The Reverend Peter Carey, Senior Associate Rector,
St. Paul's Memorial Church, Charlottesville, VA
2012-2014
Showing posts with label St. Paul's Memorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Paul's Memorial. Show all posts
31 December 2014
17 July 2012
Prophets of a future not our own - Archbishop Romero
We had a great, Spirit-filled vestry meeting last night at St. Paul's Memorial. Lots of good work considering the ways that this church can live out our calling in the present and the future. This good work got me thinking about Archbishop Romero's prayer which reminds us of the work that we do in conjunction with God's actions in the world:
A Future Not Our Own
It helps, now and then, to step back
And take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
The magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying
The kingdom always lies beyond us.
And take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
The magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying
The kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
09 July 2012
A glorious day yesterday at St. Paul's Memorial
We are blessed, indeed!
Thank you, St. Paul's, for the warm welcome! (and thank you Lori for the pics of our family)
Blessings,
Peter+
Thank you, St. Paul's, for the warm welcome! (and thank you Lori for the pics of our family)
Blessings,
Peter+
31 May 2012
I have accepted a new call...Announcement from "Fiat Lux" Blog
I have accepted the call to be the Senior Associate Rector at St. Paul's Memorial Church in Charlottesville, VA. I am sad about leaving Emmanuel, but profoundly excited about the possibilities for ministry, mission, and fellowship at St. Paul's "on the Corner" near UVA...I have been blessed to serve alongside such wonderful people at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, VA, over the last three years, and for this time I will be eternally grateful.
I am so thrilled about the following announcement and about the possibilities for ministry, mission, and fellowship at St. Paul's Memorial!
From "Fiat Lux" Blog written by the Very Rev. James Richardson:
Dear friends of St. Paul's,
I am delighted to announce that I am calling the Rev. Peter M. Carey as our new Senior Associate Rector.
Peter comes to us with broad parish and teaching experience. He is currently the Associate Rector at Emmanuel Church, Greenwood. Peter and his wife, Lisa Plog, and their three children - Zachary (age 9), Sam (age 6), and Lily (age 4) - will be with us for their first Sunday on July 8. They will also join us for our Shrine Mont parish retreat weekend July 13-15.
Peter and Lisa have long-standing ties to Charlottesville and St. Paul’s. They were married at St. Paul’s and their son Zachary was baptized here. Lisa grew up in Charlottesville and graduated from the University of Virginia. Her parents still live in the area and her father is on the faculty at UVA. Lisa currently teaches history at St. Anne’s-Belfield School.
Peter is a graduate of Bates College in Maine. He holds a master’s degree in education from George Washington University and is a graduate of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Prior to serving at Emmanuel church, he was the head chaplain at St. Catherine’s Episcopal School in Richmond. He is also well known in the wider Church as a writer for Episcopal Café.
After the departure of Ann Willms, I spent a good deal of time talking with parish leaders about how we have managed and shared our clergy responsibilities. I concluded that St. Paul's would benefit from having a more senior associate rector with significant prior parish experience and a broader scope of responsibility. I asked Paula Kettlewell to form a committee to draft a position description which reflected the manner in which she and David Poist so successfully shared their ministry.
After I identified Peter as a candidate, I asked several groups of parish leaders, representing a broad cross section of the St. Paul's community, to meet with Peter and give me their advice about how Peter would fit in our community. After meeting with these groups, Peter then met with the Vestry. I received extremely positive feedback from the members of these groups, and with the consent of the Vestry, I offered this call to Peter as our next Senior Associate Rector and Peter enthusiastically accepted.
You will discover, as I have, that Peter has tremendous energy and fresh ideas for ministry. He will participate broadly in every aspect of parish life with us, including working with families, children, adults, and in pastoral care, education and the use of social media. Peter is extremely friendly and outgoing with a magnetic personality. He will make a great addition to our clergy staff.
In explaining why he has decided to join us, Peter wrote this:
Peace to all,
The Rev. James Richardson, Rector & Chaplain
I am so thrilled about the following announcement and about the possibilities for ministry, mission, and fellowship at St. Paul's Memorial!
From "Fiat Lux" Blog written by the Very Rev. James Richardson:
Dear friends of St. Paul's,
I am delighted to announce that I am calling the Rev. Peter M. Carey as our new Senior Associate Rector.
Peter comes to us with broad parish and teaching experience. He is currently the Associate Rector at Emmanuel Church, Greenwood. Peter and his wife, Lisa Plog, and their three children - Zachary (age 9), Sam (age 6), and Lily (age 4) - will be with us for their first Sunday on July 8. They will also join us for our Shrine Mont parish retreat weekend July 13-15.
Peter and Lisa have long-standing ties to Charlottesville and St. Paul’s. They were married at St. Paul’s and their son Zachary was baptized here. Lisa grew up in Charlottesville and graduated from the University of Virginia. Her parents still live in the area and her father is on the faculty at UVA. Lisa currently teaches history at St. Anne’s-Belfield School.
Peter is a graduate of Bates College in Maine. He holds a master’s degree in education from George Washington University and is a graduate of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Prior to serving at Emmanuel church, he was the head chaplain at St. Catherine’s Episcopal School in Richmond. He is also well known in the wider Church as a writer for Episcopal Café.After the departure of Ann Willms, I spent a good deal of time talking with parish leaders about how we have managed and shared our clergy responsibilities. I concluded that St. Paul's would benefit from having a more senior associate rector with significant prior parish experience and a broader scope of responsibility. I asked Paula Kettlewell to form a committee to draft a position description which reflected the manner in which she and David Poist so successfully shared their ministry.
After I identified Peter as a candidate, I asked several groups of parish leaders, representing a broad cross section of the St. Paul's community, to meet with Peter and give me their advice about how Peter would fit in our community. After meeting with these groups, Peter then met with the Vestry. I received extremely positive feedback from the members of these groups, and with the consent of the Vestry, I offered this call to Peter as our next Senior Associate Rector and Peter enthusiastically accepted.
You will discover, as I have, that Peter has tremendous energy and fresh ideas for ministry. He will participate broadly in every aspect of parish life with us, including working with families, children, adults, and in pastoral care, education and the use of social media. Peter is extremely friendly and outgoing with a magnetic personality. He will make a great addition to our clergy staff.
In explaining why he has decided to join us, Peter wrote this:
“There is great hope and passion for St. Paul's, and many, many folks I met with are so excited about not only St. Paul's past, but also the present and future of this wonderful church. The energy and excitement of the folks I’ve met with is contagious and I am so excited to join you!
“There are a plethora of opportunities for new programs, for new approaches, and for new ideas at St. Paul's, of course, some choices will need to be made about what direction this wonderful church should go, and the Long-Range Planning process will help in this area. I am excited about the energy for the future of St. Paul's, and grateful that God has moved me to find you at this time.
“We are huge Wahoo fans in our family, especially my 9 year old son and myself, the opportunities for engagement with the UVA community are wide and deep and I am psyched to see what we can do together.”I am thrilled to have Peter join our clergy team. Please join me in welcoming Peter and his wonderful family (see picture below) to our parish.
Peace to all,
The Rev. James Richardson, Rector & Chaplain
18 February 2010
Lent - Reflections by the people of St. Paul's Memorial
Another great blog which is offering daily reflections is hosted by St. Paul's Memorial, Charlottesville, VA. The daily reflections are offered by different parishioners and staff for each day of the 40 days of Lent. Check out the blog HERE or at http://stpaulslent.blogspot.com/. The opening post was offered on Ash Wednesday by Anna Askounis and I have reposted it below.
Do check out this blog, and what will prove to be a wonderful selection of reflections.
Prayers for a holy Lent,
~The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Joel 2:12-18, Psalm 51, 2 Corinthians 5:20-62, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Rend your hearts
return to me
broken and contrite
reconciled
let us journey together
pilgrim
into the
wilderness
keep me, these forty days,
in the
dark
secret
quiet
of your
heart
Anna Askounis
05 January 2009
Prayers for Peace - a Jewish Prayer for Peace
"Peace and Joy to you in 2009"
As many of us sent and received Christmas and Holiday cards that had words such as "Peace" and "Joy" and "Hope," I thought it would be a good time to explore some of these deep concepts. Beginning with "Peace," we might also begin by praying for peace.
My friend and colleague, Jim Richardson, who is the rector of St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church in Charlottesville recently had a Day of Peace, in which he and his congregation gathered on a Saturday to pray for peace, and they used prayers from a variety of sources. While I was unable to attend this day, I did "follow" it a bit online. Jim, and those who attended, offered a beautiful variety of prayers for peace. I know only too well that while we strive to work for peace with justice, we also are in deep need of God's grace as we pursue this lofty (and difficult!) goal of bringing peace to our lives "nearby" and "far away."
~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Jewish Prayer for Peace
Gates of Prayer (Reformed Jewish), p. 695
And, do check out Jim's blog, "Fiat Lux" HERE.
02 December 2008
Advent (Blog) Calendar - December 2
December 2 - "Fiat Lux" Blog
For the second day in Advent, I offer another "Jim" blog, this one is Fiat Lux blog, written by the Rev. James Richardson, the rector of St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jim has only been at St. Paul's since this summer, but he is bringing a great deal of energy, a lot of good ideas, and clearly has some profound thoughts and a deep understanding of the scriptures, theology, and liturgy. His blog posts are eclectic and fun, and I enjoy reading his writing. Do check out his blog over at: http://spmcrector.blogspot.com/
I promise that we won't have "Jim" blogs every day - but there are a few I may recommend.
Peace and Advent Blessings,
"Stay Awake!"
~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey
19 September 2007
Pray without ceasing...or Preach without ceasing
We have probably heard that Paul asked believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing." Setting one's heart and mind on God in all things and in all moments is the call of Christians. I have long wondered how this lofty goal can be reached, though the practicing of prayer daily has had a deep effect upon me, especially as I prepared to go to seminary, during seminary, and since ordination to the transitional diaconate.
Once I began working as a school chaplain, I find myself struggling to stick with my previous practice of reading the Daily Office each day. Finding time for individual time with God has, perhaps ironically, been somewhat difficult in the busy days of ministry.
By contrast, I find myself on a cycle of preaching very often. I have several chapels to lead each week (5+), and this week, I am preaching at 4 different services. Twice to the upper school, once to the middle, and once to the lower school. I find myself exegeting, praying with the scriptures, and trying to find something to say that is new nearly each day. I'm a bit exhausted by it, but also somewhat invigorated. I am looking at preaching tomorrow on a bit of the Sunday lectionary from last week (Luke 15:1-10), while also reflecting on Matthew for the Feast day for St. Matthew on Friday. I'm not sure that Paul had in mind that we would preach without ceasing, but that is what it feels like right now ... !
Once I began working as a school chaplain, I find myself struggling to stick with my previous practice of reading the Daily Office each day. Finding time for individual time with God has, perhaps ironically, been somewhat difficult in the busy days of ministry.
By contrast, I find myself on a cycle of preaching very often. I have several chapels to lead each week (5+), and this week, I am preaching at 4 different services. Twice to the upper school, once to the middle, and once to the lower school. I find myself exegeting, praying with the scriptures, and trying to find something to say that is new nearly each day. I'm a bit exhausted by it, but also somewhat invigorated. I am looking at preaching tomorrow on a bit of the Sunday lectionary from last week (Luke 15:1-10), while also reflecting on Matthew for the Feast day for St. Matthew on Friday. I'm not sure that Paul had in mind that we would preach without ceasing, but that is what it feels like right now ... !
29 July 2007
Sermon on Hosea and the Whore
I heard a wonderful sermon today at St. Paul's Memorial, Charlottesville, VA - just great! Well worth a read. It is also HERE, online.
I think it’s safe to assume that no rector of the time ever chose today’s Old Testament passage as his sermon text. He could have pointed out to his congregation that its startling word—“whoring”—came straight from the Bible. But such a rector would have had a very short tenure, I suspect. There are some things nice people just don’t talk about.
In fact, no Episcopalian anywhere has ever heard a sermon on this text before, because—until this year—these words from Hosea have never been included in any Anglican lectionary. Yet here they are this morning, thanks to our Church’s recent embrace of the Revised Common Lectionary. Now the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Lutherans have all been using this lectionary for years without becoming too obviously depraved. Maybe our Church has decided that we’ve finally grown up, too. But I wonder how many Episcopal preachers today will choose to ignore this reading altogether.
And that would be a pity, because Hosea’s relationship to his unfaithful wife is one of the glories of the Old Testament. The story is this: Hosea has fallen in love with Gomer, a woman with a bad reputation—she’s slept with so many men that everyone calls her a whore. Despite this, Hosea makes Gomer his wife. Marriage doesn’t improve Gomer’s behavior, however, and soon she’s presenting Hosea with children whose paternity is at best debatable. Hosea gives them names indicating that he’s not their father—a daughter is called “Not Pitied,” for example, and a son “Not My People.” Then, when we read beyond today’s passage, we learn that Gomer eventually runs away with another man, abandoning her husband and children. Yet Hosea seeks her out and brings her home again. Perhaps to mollify her, Hosea renames his rejected children: from now on, “Not Pitied” is called “Loved One,” and “Not My People” becomes “My People.”
The symbolism is obvious. Like Gomer, Israel has been repeatedly unfaithful to God, whoring first with one strange god and then with another. That’s the message Hosea—like all the prophets—has been preaching to the people, warning them of God’s coming judgment. But gradually Hosea realizes that just as he always takes Gomer back, so God is always willing to have Israel return. God uses Hosea’s own family to teach the prophet how much he, God, loves Israel.
This theme of family runs throughout Hosea’s prophecies. Toward the end of his book, he gives us the sweetest picture of God in the whole Old Testament. Here Hosea shows God despairing over his wayward child, Israel. “I brought her up from infancy,” God says. “I taught her to take her first steps. I lifted her and held her against my cheek, I bent down and fondled her. How can she do this to me?” We can all understand God’s question. Many of us have asked it ourselves.
Last week I talked with a woman who had been paying the college bills for her niece and her nephew until she lost her job in the dot.com collapse. As soon as she couldn’t pay their bills any longer, her niece and her nephew stopped talking to her. I know a family here in Charlottesville whose seventeen-year-old daughter ran off with a boy nearly twenty years ago. They haven’t heard from her in all that time; they have no idea where she is today. Many of us have stories like these in our own families—we know what Hosea was going through. The prophet is showing us, through his own life, what the love of God is like.
Our gospel lesson continues the theme of family. “Is there anyone among you,” Jesus says, who, if your child “asks for an egg, will give [her] a scorpion?” Just as we love our children obsessively, to the point of distraction, so God loves us in the same way. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” We learn what God is like by looking at our own families. It’s no wonder that Jesus teaches us to begin our prayers with the words, “Our Father.”
Now this is not a complete picture of God. Moses emphasizes—as do all the prophets—that God will judge us for our behavior. But the picture of God as our judge can get out-of-hand. My Presbyterian grandfather—the son of immigrants from Belfast—thundered constantly about God’s fearsome judgment on our unworthy souls. My grandfather’s mentality seems to have infected even some quarters of the Episcopal Church recently. We hear Episcopalians quoting Leviticus at us, invoking God’s anger at gay people. Against all this—against judgmental Hebrews of his own time, against my grandfather, against all our new Episcopal nay-sayers—Hosea confronts us with his realization: God loves us just as the prophet loves Gomer. She’s not worthy of anybody’s love. Yet Hosea loves her, and God loves us in the same way. It was a necessary correction in Hosea’s time. And it may be a necessary correction in ours.
The next time you hear someone invoke God’s ire, think of Hosea. Think of the God who says, “When Israel was a child, I loved her. I taught her to take her first steps. Whatever she’s done, I love her still.” Whatever they do, we continue to love our children. Whatever we do, God continues to love us.
In some ways it’s a dangerous message, for it could lead us to think that whatever we do doesn’t matter. But if we’re faithful Christians, Hosea can inspire us to another conclusion. If God loves his children to distraction, if God loves us so much, then we want to live in such a way as to be worthy of that love. May you and I take heart from Hosea, and may we resolve this morning to become more and more deserving of that love, the love of the One we call “Our Father.” Amen.
Hosea and the Whore
July 29, 2007
Perhaps it’s just a modern legend, but it’s said that when “Gone with the Wind” opened in 1939, hundreds of movie-goers across the South fled their theatres upon hearing Rhett Butler’s parting words to Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Back then, in those more innocent days, the word “damn” was considered sufficient to scandalize many polite citizens.I think it’s safe to assume that no rector of the time ever chose today’s Old Testament passage as his sermon text. He could have pointed out to his congregation that its startling word—“whoring”—came straight from the Bible. But such a rector would have had a very short tenure, I suspect. There are some things nice people just don’t talk about.
In fact, no Episcopalian anywhere has ever heard a sermon on this text before, because—until this year—these words from Hosea have never been included in any Anglican lectionary. Yet here they are this morning, thanks to our Church’s recent embrace of the Revised Common Lectionary. Now the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Lutherans have all been using this lectionary for years without becoming too obviously depraved. Maybe our Church has decided that we’ve finally grown up, too. But I wonder how many Episcopal preachers today will choose to ignore this reading altogether.
And that would be a pity, because Hosea’s relationship to his unfaithful wife is one of the glories of the Old Testament. The story is this: Hosea has fallen in love with Gomer, a woman with a bad reputation—she’s slept with so many men that everyone calls her a whore. Despite this, Hosea makes Gomer his wife. Marriage doesn’t improve Gomer’s behavior, however, and soon she’s presenting Hosea with children whose paternity is at best debatable. Hosea gives them names indicating that he’s not their father—a daughter is called “Not Pitied,” for example, and a son “Not My People.” Then, when we read beyond today’s passage, we learn that Gomer eventually runs away with another man, abandoning her husband and children. Yet Hosea seeks her out and brings her home again. Perhaps to mollify her, Hosea renames his rejected children: from now on, “Not Pitied” is called “Loved One,” and “Not My People” becomes “My People.”
The symbolism is obvious. Like Gomer, Israel has been repeatedly unfaithful to God, whoring first with one strange god and then with another. That’s the message Hosea—like all the prophets—has been preaching to the people, warning them of God’s coming judgment. But gradually Hosea realizes that just as he always takes Gomer back, so God is always willing to have Israel return. God uses Hosea’s own family to teach the prophet how much he, God, loves Israel.
This theme of family runs throughout Hosea’s prophecies. Toward the end of his book, he gives us the sweetest picture of God in the whole Old Testament. Here Hosea shows God despairing over his wayward child, Israel. “I brought her up from infancy,” God says. “I taught her to take her first steps. I lifted her and held her against my cheek, I bent down and fondled her. How can she do this to me?” We can all understand God’s question. Many of us have asked it ourselves.
Last week I talked with a woman who had been paying the college bills for her niece and her nephew until she lost her job in the dot.com collapse. As soon as she couldn’t pay their bills any longer, her niece and her nephew stopped talking to her. I know a family here in Charlottesville whose seventeen-year-old daughter ran off with a boy nearly twenty years ago. They haven’t heard from her in all that time; they have no idea where she is today. Many of us have stories like these in our own families—we know what Hosea was going through. The prophet is showing us, through his own life, what the love of God is like.
Our gospel lesson continues the theme of family. “Is there anyone among you,” Jesus says, who, if your child “asks for an egg, will give [her] a scorpion?” Just as we love our children obsessively, to the point of distraction, so God loves us in the same way. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” We learn what God is like by looking at our own families. It’s no wonder that Jesus teaches us to begin our prayers with the words, “Our Father.”
Now this is not a complete picture of God. Moses emphasizes—as do all the prophets—that God will judge us for our behavior. But the picture of God as our judge can get out-of-hand. My Presbyterian grandfather—the son of immigrants from Belfast—thundered constantly about God’s fearsome judgment on our unworthy souls. My grandfather’s mentality seems to have infected even some quarters of the Episcopal Church recently. We hear Episcopalians quoting Leviticus at us, invoking God’s anger at gay people. Against all this—against judgmental Hebrews of his own time, against my grandfather, against all our new Episcopal nay-sayers—Hosea confronts us with his realization: God loves us just as the prophet loves Gomer. She’s not worthy of anybody’s love. Yet Hosea loves her, and God loves us in the same way. It was a necessary correction in Hosea’s time. And it may be a necessary correction in ours.
The next time you hear someone invoke God’s ire, think of Hosea. Think of the God who says, “When Israel was a child, I loved her. I taught her to take her first steps. Whatever she’s done, I love her still.” Whatever they do, we continue to love our children. Whatever we do, God continues to love us.
In some ways it’s a dangerous message, for it could lead us to think that whatever we do doesn’t matter. But if we’re faithful Christians, Hosea can inspire us to another conclusion. If God loves his children to distraction, if God loves us so much, then we want to live in such a way as to be worthy of that love. May you and I take heart from Hosea, and may we resolve this morning to become more and more deserving of that love, the love of the One we call “Our Father.” Amen.
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