Torture

After reading some of the recent commentary on torture it hit me that there really are two quite different objectives for those using this technique.  The first – and the only one that anyone ever will admit to – is to obtain important and accurate information;  the second is to break someone so that they’ll confess to something, implicate someone, or just get them to tell you what you want to hear.  Note that in this second case truth is completely irrelevant.  Read more

April 2009

From  an article I wrote for the Spring 2009 edition of  “Good News” (Sell the building; keep the church: St. Paul’s, Willimantic):  In November Rev. Jackie Sheldon started serving the parish as a very part-time “Eucharistic Minister.” The reduction in salary costs, combined with reduced costs and increased income from the property sale, gave the parish some financial breathing room. For the first time in many years a balanced budget could be presented. The congregation expressed its enthusiasm and support: in difficult times 2008 pledge income was higher than pledges; 2009 pledges are higher than 2008 pledges!

The parish loves  Jackie Sheldon’s presence and ministry, and badly wants her as a half time vicar. Hard study now is underway to find the financial means to make this happen.  Stay tuned….

When property hinders church’s mission

Commentary by Al Eggen, as published in the Willimantic Chronicle, January 20, 2009: As reported in the Jan. 6 Chronicle, St. Paul’s Church (Willimantic) sold its property to the Covenant Soup Kitchen under terms that the soup kitchen could afford. That shift of ownership really makes a lot of sense. The soup kitchen has a particular mission that requires physical space. When your mission is to feed people – and provide all kinds of other support – you need a kitchen, stove, refrigerator, food storage, enough room to seat the guests, some meeting space, some office space and so on. People get hungry every day – more than once – so your space gets used every day of the week.

On the other hand, St. Paul’s mission primarily is spiritual. A beautiful church may enhance the worship experience but certainly is not a requirement. The gospels make it clear that it is the gathering of the faithful itself that matters – not the place where they gather. It is much too easy to fall into the trap of defining the church in terms of its building, and in spending much too much of its resources on that building.

In this case we have an ideal situation. The sale will relieve financial pressures on St. Paul’s. St Paul’s will continue to use the church for Sunday worship services (and also have some modest office space). It will continue to support the soup kitchen and its other ministries, such as an orphanage-to-be in Liberia. It will continue to be open to whatever opportunities for ministry arise. St. Paul’s new Eucharistic Minister, the Rev. Jackie Sheldon, will continue to brings her unique gifts to St. Paul’s, gifts that make each week’s service special.

As always, after the service, ministry will continue in the community room with food, friendship and welcome to all – not just the congregants.

On the first Sunday of the month a full breakfast will be served. On the other Sundays, there will be coffee, tea and whatever goodies arrive. (Since the goody supply is a totally uncoordinated bounty it can vary from not much to a whole lot. Like stone soup – sometimes it’s a little heavy on stones and sometimes it’s really good).

Typically, perhaps half the the people stopping in at the community room will not have attended the formal service. People waiting for the Soup Kitchen Sunday bag lunch distribution, or anyone else in the neighborhood, is invited to take advantage of the opportunity to come in out of the cold, sit down, relax, have some hot coffee and something to eat, someone to talk to. No hard questions, no segregation, no one passing the hat or preaching at you.

This new chapter in St. Paul’s parish life – with its unique opportunity to focus on mission and ministry – will enhance the parish’s ability to continue serving the Willimantic community. Other churches, especially those in urban locations facing difficult times, might do well to consider what opportunities freedom from the burden of property ownership might provide.

The sale closed

First posted December 31, 2008: After much due diligence, delay, etc – and lots of paperwork – the closing of the sale of St. Paul’s property to the Covenant Soup Kitchen was held on the afternoon of December 30, 2009.  The basic terms had been settled long before and were in place by the time of our first announcement of the sale in January 2008.  However, when a church sells property to a nonprofit nothing is simple!

The complications get multiplied when title to the property goes back to the early part of the previous century. Then there’s the fact that the Secretary of State’s office doesn’t have records, such as needed tax numbers, for St. Paul’s – or the Diocese. That’s because it all goes back to an act of the legislature granting the Diocese corporate status the century before the previous century….

In the end everything went smoothly – as a transaction between organizations with common goals should.  For the moment changes – except who pays what bills – will be modest since building usage will continue about as it is now. At some point St. Paul’s office will move but that still is a ways off.  In the meantime all the little usage details will be worked out in an informal manner.

Some really good news

First posted December 5, 2008: Tonight’s Willi Chronicle reports that Gov. Rell announced an $85,000 grant to the Soup Kitchen for replacing the Parish Hall roof and upgrading the heating system.  Approval by the State Bond Commission is expected.  The flat roof is so far past its design life that it’s become impossible to even find the leaks – never mind patch them.  Anyone who’s been in the Parish Hall in recent months knows what kind of disaster area it is!  There are buckets to catch leaks everywhere, about half the ceiling tiles are gone with the soggy insulation behind them pulled out.  It’s been cold in there too – probably because of the missing tiles.  Good thing the basic structure is solid!

It’ll be a while before it’s fixed and meanwhile we’ll make do in our usual cheerful style – just hoping it won’t be raining too hard inside for first Sunday breakfasts (Just hope, don’t bother God with such relatively insignificant problems.)

More news

First posted October 28, 2008: We are excited and delighted to announce that the Rev. Jackie Sheldon will be joining us as our Eucharistic Celebrant!  Her first service will be on November 2, All Saints Day.  Everyone is invited to join us for the Service and breakfast afterward (scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, hash browns….). For the next three months she will be with us on three or four Sundays of the month and we will continue with Morning Prayer on the remaining Sundays. This will give us time to sort out our finances and get to know each other well enough to make sensible decisions on how best to continue our relationship.

Letter from Rev. Pat to the parishioners

September 7, 2008

Dear Friends,

I will never forget our raised joy-filled voices singing Hallelujah during my years of ministry here at St. Paul’s.

I will never forget meeting the vestry for the first time – with strained looks and vague smiles but with hearts streaming with hope and love that they can find a way to survive.

I will never forget them asking me if I would come to be their priest and turning to the diocesan consultant and asking what the next step is and her saying “well you and Rev. Pat will need to go home and pray on it and decide what you want to do”.
A women sitting opposite me blurted out – “How long does it take you to pray”? I blurted back “not too long as I already prayed and that’s why I’m here”. Everyone looked at each other and hired me on the spot.

It was an incredible first meeting and all my first meetings with each of you have been the same. I was touched by your unwavering faith. I have truly never experienced a church community like St. Paul’s and I am sad but forever grateful for the lives that touched mine and allowed us to be one with God.

This church will survive here with the Soup Kitchen and out there in Africa with the Orphanage at Kakata.
The building isn’t the church you are the church and a finer and more grace-filled church would be hard to find anywhere.

So, remember, “Don’t Worry – Be Happy!!!!!!!!And know you are a people with heart and soul that will carry you any where you wish to go.
So…ooo happy journeying and please keep me in your hearts as I will keep you always in mine.

George Elliot wrote:
“Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love”.
I have a depth of love and gratitude for you all that fills me with a joy that will always be in my reach. Thank you.

Blessings and Peace,
Rev. Pat

A new chapter for St. Paul’s

First posted August 26, 2008: Rev. Pat is retiring and September 7 will be her last Sunday as our priest. We will miss her! Her stay here has been relatively short – just four years. However, during that time her leadership has brought new life and vitality to the parish. Old battles have been forgotten and we have become a cheerful place with a sense of mission.

Everyone is welcome – whether a UConn prof or someone close to the edge. Though quite poor – we share all the usual financial problems of a small urban church in an older neighborhood – we have invested significant effort and financial resources in other missions, especially our orphanage in Kakata, Liberia. At this point, I believe we have reached the stage where we will be able to not just continue, but to grow in our ministry to all those we touch. Some related opinions follow.

A week ago, on Sunday afternoon, Bishop Andrew Smith visited us. Besides discussing the support (non-financial!) that the Diocese can provide, he was enthusiastic about our future potential; we are the only parish in the Diocese that is not burdened with owning property. As a result, we are free from drain on finances and energy that come with property ownership.

Last Sunday, in her sermon, Rev. Pat had us do the following exercise: we drew two pictures, a trash can and a suitcase; wrote a list of our concerns about St. Paul’s in the trashcan, and a list of our blessings in the suitcase. Then we tore up the trashcan picture, with its list of concerns, put the scraps in a basket at the altar – but folded the suitcase with its list of blessings and put it in our purse or pocket.

Those of us old enough to have listened to Janis Joplin might remember a line from Me and Bobby McGee – “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”. That line keeps coming back to me. No longer having any property is one part of that freedom and the other part is not having the financial pressure of paying a priest’s salary and benefits. (Unfortunately, in our society the distance between rich and poor at all levels is large; as a result the difference in the cost of supporting supply priests rather than a vicar is quite dramatic.)

Please understand that I don’t mean that a priest is an unnecessary expense. We are a small parish in a unique situation. Four years ago we would not have survived without Rev. Pat. Because of what’s happened in those four years I believe that we have reached a stage where we will be able to continue to grow in mission and ministry. For now there will be a Sunday service with some combination of supply priest, retired priest, and our own efforts (probably Morning Prayer once a month). Pastoral care will continue. And to make it work, more of our people will become involved in our ministry.

And so begins a a new chapter for St. Paul’s – stay tuned for the details!!

A letter from prison

The following is a letter from a young man named Lee Birch.  He had been a guest at the soup kitchen where Al Scott volunteers.  They became friends, and with Al serving as mentor, Lee rapidly became an active member of St. Paul’s.  He attended most Sundays, participating  in the service, working in the kitchen for first Sunday breakfast and so on.  However,  his past caught up with him and he was sentenced to prison.  He was released last December 26th and returned to his active role at St. Paul’s.  At this posting he has a job – which has been limiting his Sunday attendance – and is attending classes at Eastern.

July 18, 2008
Dear Rev. Pat & the rest of St. Paul’s church,

Let me start off and say Thank you and I truly appreciate all of the help and support you have sent me in my time of need. I understand money doesn’t grow on trees and that its also a hard time for people to help others, but you all still help out of the kindness of your hearts. I whole heartily thank you for all the prayers and support.

I presently turned this bad situation into something good. I received my high School Diploma (which I have enclosed a copy along with my scores) and I’m taking business classes so I can prepare for my future. Hopefully I can use this little time I have left here to learn how to make better decisions and be able to change my life around. So please continue to keep me in your prayers.

I keep each and everyone of you in my prayers everyday. And twice on Sunday. I can’t wait to enter your doors for an awesome service from our beloved Rev. Pat. No one will ever replace you. Your what makes our church fun and new every Sunday. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and bless you for everything.

God bless you all with health and happiness

Love,
Lee Birch

Letter from Rev. Pat to the Bishop

May 28, 2008

Dear Bishop,
I have informed my vestry that I will be retiring early and have given them several months notice. My last day will be Wednesday, September 17th and then I will be moving to Florida. I hope that you will find time to see me personally before I leave.

St. Paul’s Willimantic, as you know, is a small band of rugged, scrappy and most importantly, Christian individuals. The parishioners of this parish know what it means to belong to the priesthood of God. Many of the people who frequent the Soup Kitchen also frequent the church on Sundays for our breakfasts and coffee hours. I have not once heard any one ask them to go to the end of the line or tell them there isn’t enough food for them. Rather they call them by name as they treat them the same as anyone else. This is the church’s ministry and they are honored to be a part of their lives.

The people of this church have also raised enough money to put in a foundation, and raise the walls, to build an orphanage in Kakata, Liberia for 40 children. Now I don’t know exactly what to call them other than fools… that is fools for Christ with eyes to see the pain, ears to hear the cries, voices to respond and hearts to love children in the streets anywhere. I can’t say enough about them and how it has been a privilege to work with them; and that personally I have met Christ walking in their midst and am deeply, deeply grateful to them for giving me four years of glorious ministry.

Hope this letter finds you well.

Fondly,

Rev. Patricia P. Gallagher

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