Category Archives: St. Stephen's

Best Practices, Survival Guides, and Walleye Fillets

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

So yesterday, the day after I finished the last personnel review of those under my direct supervision at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina, Minnesota, there appeared in my Twitter feed a link to this post on the blog of the Harvard Business Review: “Delivering an Effective Performance Review.” I’ll save that in a file for next year.

Later that same afternoon, five days after the end of the annual convention of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, there appeared in my Twitter feed a link to this post by the Rev. Tim Schenck, a priest in Massachusetts: “Diocesan Convention Survival Guide.” If only I could have read those words of wisdom last week!

Because I don’t want this experience to happen to you, gentle reader, I would like to share the following information, which is both timely and, hopefully, useful:

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Posted in Episcopal Church, Minnesota, St. Stephen's

Martyrs Topic: Sedaris, No . . . Convention, Yes

Posted on November 2, 2011 | 1 Comment

I came to St. Stephen’s Martyrs meeting with copies of this interesting reflection: “What Air Rage Says About Human Nature: David Sedaris on Delayed Flights and Pecan-Frosted Wraps.” It’s hilarious and ponders something important at the end about who we really are or might be as human beings, “not just hateful but gloriously so?” I especially like this comment about that reflection:

… most people interpret “To thine own self be true” as “Follow your instincts… do what comes naturally to you.” Based on THAT interpretation, we Christians would say it’s a bad piece of advice. BUT… if you take the phrase to mean, “Be honest with yourself… recognize that your instincts are flawed”… then it becomes GOOD advice.

Instead I was asked to begin with an explanation of a resolution about our state’s proposed marriage amendment that was passed at the Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. As I mentioned in the previous blog post, this resolution was not presented in writing beforehand, and I still do not have a copy of the text of the resolution to share with others. So stay tuned for that.

Nevertheless, four of us who served as delegates to the convention were present at tonight’s meeting and able to facilitate a discussion about the resolution. It was a down payment on a promise that I had made to the people of St. Stephen’s on Sunday morning. I had read to them my remarks on the floor of the convention and said that we would be talking about the proposed marriage amendment before it appears on the ballot next fall. That conversation started tonight.

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

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Posted in Episcopal Church, Marriage Amendment, Martyrs Topics, Minnesota, St. Stephen's

Constructive Engagement: Marriage Amendment #3

Posted on October 30, 2011 | 2 Comments

Yesterday the 154th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota was adjourned. The theme was the hospitality of God, which provided an interesting background for a resolution that addressed our state’s proposed marriage amendment. Because that resolution wasn’t sent out beforehand, there wasn’t much time to consider it, and I didn’t have a written copy of it. As soon as the text of the resolution, which was passed without amendment, becomes available, I’ll post it here so that you may consider it yourself (together with this and this).

Nevertheless, it stated that the Episcopal Church in Minnesota opposes the proposed marriage amendment and would allow an organization to use our name on its website as part of its work to defeat the amendment next fall at the ballet box. Some delegates were fine with the first part of the resolution but not with the second part. Other delegates were fine with the spirit of the resolution but not with the actual wording of it. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

I was the first delegate to speak to this resolution on the floor of the convention, and I think it’s important for people to know what I said and why I voted against the resolution. So here are my comments to the chair of the convention:

Right Reverend Sir:

The truth is that I will be voting against the marriage amendment.

The truth is that most of the people at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina will probably be voting against the marriage amendment – most but not all.

The truth is that the Episcopal Church in Minnesota includes more than those who work at 1730 Clifton Place and more than those who are delegates to this convention. It includes both the gay and lesbian children of God in my congregation and those who disagree with me and with the gay and lesbian children of God in my congregation about the marriage amendment.

The truth is that the only way that anyone’s mind is going to change about this issue – which I presume is the end goal for most us – the only way to do that is to have conversations with those who disagree with us and to have those conversations in congregations that are sanctuaries, where people on both sides feel safe enough to be honest with one another. That last point about providing sanctuaries for both sides was advocated very eloquently by my friend and colleague Michele Morgan at the fall clergy conference, and she has kindly given me permission to state that publicly.

So I stand before you to speak against the resolution as it is currently worded because it is not a truthful statement about the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, which includes all of us.

The circle of love around the Lord’s Table is always greater than we imagine it to be and, therefore, must include our neighbor who disagrees with us about the marriage amendment. Loving our neighbor isn’t always easy, but that’s how minds and lives are transformed. This I believe.

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

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Posted in Episcopal Church, Marriage Amendment, Minnesota, St. Stephen's

On the Road with the Rector: Marriage Amendment

Posted on October 8, 2011 | 4 Comments

Living in the metro area of the Twin Cities provides incredible opportunities to participate in cultural and intellectual events. Several times a year, I invite members and friends of St. Stephen’s to join me in some of these activities that might strengthen us on our journey of faith together. This series, called “On the Road with the Rector,” is something that I always look forward to. The next event is a discussion on Thursday, October 13, about Minnesota’s proposed marriage amendment that would ban, constitutionally, same-gender marriage in the state. This is free, open to the public, and sponsored by the Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas. It’s also the inaugural discussion in the Murphy Institute’s new series entitled “Hot Topics: Cool Talk,” which seeks to foster dialogue on current political issues in a context divorced from the heat of a political campaign. People of faith, I think, should model that kind of dialogue.

One side of the debate about the same-sex marriage amendment will be presented by Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy. The other side will be presented by Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota professor of civil rights and civil liberties law. Moderating the conversation will be St. Stephen’s own Tom Berg, University of St. Thomas professor of law and public policy and Murphy Institute co-director emeritus.

Following this discussion, a reception will be held in the Board of Governor’s Room. So please register online to let them know that you will be attending.

Discussion of Minnesota’s Proposed Marriage Amendment
Thursday, October 13, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Room 235 (second floor)
University of St. Thomas School of Law
1000 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403

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Posted in Civility, Marriage Amendment, Minnesota, On the Road, Relationships, St. Stephen's, Theology

Sermon: “Whether we live or whether we die . . .”

Posted on September 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Edina, Minnesota
The Reverend Neil Alan Willard, M.Div.
Proper 19A, September 11, 2011

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:7-8)

For many of us, those words of Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans bring to mind the opening sentences of the burial liturgy. Perhaps you’ve been to a funeral in this church and heard them spoken by a priest as one of the saints who has died is accompanied on the last part of a pilgrimage — a lifelong journey toward God. Those words remind us that we are the Lord’s possession no matter what happens to us in life or in death. It seems appropriate, therefore, to contemplate that reality on this tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that forever changed our life together as Americans.

Do you remember what you were doing ten years ago? People stopped the ordinary activities of daily life to watch the news reports about those awful events. We watched them over and over again. Throughout the country, others were doing the same thing, experiencing the same emotions, and fearing for the safety of family and friends. For weeks churches overflowed with those who needed community and who had promised themselves that the most important things – their loved ones, their neighborhoods, and the grace that binds us together – would thereafter be the main focus of their attention.

As this solemn anniversary drew near, more than a few of us shared a very different kind of experience with friends and strangers. This one was a wonderful, almost magical event. Continue reading →

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Posted in Baptism, Children, Jesus, Sermons, St. Stephen's, Suffering

The Final “Minnesota Rouser” for Murray Warmath

Posted on March 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

Yesterday at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina was held the funeral of Murray Warmath, a legendary football coach at the University of Minnesota, whose contributions to racial equality were highlighted earlier this week. It was also “Murray Warmath Day” across the state thanks to a proclamation by the Governor of Minnesota, who attended the service as well.

The Rev. Lee Doucette described this famous coach, who was born on St. Stephen’s Day in 1912, as a good shepherd to his flock. That was abundantly clear in the numerous former players for the Golden Gophers football team, including All-Americans Carl Eller and Bob Stein, who came to give thanks for his life. After the dismissal, the fight song of the University of Minnesota was played before everyone left. Hearing “The Minnesota Rouser” was a wonderful surprise for all of those fans of M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A:

May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

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Posted in Minnesota, St. Stephen's

Murray Warmath, Ex-U Football Coach, 1912-2011

Posted on March 17, 2011 | 1 Comment

Murray Warmath was a legendary football coach at the University of Minnesota for 18 seasons and a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina. He died last night in Bloomington at the age of 98. As head coach, Warmath and his Golden Gophers football team earned a national championship, two Big Ten titles, and two trips to the Rose Bowl (beating UCLA 21-3 in 1962).

In my opinion, however, his greatest victories were won in the arena of civil society. He was a Southerner who took the risk of forging ahead with racial equality on the gridiron at a time when that wasn’t necessarily a popular idea, even here in the “Deep North.” Here’s how the Star Tribune described it:

Warmath, a crusty, hard-nosed disciplinarian who was raised in Tennessee, was a catalyst for social change, both locally and nationally, because of his recruitment of black athletes at Minnesota beginning in the late 1950s. He was one of the first major college coaches to take multiple black athletes in a single recruiting class. Major Southern colleges at the time were still segregated, and many Northern colleges refused to recruit black players.

Almost no one dared to start a black quarterback, but Warmath installed one of his black recruits, sophomore Sandy Stephens, as the starting quarterback on the 1959 team.

“If Minnesota let Sandy Stephens play quarterback, then we knew we could trust Murray,” tackle Ezell Jones said. “We knew that was a man who had a great deal of courage and character.”

You can read the whole article here.

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Posted in Minnesota, St. Stephen's