A LESSON FROM MARGO (PART 2)

For He knew that for envy they had delivered Him up

Of all the horrible creatures in opera or literature, John Claggert (in Herman Melville’s novella Billy Budd and in the Benjamin Britten opera) is one of the worst.  Here we have a character whose un-nature easily rivals Shakespeare’s Iago and Richard III, Hugo’s Javert, Wagner’s Hagen or Beethoven’s Pizzaro – all of whom swim equally happily, and willingly and blindly in the sin of envy.

While theologians generally agree that pride is the primal sin, envy is perhaps the worst of the seven deadly sins in terms of its ability to undo its victim, as well as the victims of its victim.  We derive envy from the Latin root invidia (invidious) which Webster’s defines as “calculated to create ill-will”, precisely what each of the above characters manage to do.  While covet means wanting something that someone else has, envy means not wanting another person to enjoy the good that he has.  The envious person has no desire to posseess that which belongs to another, he simply doesn’t want the other to possess it either and will anything in his power to assure that he doesn’t – which is why Dante in his Purgatorio presents the penitents guilty of envy with their eyes stitched shut.  The sin also can germinate from one’s fear that God may not love him / her as much as He might love the other:  the person whom the envious person wants to undo.

In the Britten opera, Claggert’s aria is chillingly and mind-numbingly revealing.  Completely and totally offended by the goodness, beauty and innocence of Billy Budd (the Christ figure), the Master-at-Arms sheds his poison, outdoing Iago himself:

            “Oh beauty, oh handsomeness, goodness!  Would that I never              encountered you!  Would that I live in my own world always, in that depravity to which I was born.  There I found peace of a sort, there I established an order such as reigns in Hell.  But alas, alas!  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehends it and suffers.”

St. John in his gospel prologue writes that the light of Christ shined in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.  That is, many if not most of us at one time or another have failed to comprehend goodness, even when it’s staring us in the face.  Eventually however, we do recognize that that Goodness can heal our moral defects and we embrace it. With Claggert, we witness the diabolical opposite:  to see the Good; to recognize and comprehend it – and to be moved to destroy it; here we come face to face with the Unforgiveable Sin, and it’s enough to make one’s skin crawl.  Claggert continues:

“Having seen you, what choice remains to me?  None, none!  I am doomed to annihilate you; I am vowed to your destruction.  I will wipe you off the face of the earth…First I will trouble your happiness.  I will mutilate and silence the body where you dwell.  It shall hang from the yardr-arm…With hate and envy, I am stronger than love.”

In one terrifying way, envy is stronger than love, and of course our Lord knew “that for envy, [the chief priests] had delivered Him into the hands of Pilate.  Yet love shows its true strength not in conquering another, but in surrendering to another.  Jesus’ death and Resurrection have of course conquered sin, even the sin of envy; yet we are the only one’s who can, by giving reign to our free will, prevent through envy even the Love of God from subduing us:

“If love still lives and grows strong where I cannot enter, what hope is there in my own dark world for me?  No, I cannot believe it! No. That were torment too keen.” (text by librettist E.M. Forster)

The words could come directly from Victor Hugo’s police chief Javert, right before he commits suicide.  Both he and Claggert have sinned away their spiritual eyesight and succumbed to what St. Mark calls the sin against the Holy Spirit.  In seminary we were taught to define this “Unforgiveable Sin” as the practice of calling good evil.  That is, if we cannot comprehend God’s very best (Jesus) as nothing more than evil, then we won’t be moved to confess our sin and be healed; and we remain in our sin. 

With Claggert we see someone whose sin goes even farther, for he does in fact actually comprehend and recognize the Good and is moved to destroy It.  Fortunately, St. John has the last word, because while comprehend can mean recognize, surround and destroy – and even though the human race comprehended (recognized) Jesus, we also failed to comprehend (destroy) Him:  the darkness comprehended it not. Nor did the darkness comprehend (destroy) Billy, as testified by Captain Vere who allowed the innocent one to be hanged.  Britten’s opera ends with Vere’s words:  “Oh what have I done?  But he (Billy) has saved me, and blessed me, and the love that passes understanding has come to me.”

What a wonderful lesson, one which Margo obviously knew, and one which she would want each of us to know, so much so that she was moved to write a letter and have it read to those of us attending her memorial service:  to recognize and truly comprehend the source of that Love which passes understanding.  It has come to us to remain with each of us, and may we never cease to comprehend It – nor fail forever to delight in It.  FAB

OUR WILL

Dear Parish Family,

For years it had been the Vestry's desire for All Saints to train and mentor a young priest in the more traditional ways of the Church's theology and liturgy, exposing him to certain ideas that the seminaries – not always on purpose – seem to avoid.  I believe firmly that Providence and the Holy Spirit led us to Will McQueen, although in Will’s case he matriculated from seminary already with a love and appreciation of the traditional liturgies of the Church.  Never having been exposed to these either before or during seminary, the fact that he had the imagination and will to seek them out and to learn more about them speaks volumes about this man’s intellect and basically good sense – and Bishop Louttit was delighted that we wanted to call Will as our curate.

Now the time arrives for All Saints to turn Will over to the greater Church.  St. John’s Moultrie, one of the oldest and most distinguished parishes within our diocese’s history, has called Fr. McQueen to be their Rector.  Although personally I wish St. John’s Calling Committee had been patient enough for me to return Stateside before all of this came to fruition, we can certainly understand their desire to move toward Will as quickly as possible.  Indeed as soon as Will had informed me that St. John’s present Rector would be leaving, I told Will not to be surprised should they “come after him”; nor am I the least bit surprised that Bishop Louttit so readily approved their Call.  Essentially, the “fit” between Will and St. John’s is quite simply, the proverbial “no-brainer” – and happily, Moultrie is only a few miles up the road.

While it will be bittersweet to say goodbye to Will, Robyn, William, Sarah Kathryn and Grace, we can take pride that in a small but nevertheless significant way, we will be assisting our sister congregation in Moultrie in their time of need (All Saints has enjoyed nothing but the most cordial relationship with St. John’s), as well as to continue to nurture Will's vocation by releasing him to follow his conscience and his God by answering His call to Moultrie.

To the best of my understanding, St. John’s would like Will to begin by October 1.  This will give us the time to say our proper goodbyes to the McQueens, and to send them on up the road with our most sincere prayers and good wishes fruitful and blessed association with St. John’s, Moultrie.
In the meantime, I continue to be so proud of All Saints’ Vestries and Congregation for providing Will such a tremendous environment and community in which to embark upon the Lord’s priesthood.

Faithfully, 
Fr. Buechner

ALL SAINTS’ WORK DAY

On May 3, our parish had a wonderful church picnic followed by various work projects.  We applied paint to the steps at the church, did extensive clean-up around the playground, and also identified additional projects to work on at a future date.  That future date has been set, and additional projects set for our completion.

On Saturday, August 22, please bring any tools you think you might need, and plenty of energy for a workday at the church in anticipation of the beginning of Christian Education and Fall.  We will begin around 8:30 and work until mid-afternoon.  One of the projects identified is refurbishment of the lattice screens under the church.  Saw, hammers, paintbrushes, etc. would be in order for this project.  We also need to replace the wood coverings for the two playhouses in the playground.  There is always more to be done so please dress accordingly as it will most likely be warm.  Drinks and lunch will be provided.  See you on the 22nd.    
WNM

SAFEGUARDING GOD’S CHILDREN

On Saturday, August 29, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., All Saints’ will again offer the Safeguarding God’s Children program from the National Church which deals with proper conduct around our children.  It is quite sad to note that training such as this is even required, but unfortunately the battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil is real, and we are not exempt from that fight within the church.  For all parishioners who have regular contact with children whether as a Sunday school teacher, nursery worker, EYC advisor, or chaperone of our youth, we are required to keep on file a record of all who have attended this training.

Those who attended the training last fall do not need to attend again.  Please make every effort to participate in this session if you work with the youth of the parish.  Please contact the church office to make reservations to attend.   WNM

ECW BOOK CLUB

The ECW Book Club meet on Wednesday, July 8. Gini Miller lead a lively discussion of "Same Kind of Different As Me". There were 14 people in attendance.

We next meet on Wednesday, August 12.  The book is "Woman of Egypt" by Jahan Sadat and the leader will be Louise Muenz. Bring a sandwich and come join us at 11:50. All very welcome.

The Sept book is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Discussion will be led by Kenlie Bell.

Lee Chubb
Lee Mitchell
 

STEWARDSHIP

After months of conversation, the Rector and Vestry have decided that – despite or even in spite of the economy -- our parish programs have expanded to a point where we need to spend a more serious amount of time regarding the subject of stewardship.

We too often think that stewardship pertains only to our giving money to the church, the way we might wonder how to continue to pay the monthly dues at the country club.  Rather, stewardship is about how we live our lives.  The way we spend our money and the things we spend our money on are sacramental in the sense that they show us as well as others the things which are truly important for us.

We’ve shied away in years past from stewardship “programs” because most are so annoyingly gimmicky.   Thanks to St. John’s Church in Savannah, we believe we’ve stumbled upon one which is not only not gimmicky but actually worthwhile and productive.   The program unfolds during the morning worship services of four consecutive Sundays where we will hear four different addresses:  two by members of our parish, plus one by Fr. Buechner and a final one by The Rev. Gavin Dunbar, Rector of St. John’s Church in Savannah.  Fr. Dunbar introduced this program to St. John’s two years ago, and their pledged income increased twenty five per cent.

You’ll hear more about this in the coming month.   In the meantime, please place on your calendars September 14 (the day when Sunday School begins), as well as the three Sundays which follow.  We want to continue to do everything humanly possible to make All Saints as fruitful and spiritually whole as a parish can be, but such striving becomes vain unless everyone is doing his or her part not only to learn what it means to be a good steward, but to learn what it means to be a better steward as well.
Faithfully,

(The Rev.) Frederick A. Buechner
Brad Jackson, Senior Warden

ALTAR GUILD

Anyone interested in serving the Lord as a member of the Altar Guild, please contact Nicki Sanders at 229-225-1581 or email cnlcsand@bellsouth.net.  The Altar Guild is divided up into 4 teams. Each team is assigned one week a month to be responsible for preparing the Church and Chapel for all services during the assigned week, including weddings and funerals.  It is a great group of ladies dedicated to this integral part of our church.  With everyone's busy schedule, we really need more loving hands to learn the traditions of service in our church. 

Nicki Sanders

BISHOP CANDIDATE WALK ABOUTS

One of the important parts about the search for our next bishop will be the opportunity for the people of the Diocese of Georgia to meet face-to-face with those priests whose names have been placed in nomination.  The process has taken a great deal of time to reach this point, and now is the opportunity for the wider body to meet these six candidates, one of whom will be the Tenth Bishop of our diocese.

On Thursday, August 27, all six candidates will be in Albany for those parishes on the western side of the state to have the opportunity to meet with them.  Please mark this date on your calendar.  It is important that as many members of All Saints’ attend this gathering in order to communicate your thoughts about these six men to the clergy and delegates to the Special Electing Convention to be held in September.  Please keep this entire process in your prayers.
WNM

JUST IN FROM THE DIOCESAN OFFICE:

Transition Committee Announces Walk about meeting Format

The Diocesan Transition Committee has finalized the format for the 10th Bishop candidates walk about meetings in August. Meetings will be held at Saint Thomas, Savannah on August 26, Saint Paul’s Albany on August 27 and Good Shepherd, Augusta, on August 28. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. Priority seating will be given to voting clergy and delegates to the electing convention, between 5:15 pm and 5:45 pm each evening. Other members of the Diocese are welcome to attend up to the capacity of the venue. The election convention is slated for September 12 in Dublin.

Each of the six candidates will be afforded a brief opening and closing statement and will answer questions for about 20 minutes each. Questions must be submitted by email to The Reverend James Parker at parker.j@comcast.net or by postal mail to 402 East 46th Street, Savannah, GA 31406. There will also be an opportunity to submit written questions just prior to each meeting.

A brief reception, following each meeting, will be hosted by convocation churches. Candidates will be available during the reception to meet and greet attendees.

All attendees – especially voting clergy and delegates are urged to read each candidate’s biography, listen to their video presentations and read their responses to questions posted on www.georgiabishopsearch.org (link thru Diocesan website) before attending the meetings.


USHERS FOR AUGUST

August 2     
Rick Nudd     
Charles Olson

August 9
Clayton Penhallegon
Raleigh Rollins

August 16     
Charles Sanders    
Mike Shea

August 23
Charlie Whitney
Geoffrey Young

August 30
Bob Balfour
Don Bruhn

TRANSITIONS:

Happy Birthday in the month of August to:

Chadwick Kelly   8-1-93
Parker Hayden McCollum  8-7-04
Jacob A. Bruhn    8-21-96
Haven Shea    8-26-88
Lily Bradford Jackson   8-30-02

Happy Birthday in the month of September to:

Jack Saussy    9-3-03
Richard Lyons    9-4-88
Mary Eleanor Hand   9-5-95
Melissa Funk    9-6-90
Preston Young    9-11-99
Parker Watt    9-13-00
Riley Harper    9-16-05
William McQueen IV   9-16-03
Sara Jo Grooms    9-17-88

From the Parish Register
Deo Gratis
Mr. and Mrs. Amos Ryals McMullian, Jr. announce the safe delivery of a son,
Gabriel James McMullian on July 20, 2009.

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?
       By Jeffrey Goldberg

I am the pastor of a small, historic Episcopal church in the Southeast.  A bride-to-be wants to tie little pink bows to the pews for her wedding.   Our wedding director says the church is too pretty to be ruined by little pink bows.  The bride is deeply distressed.  Meanwhile the youth group wants to burn the church down and replace it with something more energy-efficient.  I concede that the church, a Victorian pile with high ceilings and lots of stained glass, is costly to heat and maintain.  Energy-efficient churches are often ugly, but pink bows would then cease to be an issue.  Should I let the youth group burn down the church?
                                                                      The Reverend D.L., N.C.

Your question reminds me, as I’m sure it does you, of an early Sopranos episode (The Sopranos was a sensation among southern Episcopal clergy).  As you’ll recall, Tony decides to burn down a friend’s restaurant to stop it from becoming the scene of a mob hit, sparing his friend the controversy of a rubout, but leaving him without his livelihood.  There’s no equivalence here--pink bows might be an aesthetic sin, but they don’t rise to Sixth Commandment evildoing--yet the principle applies.  My point:  don’t let the youth group torch your church.  Have they heard of weatherizing?  That would make for a fun and wholesome activity, and it would preserve what I imagine is a lovely place to worship.

                                        from the July issue of  The Atlantic Monthly.
 

DATES TO REMEMBER

BISHOP WALK ABOUT
ALBANY, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27

ST. CECILIA AND ST. DAVID
CHOIR REHEARSALS
LOOK FOR A MAILING FROM MRS. BUECHNER

SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR
ALL AGES AND BEGINS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

SUNDAY SCHOOL KICK-OFF LUNCHEON
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

CONFIRMATION CLASSES
FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN
BEGINS THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 13. 
DATES AND TIMES TO BE ANNOUNCED.

BISHOP LOUTTIT’S VISIT
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25