Well, by now you have all heard of the happenings of the Triennial meeting the Anglican Church of Canada. Whether good or bad, it is over for another three years. For those of us who have been dreading the moment when the church crosses the threshold, I think we can breathe a sigh of relief as we have another three year reprieve.

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Maybe it’s the tension of straddling these two cultural points that lends some of the depth and complexity to Biali’s music. Or maybe it’s just that the two points of convergence – the jazz she wears like a second skin, and the Holy Spirit who informs from within – are still rising.  

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Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, wrote in a letter to his friends: “If you are reading this, it means that I have gone on to my reward. As I write this, I can only think of what the Scriptures say and that is, ‘Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him.’ (1 Corinthians 2:9) Well, I have a big curiosity and by now, I know.”

Rosen died in San Francisco of prostate cancer at age 78.  Known for his ‘big curiousity’ as well as his eccentricity, Rosen stepped outside conventional approaches to mission accompanied by his courage, zeal and a fair share of controversy. 

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THEOLOGICAL DEFINITION: Synod

The Prayer Book Dictionary (1913) gives three definitions. Historically, synods were 1) gatherings of the Bishops of an ecclesiastical Province, 2) gatherings of the clergy of a Diocese with their Bishop, or 3) gatherings of representative clergy and Bishops from a whole Province, like the ancient Convocations of York and Canterbury. The Dictionary goes on to note that the word is also used to describe gatherings which include lay people in some parts of the Anglican Communion. What we call ‘synods’, then, are very recent inventions! What we call Anglicanism existed long before them.

GOOD QUESTION: Summer has me thinking about leisure. Has the Christian faith anything to say on the subject?

It certainly does.

The ancient gods of Mesopotamia were said to have made the human race for work. On this view, leisure can only be a way to make us more productive workers. The opening pages of the Book of Genesis say something quite different. The true and living God has made us for Himself. We are made in his ‘image and likeness.’ His purpose for us is that we should glorify Him by making the earth (and our souls) fruitful and so enter into that rest which is found in the enjoyment of Him. As the first question in the Westminster Catechism puts it: Q. What is the chief end of man? A. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Or, as Saint Augustine says, ‘Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in thee.’ Our rest -- our leisure -- is to glorify and to enjoy God. ‘There remains a rest for the people of God,’ says St Paul, ‘for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his’ (Hebrews 4:9-10). Our work and our leisure are all so that ‘our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found’ (Collect for Easter 4, BCP, p. 194).

The problem for us as human beings is that our minds are not fixed on truth and our hearts are not fixed on what is truly good. They wander. We have lost the taste for God. So we must make a habit of lifting up our minds and hearts to his Wisdom and Goodness. That’s what the spiritual life laid out for us in The Book of Common Prayer is all about. It is to help us form the habit of continual mindfulness of God’s goodness, beauty and truth. 

Wherever you are this summer, stick with this habit. Be sure to continue to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. If you can’t make it to Church on a particular Sunday, you can always pray Morning Prayer wherever you are with the help of a Bible and Prayer Book.

God grant a blessed summer to you and yours, gentle reader. May we all find rest and refreshment not merely to return to work, but to help us to acquire a taste -- no, a burning thirst -- for God.

Some Summer Reading, recommended by Debra Fieguth & Julie Lane Gay

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