Concert at St. Thomas, Houston March 22 - Cruzando la Frontera con Jesus, Houston March 24 - Samuel T. Lloyd at Seminary of the Southwest Click here for a full calendar. Need a Job? To see job opportunities, visit our employment page. UPDATES & CHANGES Change Email | Clergy Contact Changes | E-News Archive | Employment Opportunities | EDOT Gallery | Safe Church Training | Supply Clergy  | Update Church Info | People & Places

Austin Episcopalians Embrace SXSW [more] Episcopalians Gather to Celebrate Absalom Jones [more] Clergy in Spring Brave Rain, Cold to Deliver Drive-Thru Ashes [more] Christ Church Cathedral Celebrates 175 Years [more] Trinity, The Woodlands, Announces Plan to Revitalize Campus [more]

March Diolog Magazine Available Online

March 2014 Diolog Now Online    The March issue of Diolog: The Texas Episcopalian has been mailed and is now available online here.   This issue focuses on the idea of love. What is the real meaning of love? Join voices from around the Diocese as we try to answer this question.   Also in this edition, find articles about two new foundations: the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) and the Great Commission Foundation. Read about Logic Tobola, an architect who helped change the way we plant churches by solving a decades-old problem. And learn a little bit about Elena Marks, the new EHF President and CEO.   Start Reading Now

Dust, Ashes, Dry Bones and God's Whisper of Love

Sermon preached at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, Tx on Ash Wednesday 2014

Check out this episode!

Ash Wednesday Meditation

Mika Waltari’s book entitled The Dark Angel describes the night of May 28, 1453.  This was the night before the fall of the city of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.  It was the last Christian service that was held in the giant church of Hagia Sophia.  Everyone who was present for the service was sold into slavery or killed the following day.  It was a miraculous moment, for in that moment Roman Catholics and their theological enemies the Greek Orthodox were present. These were the two groups who had previously had violent even deadly confrontations because of the words of the Nicene Creed.  But on this night they laid down their differences and received Eucharist together for the first time in a long time, and for the last time.[i]

Waltari wrote:

We rode together to the church as day was fading behind the Turkish camp and shedding a last gleam of blood on the green domes of the churches.  … In my heart I knew that for the last time a doomed Byzantium was gathering to dedicate itself to death.

…In the presence of death, all quarreling, suspicion and hatred disappeared.  Each and everyone bowed his head before the inscrutable mystery, according to his own conscience.

In the presence of us all the Emperor confessed his sins in the phrases that centuries have hallowed.  The Latins [meaning the Romans] joined with him in murmuring chorus.  … Tonight no one was disturbed by these divergences.  All proceeded as by tacit agreement, and the Greeks in their relief wept more loudly than before, because their faith was no longer condemned.

There were so many in church that the bread would not go around.  But each one willingly shared with his nearest neighbors the morsel he had received, so that all who came might have at least a crumb of the sacred Body of Christ.  Whether the bread were leavened or unleavened [as they had argued before] made no difference now.

During the service, which lasted several hours, we were moved by a strong and radiant ecstasy, more wonderful than any I have known in any church.”

The Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, who introduced me to this passage said of it:

“In the presence of death”:  that is the key phrase.  In the presence of death, the animating purpose of church that night became, and still becomes, clear: mystery, tolerance, compassion, even ecstasy and out-of-body feeling.  No vertical status, no hollow “cant”, no empty ritual (but real ritual, which means something to people), no judgments and no opinions.  Rather, practical aid in time of need, mutual support, forgiveness, and encouragement.[ii]

In the presence of death only a few things matter: the love of God and the love of family, friends, and neighbor.

In the presence of death every nonessential prerequisite washes away and only the essentials are left.

In this moment of powerful recognition of the finite nature of life we are able to see clearly our unity.

We are able to see ourselves more clearly…perhaps as God sees us – transparently presented naked before him with all of our messy feelings of inadequacy and failings laid out before us.

The brutality of honest reflection reminds us of our complete and utter dependence upon God alone.

The shield of projected blame upon our neighbor falls to the ground as we are mindful that nothing, that nothing in the presence of death, can avert its eye from our predictable human condition.

Jungian analyst James Hollis reflecting on Thomas Nashe’s A Litany in Time of Plague recalls:

Brightness falls from the air.

Queens have died, young and fair.

Dust hath closed Helen’s eye.

…and then writes, “It is not so much that death shocks or surprises us…but that there are, finally, no exceptions, no exemptions. As Job found to his dismay, we have no signed contract with the Party of the First Part, and all things fall.  Brightness itself falls.  Even queens, young and comely, are no exception.”[iii]

You are dust and to dust you shall return.

In this moment of clarity, in the presence of death, we are united seeking comfort from one another, forgiveness from one another, encouragement from one another; and from God.

We see plainly that all of this – churchy business - is really only meant for one profound thing…to link us to God and to one another in an open and honest relationship.

And what happens?

What happens in that moment…in the presence of death? In the presence of dust and ashes and dry bones?

What happens is that God reaches out to us, his frail and little people, huddled in mass, mumbling trifles of repentance, some going through the motions out of obligation, others fearful of letting anyone know the truth within us…and God reaches out towards us and whispers amongst the prayers spoken from parched and trembling lips …”I love you.”

I love you.

I forgive you.

Forgive yourself.

Forgive one another.

I love you.

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[i] Mika Waltari, The Dark Angel, Translated by Naomi Walford (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1953), 322ff.

[ii] Paul Zahl, PZ’s Panopticon,  (Charlottesville, VA: Mockingbird Ministries, Inc., 2013)65ff.

[iii] James Hollis, The Archetypal Imagination, (College Station, Tx: Texas A&M University Press, 2000) 3ff.