Tag Archives: anxiety

A Beautiful, Terrible Day

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Epiphany 4B, 28 January 2024. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Deuteronomy 18:15-20. This is what you requested.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. Love builds up.
  • Mark 1:21-28. A new teaching – with authority!

O God of compassion, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

This past week an angel of the Lord sent me a book about how to live in these terrible days and, at the same time, how to live in these beautiful days. The book is by theologian Kate Bowler:  Have a Beautiful Terrible Day: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, & In-Betweens. She writes about living with an apocalyptic (that is, revelatory) awareness of the catastrophic — globally, nationally, communally, and personally. Many of us are living, she says, with a heightened sense of precarity, a state of dangerous uncertainty. Insisting that we can be both faithful and afraid at the same time, she maintains, “There is tremendous opportunity here, now, for us to develop language and foster community around empathy, courage, and hope in the midst of this fear of our own vulnerability.” [1] Continue reading →

The Good News Now

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Epiphany 3B, 21 January 2024. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Jonah 3:1-5, 10. God changed [God’s] mind.
  • 1 Corinthians 7:29-31. The present form of this world is passing away.
  • Mark 1:16-20. And immediately.

O God of many callings, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

This morning we heard a short passage from Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth. It sounds like he is saying, “The end is near, so shelter in place.” If he did think the very, literal end was near, he was wrong; so why read his teachings 2000 years later as scripture? Here’s one reason: I think that Paul was using rhetorical language to communicate a sense of urgency about behaving as if we were free from the slavery of mistreatment and of mistreating others, so that the present form of this world does pass away, can pass away, and will pass away. In the very next verse after our short passage, Paul writes, “I want you to be free from anxieties or worries.” (It seems as if that would have been a nice verse for the lectionary to include.) Continue reading →

Embracing the Teachings of Jesus

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Proper 11A, 30 July 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Genesis 29:15-28. When morning came, it was Leah!
  • Romans 8:26-39.  We do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
  • Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. Have you understood all this? They answered, “Yes.”

O God of mercy, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Whenever the story of Jacob’s procurement of Leah and Rachel gets told in our appointed lessons, I’m tempted to preach about the biblical model of marriage illustrated in the book of Genesis, just so we’re all clear what “Biblical marriage” is. It’s especially true this year in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the bigoted-website case. Instead, I’m going to trust that the Spirit is interceding with sighs too deep for words. Continue reading →

Our Only Way

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Easter 5A, 7 May 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Acts 7:55-60. But they covered their ears.
  • 1 Peter 2:2-10. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
  • John 14:1-14.  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

O God of our redemption, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

When I was in seminary, I took a class called “Teaching and Preaching Texts of Terror.” The idea behind the title was that there are passages in scripture that scare the daylights out of people; and this was a course designed for us to face our terrors with some companions. We each had to pick our top-two-most-terrifying Biblical texts. (Picking only two was the hardest part!) Our Gospel lesson for today was one of the two that I picked because of Jesus’ claim that no one comes to the Father except through him. I do love Jesus, but I’m terrorized by the idea of Jesus as the only way: Jesus, the gatekeeper, rather than the gate; Jesus holding all the tickets; Jesus, the anti-Jewish Jew; Jesus on the shields of the Crusaders; Jesus, the champion of the Doctrine of Discovery; Jesus, who became definitively white in Warner Sallman’s ubiquitous depiction in 1940 of “The Head of Christ” with blond-hair and blue-eyes; Jesus on the minds of those who commit all kinds of hate crimes and enact hateful legislation; Jesus in the prayers of the “in groups” as they justify the exclusion of others. Isn’t it ironic, then, that this passage begins with “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Do not give in to your distress. Continue reading →

The Anxious Class

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Proper 21C, 25 September 2022.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15. Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
1 Timothy 6:11-19. As for those who…are rich, command them to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.
Luke 16:19-31. They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.

O God of peace, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Partly by chance and partly by design, in the last two weeks, I’ve pondered and discussed our Gospel lesson for today with more than three dozen people, lay people and clergy. In the last two weeks, I’ve also deliberated with our Boston Harbor Deanery assembly about how to distribute some of what has fallen from the tables of the rich to people who lack adequate food, clothing, and shelter; and I’ve visited a dozen women in prison at South Bay, which requires driving through the encampments of destitute people at Melnea Cass and Mass. Ave..The story of the rich man and Lazarus has been very alive and present for me, right in my face. I’m aware that this is a story of great hope, of Good News, for anyone who is at the gates begging, but a story that sounds harsh and unforgiving, that it stirs up fear, shame, and defensiveness in many of us who have more-than-adequate food, clothing, and shelter. Continue reading →

Setting Boundaries

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Isabelle Olsson

In addition to working with Common Art, as a part of my internship I am also spending some time at the Black Seed Writer’s Group offered as a part of MANNA at St. Paul’s Cathedral. This has been such a wonderful opportunity to continue to work with many of the same community members in a different space, through their writing I get to see a different side of their creativity that often compliments their artwork. This past week, as I left the Black Seed Writer’s Group I found myself a bit stuck on the concept of negotiating boundaries. I had a few small moments throughout the day that tested my boundaries as a new member of the community and had me reflecting on what boundaries should look like. In some ways, I felt like I had foundered in a few moments where I could have set firmer boundaries. Continue reading →

Engaging with the Community

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Isabelle Olsson

In the last few weeks, as crisp breezes have brought way to the bright colors of falling leaves there has been a lot of change in the air especially at Common Art. While group members have continued to adjust to the altered art materials and structure due to pandemic related protocol, Common Art has also been blessed with wonderful changes including new staffing and interns! Nevertheless, with all  these changes afoot I have noticed a lot of anxiety amongst group members especially about the upcoming winter and presidential election. After all, change can be quite difficult and, as a group, they have experienced quite a lot of trauma. All of these changes left me feeling inspired when it came time to bring my first activity to the group. Finding my theme in the many changing leaves I began to see each morning I came up with the idea of doing leaf rubbings with group members using various leaves I collected and colored pencils. My hope was that in creating beautiful prints of the leaves we could all take a moment to enjoy the meditative process of rubbing the leaves and appreciate the beauty in this part of something that is a change…and of course to tap into some of the group’s noticeable fall festivity!

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Awkward Conversations

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Last week I’d thought I’d made a mistake. I admitted to it in the first draft of this musing, in class, to my supervisor.  I was really trying to own up to my perceived wrongdoing and showcase my newfound fondness for “learning through mistakes.” The thing is, the more people I spoke to, the more I realized that maybe it wasn’t a mistake after all; maybe it was a difficult conversation that felt like a mistake to me because of the tension and awkwardness I felt inside.

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Talent Show

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Two weeks ago, I wrote about my “silliness” skill and my ability to make others feel comfortable being goofballs. Then I spoke to a friend of mine who also has this skill.  From her perspective, the skill isn’t just about making others feel comfortable being playful, but also about making others feel more comfortable about their insecurities. She explained that when we heighten and exaggerate our own insecurities, bringing them to a “ten,” the insecurities become a lot less intimidating and a lot more ridiculous, evoking more laughter and less anxiety. For example, I tend to be a perfectionist, a behavior rooted in my insecurity of not being good enough. When I notice I’m feeling perfectionistic, I exaggerate the statement—“If I don’t have straight A’s, I’m not trying hard enough” becomes “I MUST score an ‘A’ on EVERY assignment or else I don’t deserve to be in school at all!” This statement is accompanied by a deep, scratchy, commanding voice and dramatic, clutching hand gestures. With this insecurity externalized and heightened, I’m able to see what parts of it are ridiculous and illogical; I can see how these perfectionistic thoughts, which are so natural and constant in my mind, don’t actually serve me. It was empowering for me to recognize that my “silliness” skill has broader implications than I thought. It’s not only about helping others feel comfortable being playful; it’s also about helping others feel comfortable and safe enough to confront their insecurities, hopefully to then view them with a fresh and less anxious perspective.

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Ready or Not (with audio)

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Third Sunday of Advent, Year B, December 17, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 The present form of this world is passing away.
Mark 1:14-20 And immediately…

O God of good news, grant us the wisdom, the strength and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Our readings this morning, from Jonah’s advice to the great city of Ninevah, to Paul’s advice to the Jesus followers in the city of Corinth, to the Gospel of Mark’s breathless account of Jesus’ move back to Galilee, all convey a sense of urgency and risk. Ninevah has only 40 days to clean up its act (which seems like a very short time). Paul says that time has grown short, that the present form of this world is passing away. Jesus has come out of the wilderness where he was being tempted by Satan for 40 days (which seems like a very long time) to learn that John has been arrested, and has headed to Galilee quoting John directly: repent, that is, change your hearts toward God. A complete re-orientation is what John and Jesus were calling for. Jesus began to teach that the present form of this world is passing away. Continue reading →