Xanthi Pinkerton of Trinity Cathedral created a video with my Burning Man Blessing and photos I took at Burning Man and Trinity Cathedral.

Trinity Cathedral Rule of Life

How do you stay grounded in your faith? How do you keep your heart open and loving? How to you abide in hope? How do we, as a community of faith, join Christ in loving the world into wholeness? In times of personal struggle, or national strife, it can be difficult to draw from the well of spiritual strength found in our faith. For centuries Christians have adopted spiritual practices that promise, over time, to ground us in the love of God making us resilient and loving. This Rule of Life offers a set of four practices that grow out of the promises of the Baptismal Covenant. It is our belief that adopting these practices will, over time, transform our hearts and our lives. They are offered for a season, with the hope that they may become long-term habits.

The Commitments

1. Connect Daily: Commit to daily spiritual practice 

In the beginning there was nothing. God created all the wonders of the universe: the multitude of stars and planets, the array of plants and animals, and the mass diversity of humankind. God created it all, and nothing is apart from this creativity and love. Everything is Holy and blessed. It is our practice of disconnect and individual numbing that causes us to act apart from this reality. In a chaotic world, daily spiritual practices call us to intentionally return to the source, to God’s love and God’s call.

The Practice:  Commit to daily spiritual practice whether it is for one minute, or sixty – practice daily.

2. Stay Loving: Respect the dignity of every human being

Every person is a beloved child of God, deserving of and capable of love. Too often we deny this basic goodness in ourselves and others. In judgement, we distance, demonize and diminish the dignity of other people. We also turn this judgmental eye onto ourselves.  In contrast Jesus lived a life of forgiveness and reconciliation. He tells us to love others as we love ourselves, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.  

It is difficult to stay loving when confronted by cruelty, violence, arrogance, and selfishness. There is a strong temptation to respond in kind. Jesus calls us to a higher way: to not let the cruelty of others rob us of our ability to love. Jesus modeled this when he asked God to forgive the very people who were killing him. While we may not have the spiritual strength of Jesus, we can strive to keep our hearts loving as we strive for justice in the world.

The practice: Pay attention to your thoughts and when you start berating yourself, or denying the dignity of others, redirect your thinking. Perhaps say a short prayer or mantra, such as “every person is a beloved child of God,” or “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Do not participate in conversations that demonize others. Pray for people you dislike or who threaten you.

3. Practice Community: Worship and study together

Shortly after Jesus’ death, his followers found themselves called to live radically different lives than that of the dominant culture. Called to recognize all as beloved children of God, to cross human boundaries, befriend outcasts, and challenge oppressive powers in the way of Jesus, many fell short. They realized the need for specific practices that would give them stamina and ground them in faith and courage. Some found these practices in community, setting aside regular and specific times for eating, studying, worshipping, and praying together. Others sought silence and time apart. All found a need to return to the source of all life, and reconnect.

In two thousand years, this need has not changed. In a divisive and chaotic world, we too need practices which nurture the source of life within us. Practicing community, Jesus’ followers founded a faith which unexpectedly spread beyond boundaries in a hostile world. Their simple practices of community - sharing stories, listening deeply, eating together, sharing resources, and praying together – formed their lives, and strengthened their hearts. Whether it is to commit to weekly worship, and/or one weekly group learning activity, in this Lenten season, we invite you too to enter into the practice of community.

The practice: Commit to weekly worship and one weekly group learning opportunity.

4. Do Justice: Strive for justice and peace in the world

We live in a beautiful and broken world. Believing as we do in the unity of God’s love, harm that affects any of our brothers and sisters is harm that affects us all. No matter who we are, or where we are in our spiritual journey, God calls us to be agents for justice, healing, and hope. The good news is that we have already begun. In our baptismal covenant, we promise to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. And we have the words of the prophet Micah ringing in our ears: that what God requires of us is to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

When we turn our hearts to issues of injustice, suffering, and unrest, we engage in work that we cannot do alone. Thus, we open ourselves to being used and changed by God in ways that we can neither control nor predict. In this, lies hope for us and for the world.

The practice: Stay present and actively grapple with current events.  Commit to one justice area and regular action. Share your experience in conversations with members of the church.

Here's a transcript of the sermon I preached in response to the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.  The gospel reading was Luke 8:26-39.

Another shooting.

50 people killed in Orlando in a gay nightclub, in a place that is supposed to be a safe haven.

Another shooting.

And then, hours later, here in Sacramento at Verity Baptist Church, a pastor preached a forty-five minute sermon applauding the horrific act and encouraging more death. This, almost to the day, one year after Dylann Roof went into a church in Charleston, South Carolina and killed nine people who were in the middle of Bible study.

Killing after killing. Shooting after shooting.

After every mass shooting we gather together as a church. After every mass shooting I stand in this pulpit and lament. But, for me, this time is a little different.

The constant repetition and drum beat of mass shooting after mass shooting is opening my eyes; I’m different because of last year’s shooting. I’m different because of the conversation we had after last year’s shooting, after Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, went into an African American AME church and shot people during Bible study. This event that happened in the wake of protest after protest against violence perpetrated on African Americans by police.

We entered into a conversation at Trinity Cathedral during Lent; we listened to people of color; we had educational conversations about race. I began to realize how I had been lulled into the belief that racism really wasn’t that much of a problem; I drank the post-Obama-election Kool-Aid and believed that we were in the post-racial era.  As I participated in our programs on racism, I began to realize that the danger and corrosiveness we’re dealing with isn’t just outside our borders, it’s something that’s happening right here with us. I, and we, were becoming more and more sensitized to issues of race.

We worked with the great people at the Sacramento News and Review and created this flipbook describing some of the remarkable aspects of Trinity Cathedral.

For the third year, Trinity Cathedral had teams of people offering ashes and prayers to people passing by. We had teams at a light rail station, Caesar Chavez Park and in front of the Cathedral.  There was also a station in front of St. Paul's downtown. They prayed with over 150 people. It is always a moving experience. Here are some of my photos:

In Luke's version of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Jesus was praying when the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white. This detail gave me the opportunity to preach about how prayer is intended to change us, to transfigure us so we begin to see the world through the eyes of God.

Trinity Cathedral is participating in Trinity Institute's program on racial justice.  We began by hosting Joy Johnson, Pastor of Higher Hope Christian Church as our guest preacher on January 31. It was a great beginning.  We launch the program on Thursday, February 4 by watching Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's sermon that kicked off the Trinity Institute program and then watching Michele Norris's keynote address.  For the season of Lent we will meet in small groups to watch and discuss the other presentations.  Here's Pastor Joy's energetic sermon. 

On January 14, the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in Lambeth, England, voted to sanction the Episcopal Church for allowing for same-sex marriage throughout the church.  You can see the specific language of the sanctions in paragraphs 7 & 8 of this document. 

Here is the statement I wrote for the January 14 edition of Trinity Cathedral's enews:

There is breaking news from England.  As many of you know, the worldwide Anglican Communion is made up of 38 different autonomous provinces.  Each province is led by a primate; ours is our presiding bishop, The Very Rev. Michael Curry.  The Primates are meeting in London this week.  There has been tension in the Anglican Communion over the move toward acceptance of people who are gay and lesbian in some provinces.  There are several provinces who have moved toward inclusion, but The Episcopal Church seems to draw the greatest attention.  The primates have just voted to place a minor sanction on the Episcopal Church for three years.  We can not represent the Anglican Communion on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, we cannot be appointed or elected to serve on committees internal to the Anglican Communion.  Episcopalians who are already serving on such committees are not to vote on issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.  Since these committees don't govern doctrine or polity, this last sanction doesn't mean much.

While I will likely write a reflection on this after I have a chance to study the situation more, I would like to offer a few initial thoughts. First, our move toward marriage equality was the result of 40 years of hard, painful, prayerful and careful engagement with scripture and one another. I, and others who worked on this issue, firmly believe this is God's call to us, and that we are called to be a witness to the full dignity and inclusion of people and couples who are gay or lesbian. If we have to pay a price for this stand, then it is a price we willingly pay. That said, it isn't much of a price to pay.  This is not a very big deal in terms of our relationships with Anglicans around the world. Our real connection with the worldwide Anglican Communion is in our partnerships in mission on the local level.  Those will continue unchanged.

When reading this statement sanctioning the Episcopal Church, it is easy to react out of anger or fear.  I sometimes need to remind myself that Christ's love casts out fear. Our call is to love.  Love those sanctioning us.  Love the gay and lesbian persons who continue to be subjected to hatred and violence, who will see this statement as another spear in their sides.  Love and pray for one another.  

The following day I received a phone call at 5:30 in the morning from a reporter from the Guardian newspaper in England.  She didn't realize I lived on the West Coast.  I am not one of those people who wakes up at 5:00am so I was sound asleep.  We had a little chat that I can't remember.  I was pleased that in the article she only quoted my coherent speech.  

The following week I had many, many members of the Cathedral come talk to me.  They were upset at the actions of the primates.  On Sunday, January 24, I had the opportunity to address their fears in a sermon.

After a series of terrorist attacks and Donald Trump's pledge to bar Muslims from entering the U.S., members of Trinity Cathedral and Sacramento decided to stand in solidarity with our friends at the Salam Center. They hosted a unity rally that was packed. I was blessed with opportunity to join with other religious leaders and speak for tolerance. 

We also launched an interfaith Habitat for Humanity Project that we hope will become a national trend. People of various faiths, and no faith, are joining with area Muslims to build two Habitat homes. One will be sponsored by Muslims and the other by the interfaith community.  This project was put together in a little over a week.  Bishop Barry Beisner and seven Sacramento area congregation have pledged their support for the project.

Trinity's vestry decided to put a statement of support outside the Cathedral.  I proposed the wording to the congregation and got good feedback. Here's the sign we posted:

Here's the sermon I preached after the attack in San Bernardino:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

I am writing this the day after 14 people were killed in San Bernardino, days after 2 were killed in a restaurant in South Sacramento, a week after 3 people were killed in an abortion clinic in Colorado Springs and three weeks after the coordinated terror attacks in Paris that killed 130.  There have been 351 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year.  These numbers are staggering.  The constant news of killings is frightening.  This is a terrifying time.  Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world and seems to be growing and getting closer to home.  

There also seem to be few voices of hope.  Whatever conviction the best may posses, it is drowned out by the worst who are full of passionate intensity.