17July2010
Posted by dboth under: Uncategorized.
Due to the number of spammers who have been registering on this site I have closed the ability for open registration. To register on this site please send me an email.
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21October2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
Greetings after a bit of a hiatus! I have had on my mind recently something I mentioned in a sermon a couple of weeks ago. While watching my husband’s alma matter, the University of South Carolina, play football against the University of Kentucky, the broadcasters said something which made me look up from my book. They were speaking about a young man on the Kentucky team who was a star quarterback while in high school in Tennessee. In fact he was awarded the “Mr. Tennessee” title. At any rate, now that he plays football in college, they noted he has played at least two positions on the team — neither of which are quarterback. The broadcasters marveled that the young man’s phrase of choice is, “I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do” and then he does it! “I’ll do whatever the team needs” and then he does it. The follow through was what caught the attention and admiration of those around the young man.
I then asked the question, what would it be like if 200 or more of us showed up on Sunday morning and said, “I’ll do whatever my faith community needs me to do,” and then did it. Can we imagine the energy that would generate? Can we imagine the way in which our response of follow through would help bring about our vision of mission and ministry — how it would influence our being able to help fulfill the dream God has for us and for our world?!
We people of faith do sincerely want to make the world different — to help shape it into a world of justice and peace, of equality and respect for all of God’s people. I would submit for our consideration the attitude and follow through of the young Kentucky player. I do believe he’s got something there!
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10September2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
Well, I’ve been watching the hoopla and the vitriolic rhetoric over health care reform and about how we can encourage children to do well in school. I personally believe that health care reform is a moral issue. I believe that people of faith have a word to speak to our government about how our citizens seek and obtain medical treatment for health issues. To sit on the sidelines is not an option I believe we have. As someone who has occasion to enter hospitals — often through emergency rooms — I see firsthand who sits for hours waiting to see a nurse for triage or a doctor for treatment. I haven’t spotted anyone from the Senate or House of Representatives waiting for hours on end for medical care. I haven’t seen the talking heads on radio or television wondering how many more hours they’ll be in an over-crowded waiting room waiting for over-worked health-care providers. What I do see are faces of tired and hurting people who have no where else they can go to seek help. I see people created in God’s image who might be invisible if they were sitting on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. To sit on the sidelines is not an option we can afford in a society which claims to be “just.”
I also read the President’s speech to our nation’s school children. While he spoke longer than I do in sermons on Sundays, I am so proud of what he did. He told his own story — admitted his own failings — and called our young people to use the gifts and talents God gives to each one of them. Show up for school. Study. Work hard. Play and have fun. Learn. These are all things my parents told me. Not every parent can or does say that to children entrusted to their care. So, again, people in faith communities have a call to help kids become the person God creates them to be. Using our voices in the public arena is one way to do this. Serving as mentors or tutors or assistants in classrooms is another. I think the President’s message also has merit for parents and guardians, godparents and friends when it comes to participating in faith communities. Show up for Sunday School and Church. Study. Work hard. Play and have fun. Learn. Use the gifts and talents God gives each one of us. Make the world a different and better place. Now’s the time. Blessings, Lorraine
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4August2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
I believe we human beings are made for community. Even though I test as an introvert whenever I take the Myers Briggs tests, I definitely need to be with other human beings. Aside from my family, my primary community is the church — in particular St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. I said on Sunday that, long before I went to seminary, if I missed participating in Holy Eucharist, there was a gaping hole in my week– or, rather, something important missing. It is not a matter of our getting some metaphorical card punched when we are part of church on Sunday, but rather how we find nourishment for our minds and bodies, our spirit and our imagination. While there are important communities outside the church, when we come together as a faith community, we are intentional about our quest to connect with God and with others on the journey of faith. So, whether home or traveling, being church with others on Sunday mornings is important — staying connected empowers us for the rest of the week and for whatever God has in mind for us. So, as the hot summer days tick past, consider the people-connections we all need. St. Mark’s is open and we’ve saved a seat for you. Blessings, Lorraine+
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30July2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
In what was known as Free China, on January 25, 1944, The Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a priest in the Anglican Communion by Bp. R O Hall of Hong Kong. Some thirty years later, and thirty-five years ago yesterday, on July 29, 1974, eleven women were ordained priests at the Church of The Advocate in Philadelphia, PA. Last night before my eyelids closed for the night, I revisited in my mind and heart standing on the very spot where God made those priests 35 years ago. A great friend of mine, the Rev. Susan Sherard, and I were deputies to General Convention in Philadelphia in 1997. We attended a soup-kitchen supper one evening at The Church of the Advocate. After dinner Susan and I stood facing the altar and then one another at the Church of the Advocate. We looked down at the floor in that sacred space and up at the crumbling ceiling. There was no mistaking the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. I remember having chills and having tears spring to my eyes. So, last night, on July 29, 2009, the final prayer I whispered was to thank God for the Spirit’s work in leading the church to recognize Her calling of women to Holy Orders. May God continue to bless the ministries of all women as the Spirit leads us into a future shrouded in mystery. May God bless the ministries of all men as we journey together into that unfolding mystery. Lorraine
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15July2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
Among many deputies there is concern about the status of Resolution C056 assigned to Committee 13, Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music and how in the House of Bishops. The resolution is carefully and sensitively crafted resolution. It asks The Episcopal Church to collect and prepare liturgies addressing the pastoral needs of our LGBT members. I say sensitive because the resolution invites our sister churches in the Anglican Communion where the listening process is happening to enter into conversation with us about possible liturgies to bless what we ‘back home’ call covenant relationships. It also includes a clause reminding the church that no one is required to participate in any liturgies which have been or might be developed. The resolution also addresses the ever-changing legal realities of civil matters regarding marriage, civil unions, etc. which surround dioceses in six states. Many of us are dismayed that the resolution disappeared into an informal and then formal subcommittee of the House of Bishops. The resolution is supposedly coming back to the floor of the HOB this afternoon. At this point we are doing what we try to do everyday — we are trusting the Spirit and the process. Another day when prayers are needed. Peace to all, Lorraine
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14July2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
A word about our deputation from the Diocese of North Carolina. I want to thank our Diocesan Convention for having elected a great team of deputies to the 76th General Convention. This is truly a group of deputies working as a team alongside our bishops and diocesan staff. We respect one another’s varying viewpoints; we have open and honest conversations; we support one another; we laugh; we share snacks to keep up the energy levels; and I believe we love one another in the way Jesus calls us all to love one another. So, thank you team from the Diocese of North Carolina and thank you to the people of our Diocese for electing me a deputy. I promise to continue working hard to do the work you have sent me to do. Blessings, Lorraine
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13July2009
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized.
This afternoon was one of those days at General Convention where I believe every deputy was doing some serious praying. Those who favored D025, Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion, and those opposed to the resolution worked diligently to express themselves. Two different attempts to ‘divide the resolution’ failed. This resolution states clearly that we highly value our relationships with and within the Anglican Communion. It also reiterates the reality that our ordination process for all three orders of ministry is an open discernment process. In a vote by orders (laity and clergy vote separately), 71% of our lay deputations voted in favor and 68% of our clergy deputations voted in favor. To me this says volumes about where the senior house’s leadership is in 2009. I hear over and over again that B033 gave us opportunities to be at the table in certain international meetings, but, as one deputy said today, the movement to split our church began decades ago when Prayer Book revision and women’s ordination were hot topics. Please keep the bishops of our church in your prayers as they receive this resolution. My personal prayer is that they concur with the House of Deputies action — hopefully without amendment. Time will tell. From Anaheim…LL
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If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
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