Author Archives: Neil Alan Willard

Monday Connection: “What are you for God’s sake?”

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 1 Comment

Today’s Monday Connection is a reflection that was written by Susan Stabile, who teaches on the faculty of the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and blogs at Creo en Dios!  It’s called “For God’s Sake,” and I hope that you find it as encouraging in the high calling of your daily work as I have:

The other day I was back and forth with my friend Richard on e-mail about something. After I wrote a message explaining why the subject of our conversation was important to me, he responded, “Well, that and, you are an attorney, for God’s sake.” “Literally,” he added.

Although his intended use of “for God’s sake” in his sentence was as an exclamation for emphasis, I smiled at my friend’s wonderful afterthought. Although I am no longer a practicing lawyer, there is accuracy to the meaning conveyed by his phrase when one omits the comma from it: I am an Attorney for God’s Sake, as I am a Law Professor for God’s Sake, or a Retreat Director for God’s Sake, or any of the other descriptions I may use to explain my various roles.

If my life belongs to God, then there is no part of my life that is separate from my discipleship. Everything I am, everything do, is a response to God’s call. Everything I am and do is for God’s sake, for the furtherance of God’s plan for me and for the world.

And the same is true for you.

Who are you for God’s sake?

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Posted in Faith and Work, Monday Connection

Well . . . there you have it.

Posted on February 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

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Posted in Jesus, Theology

Tomorrow: Ron James on “Societal Trends in Ethics”

Posted on February 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

The picture below shows the Commons Room at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota, which overlooks Minnehaha Creek through the windows on the left. This morning, however, all eyes were focused on Ron James, President and CEO of the Center for Ethical Business Cultures, who was our guest speaker at St. Stephen’s “Faith & Work Lecture.” About 40 people with backgrounds in the corporate world, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions registered for his presentation “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Exploring Ethics in the Workplace.” It was a wonderfully rich and thought-provoking conversation.

The good news is that Ron James will be returning to St. Stephen’s tomorrow morning to speak at the Rector’s Forum in the Commons Room at 10:15 a.m. He will be sharing with us “Societal Trends in Ethics,” so come and join us!

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Posted in Faith and Work, St. Stephen's

Martyrs Topic: Lewis Smedes on Homosexuality

Posted on February 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

NEWS FLASH: Tonight’s meeting of the St. Stephen’s Martyrs has been canceled since the Edina Country Club is closed this week for remodeling. So this topic will be discussed at next week’s meeting.

The Martyrs, a men’s group, decided to continue last week’s discussion about Minnesota’s proposed marriage amendment that would ban, constitutionally, same gender marriage in the state. So tonight’s next week’s conversation will take place after watching an interview with Lewis Smedes, a former professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he taught for more than twenty-five years. He was educated at Calvin College, where he also taught, Calvin Theological Seminary, and the Free University of Amsterdam. Smedes, who died in 2002, was an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and most noted for his books on forgiveness.

Christianity Today, in an article that was published after Smedes’ death, quoted the President of Fuller Theological Seminary, Richard Mouw, as saying:

More than one of his former students has said that while his class lectures were unforgettable, it was worth coming to class just to hear his opening prayer.

This was a man of prayer with impeccable credentials as an Evangelical Christian, who loved Jesus and spent most of his life reflecting on ethics in relation to being a follower of Jesus. Many people can relate to his background and his struggle to understand the issue of homosexuality in the life of our various churches.

Not everyone, of course, will agree with his conclusions, which changed over time and are described in the video below. However, I hope that most of us will at least be able to appreciate these words of his near the end of this interview:

I know that a lot of churches besides mine are really wrestling, in all good conscience, with this issue. . . . I just want to say that my heart goes out to you in your wrestling because I know how hard it is.

Learn more about the St. Stephen’s Martyrs and how to find them here.

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Posted in Jesus, Marriage Amendment, Martyrs Topics, Scripture, Theology

Constructive Engagement: Marriage Amendment #5

Posted on January 31, 2012 | 1 Comment

Last week the St. Stephen’s Martyrs – a men’s group – wanted to discuss for a second time Minnesota’s proposed marriage amendment that would ban, constitutionally, same gender marriage in the state. It was noted that there had recently been a steady stream of articles, opinion pieces, and letters to the editor about this important issue in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper. So we considered a sampling of them for our conversation last Wednesday night:

  • “Why should I accept same-sex couples?” This op-ed, updated January 13, 2012, was written by Dan Nye and posed “six questions for supporters of same-sex marriage to answer – forthrightly” and “in a civil manner.”
  • “Priests told not to voice dissent.” This article by Rose French, updated January 18, 2012, was front page news on Sunday, January 15. It’s about Archbishop John Nienstedt’s warning to Catholic clergy on this issue.

You can read all of the reflections in this series here.

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Posted in Marriage Amendment, Martyrs Topics, Minnesota

Monday Connection: Faith & Work Lecture

Posted on January 30, 2012 | 1 Comment

UPDATE: Please note that registration for this event is now closed.

Do you sometimes feel as if there’s a huge separation between the claims of your faith and the demands of your work? Have you ever struggled with making the connection between what you believe, or want to believe, on Sunday morning and what you’re asked to do after the alarm clock goes off on Monday morning? Have you wondered about purpose and meaning in your life and the role of the church in all of this? We think these are important questions at St. Stephen’s.

On Saturday, February 4, there will be a “Faith & Work Lecture” at the church with guest speaker Ron James, President and CEO of the Center for Ethical Business Cultures at the University of St. Thomas. He will be leading us in an exploration of trends in ethics in the workplace, differing ethical approaches, and how one works to create greater personal alignment in terms of our values between our place of worship and our place of work. This event is free, but registration is required.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Exploring Ethics in the Workplace
Saturday, February 4, with Ron James, Center for Ethical Business Cultures
8:00-8:30 a.m. coffee and muffins
8:30-10:00 a.m. presentation and discussion
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
4439 West 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424

Click here to register for the “Faith & Work Lecture” with Ron James.

Click here to read more details about his presentation and his background.

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Posted in Faith and Work, Monday Connection, St. Stephen's

The Rector’s Report in Poetry and Prose

Posted on January 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last week we experienced Jubilee Sunday at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota. The celebration included one worship service (instead of the usual four), followed by our annual meeting in the church and a festive brunch across the street at the Edina Country Club. It was a lot of fun. Seriously.

Events with an annual meeting at the heart of them are not something that most people look forward to. The Rev. Tim Schenck , an Episcopal priest in Massachusetts, explains this well in his blog post “Annual Meeting Haiku,” which concludes with a poetic description of this yearly ritual that the canons require:

Budget blah, blah, blah
Something about Jesus Christ
Please up your pledges.

Here’s another one that was offered in the comments:

Four corn casseroles
Cherry Cross of Jello. Say
Aye. Applause! AMEN!!

So I was inspired to write a haiku about our time together at St. Stephen’s:

Seventy-five years
in Christ. Budget surplus for
Three years. Now let’s eat!

That’s the short version. The long version is the Rector’s Report: Continue reading →

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Posted in Jesus, Sermons, St. Stephen's