Set Your Sails — Be Ready

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

I write to you from Harbor Springs, Michigan, a beautiful town along the shores of Lake Michigan, just south of the Upper Peninsula and not far from Mackinac Island. For over twenty years, my family and I have been blessed to spend part of our summers here. If our timing is right, we get to witness the annual sailing regatta—an event that draws boats and sailors from across the Great Lakes.

These boats are not only beautiful but often extremely sophisticated. Their crews are seasoned and skilled. And yet, despite all their training and technology, they remain utterly dependent on one thing: the wind. Without it, they sit motionless. And when the wind comes, they must set their sails carefully and wisely to capture its power. No amount of skill or equipment can compensate for its absence.

This, dear friends, is a powerful—if imperfect—metaphor for our spiritual lives. Whether we are navigating life with seasoned faith or just beginning to explore the waters of belief, we all need the wind of the Spirit to move us. We may prepare our vessels, hoist our sails, and chart our course, but without the breath of God—without the Spirit—we go nowhere.

The Spirit of God is the wind that fills our sails, the unseen force that moves us forward with purpose, power, and direction. It is only in relationship to that divine movement that we find our true course. It is the tension between our sails and that sacred wind that carries us across the waters of life—sometimes calm, often choppy—toward a destination that is holy and meaningful.

So, I invite you in the week ahead: in your heart, in your soul, in your imagination—set your sails. Be ready. Wait and watch for the Spirit’s stirring. It may come as a gentle breeze or a sudden gust, but it will come. And when it does, may it move you in ways that are wondrous and unexpected, sometimes challenging, yet always sacred.

Forward in faith!

Peace and Blessings,

Paul+

The Place God Calls Us

Dear Friends, 

This morning at 7am, I hit the send button and submitted the first complete draft of my Doctor of Ministry Thesis from General Theological Seminary for review. Why Church?: Understanding how the next generation perceives the purpose of the Church. I conclude my thesis with a reflection on an art exhibit currently on display at the Bainbridge Art Gallery. This reflection is an edited version of my thesis conclusion.

While looking at the paintings, I was fortunate enough to meet one of the artists, Khalilah Sabree. Sabree was born in Macon, Georgia, and raised as a Southern Baptist, who, after moving north to Trenton, New Jersey, converted and became a devout African-American Muslim. In describing her collection of paintings, Destruction of a Culture, Sabree says, 

I explore how devastating changes disrupt world cultures and impact human relationships, societal structures, and the global landscape…The series began with a single image: a photo I took in Mecca of two African women gazing over a fence, as if peering into the future. The intensity of their focus captivated me; I envisioned them as bearers of a unique power able to foresee a changing world that remains hidden from others. As this photo became a series of paintings, imagination was my guiding force. I engaged in dhikr, allowing the remembrance of God to infuse my work with spiritual depth and resonance.

In conversation, Sabree shared with me that within the intensity, struggle, destruction, and truth of each painting, she intentionally put an element in clear focus, which was to draw our attention and invite us to enter into a place of spiritual refuge - a portal through which we could find safety and rest.

      When Things Fall Apart           Breaking Point     Lost

https://www.khalilahsabree.com/destruction-of-a-culture

Later that evening, I learned of yet another death of a Princeton University student. This is the eighth Princeton University student in three years to commit suicide. Princeton is supposed to be Mecca, the Promised Land, the pinnacle of the American Dream – an Ivy League university and one of the premier universities in the world. Yet with all the resources, student services, people, professors, programs, opportunities, buildings, money, reputation, and connections … eight young people in the last three years have been unable to find a safe refuge, a portal through which they could find safety and rest. They felt the only way forward, the only way to survive was to die. 

We live in a world that could be described as the destruction of a culture, and this isn’t creative destruction; it’s just destruction. Destruction of our environment. Destruction of opportunities because of economic disparity and unequal access to resources. Destruction of dignity and our humanity by acts of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, and simply plain old hate and indifference. Destruction comes in all shapes and sizes - sometimes vengeful and violent, harsh and arrogant, brash and bold, external and obvious, and other times internal and soulful, emotional and relational, hidden and subtle, deceptive and disguised, yet just as destructive.

There is a tremendous calling and need right before our eyes. There is a world of people, young and old alike, longing for a portal through which they can travel and find a place of refuge - a place of safety and rest from a world that can be daunting, damning, and destructive. I believe our primary calling as the people of Trinity Church is to show the way to the portal through which people can find rest, healing, and hope – in other words, salvation. God save us from ourselves - from our sin and arrogance, pride and ego, misguided pursuits and blindness, insecurities and vanities. The Church only survives if we do – and far too many people have no idea that the Love of God, as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, is a portal through which we find more than a place of refuge; we find life - life in the fullness of God’s intention for all of God’s beloved children.

Peace and Blessings,

“The place God calls [us] to is the place where [our] deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

— Frederick Buechner

The Moment We Cease to Hold One Another

As we journey through the richness of Black History Month, I'm reminded of the profound wisdom of James Baldwin. In his essay "Nothing Personal," Baldwin concludes with a powerful statement: "The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out."

We must NEVER cease to hold each other. So many forces in the world tell us why we should not be in relationship with others, why we should be suspicious, and why we should be fearful. So, many voices tell us to look out for ourselves and ourselves alone. We need to be very careful with new faces, new voices, new people, new ways of being and believing. Be very careful, for all of these threaten our way of life. And that's the heart of the issue … a threat to OUR way of life.  

This fuels an US versus THEM mentality. Which then breeds distrust and suspicion, self-interest and exclusion, prejudice and hate. We must recognize that our collective well-being hinges on our ability to stand together in solidarity. We must NEVER cease to hold each other, for without each other, we will not make it. Without each other - the sea engulfs us, and the light goes out.

Forward in faith that we all may be one!!

Sacred Spaces, Sacred Places

The Power to Bless

Dear Beloved Ones of Trinity Church,

This past week, I found myself re-reading John O’Donohue’s classic work To Bless the Space Between Us, a wonderful collection of poems and soulful wisdom. Toward the end of the book, he has a section called “Preparing the Space for Blessing.”

“When a blessing is being invoked, time deepens until it becomes a source from which refreshment and encouragement are released. As Yeats says: Feeling I was blessed and that I now too could bless.

Whenever one person takes another into the care of their heart, they have the power to bless. There are things we never do simply because it never occurs to us that we can do that. To bless someone is to offer a beautiful gift. When we love someone, we turn toward them with our souls. And the soul itself is a source of blessing.” (p.207)

In the Examination portion in the liturgy for the Ordination of a Priest, it says, “You are to preach, to declare God’s forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God’s blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood, and to perform other ministrations entrusted to you.” (BCP, p.531) 

Within the liturgies and sacramental rites of the Church, priests are given the privilege and responsibility of pronouncing blessing, but I pray that you never underestimate your power to bless. We are created in and through God’s blessing and love. That reality is the ground of our being and the true essence of our humanity, wonderfully restored and animated in the waters of baptism.

One does not need to raise their hand and make the sign of the cross invoking the trinitarian formula of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to bestow blessing. When you listen with compassion, see the truth of someone’s pain, speak words of tenderness and truth, open your heart and soul to another, and reach out your hands to serve and care - you offer a blessing. You become a living, breathing, loving blessing!

O’Donohue goes on to say, “Perhaps we bless one another all the time, without even realizing it.” (p.209) This offers us the possibility of a life “infused with blessing.” And this, dear ones, changes us, changes the world, changes everything.

Peace and blessings to all!

The Road Ahead

Dear Good People of Trinity,  

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, we will most assuredly reflect upon all that was and all that was not in this past year. Each year changes us, shapes us, and forms us. Sometimes, in dramatic and visible ways, and other times, the changes are quite subtle and go seemingly unnoticed. As time passes, we are becoming a new creation. The realities of life wash over us like the flowing of a river cutting its way through the land and, over time, shaping and changing the contours of the terrain as it finds its way to its destination.  

As we ready ourselves to begin this new year, I share with you one of my favorite prayers from Thomas Merton. This prayer brings me great comfort as we live with the uncertainties of life. For as much as we may like to think we have some kind of control, the truth is we have very little. How we live amid all that life brings to us defines who we are, and knowing that God is with us every step of the way changes everything.

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” -Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude  

For all that was, for all that is, and for all that is yet to be – Thanks be to God!   Peace and Blessings,

Are We Ready?

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,  

Tomorrow, our Advent journey comes to a close, and we transition swiftly and seamlessly into the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord. In our case at Trinity Church, this will happen between the 8 AM Advent IV service and the first service of Christmas Eve at noon. The hangings will change. The vestments will change. The readings, hymns, and prayers will change. The Baby Jesus will find his way to the creche. We will transition from expectation and preparation to a celebration of the truth of the Incarnation of God’s word made flesh in Jesus.  

However, the transition is so much more than changing hangings, colors, readings, and hymns. This transition is about changing our hearts, souls, minds, and lives. For Christ has been born, and that truth changes everything about who we are, who we can be, what the world is, and what the world can be and indeed will be in and through the redemptive love of Jesus.  

And we must remember that Christ came not to celebrate the perfection of the world but to redeem its brokenness. Christ came not because of our successes and achievements but rather quite the contrary because of the truth of our tears, fears, longings, and loneliness. So, I ask you and me and all of us - Are we ready? Are we ready to allow Christ into those places of our lives where light so desperately needs to shine? Are we ready to let Christ’s loving hand touch the places where pain and resentment reside? Are we ready to allow Christ into our hearts so we might not only believe in Christ but trust in Christ? Are we ready to go to the manger and see in the innocence of an infant the power to change the world, the source of life that animates all of creation, the one in whom and through whom we are saved? Are we ready?      

Christmas blessings to all,

Christmas Pageant

Dear Good People of Trinity,  

This Sunday is the joyous celebration of our annual Christmas Pageant, a time when the youngest members of our church family not only narrate the story of our Savior's birth but also breathe life into its very essence. They don't just tell the tale; they embody it, infusing it with vibrancy and life. Their portrayal of gentle lambs, angels, shepherds, and figures like Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, brings the story alive for us in new and wonderful ways.  

In their roles, the children extend an invitation for us not merely to witness but to actively discover our own roles within the beauty and power of the Christmas story. Moreover, they invite us to discern our place in the ongoing narrative of God and God’s people. As the children transition through the roles of the pageant, so do we, as we mature and evolve in our faith. This becomes a living testament to the dynamic nature of our spiritual journey, as God continually works within us in unexpected and transformative ways.   I invite you to join us this Sunday, not just to hear the familiar recounting of our Savior's birth but to fully immerse yourself in the profound experience. Come, discover your role in the ongoing narrative of healing in our world. Your presence is not merely that of an audience; you are the living words of the ever-unfolding story.  

Advent Blessings to all,