"Nativities without number":
A Christmas message from Bishop Gates
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Standing in a parish hall in central Massachusetts, a group of Christians from Ghana gazed with surprise at the figures of a nativity scene from their home country.
A parish of our diocese–St. Andrew’s in Ayer–maintains a remarkable tradition of displaying over 300 nativities from every corner of the world. This year, as part of our growing collaboration with the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, St. Andrew’s shared their vast display with Trinity Church in Shrewsbury. A Ghanaian congregation worshiping at Trinity contemplated the extensive exhibition. “Do you have a creche from Ghana?” they inquired. “We do!” responded the proprietor of the collection, showing them to the Ghanaian nativity.
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Click above to view
Bishop Gates's Christmas message video.
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The group gathered around, slowly gazing upon the carvings with a prayer on their lips and a tug at their heart. For these Christians 5,000 miles from their homeland, the simple wooden figures spoke of familiarity, spoke of identity, spoke of God’s love. The creche spoke to them without words, yet in their own vernacular.
As I wandered amongst those 300 nativity scenes, I was struck anew by the universal message conveyed by the Christmas Gospel. While depicting the Nativity of Our Lord, the feeling in the room was perhaps more that of Pentecost, the power of Christ’s proclamation made comprehensible to one and all. The figures crafted in wood, clay, fabric, corn husks, and more, evoked, as Scripture might say, “every family, language, people, and nation.” Jesus was born in one place, yet came for every place. Jesus was born in one time, yet came for every time. Jesus was born to one people, yet came for all people.
The good news of “Emmanuel: God with us” makes its way not only to every culture and to every age; that news comes also to each of us in the particularity of our own circumstance, and we find it to be different every year. Some years God enters the enchantment of Christmas alongside eager children; other times God enters the ease of those enjoying contented quietude. Sometimes it may be in the gratitude of post-pandemic togetherness; still other years the grief of loss is underscored at Christmas–and God enters that, too.
The message of the angel, “Fear not!” makes itself heard not only in church pews on Christmas Eve. That message also breaks through to the anxious family in the oncology ward; to the wary immigrant in transitory housing; to the weary champion for justice in their discouragement; to the newly widowed in their sorrow; to the nervous breadwinner on the picket line; to the frightened soldier on the battlefield. There could be another 300 nativity scenes depicting just these places, and more. For these, too, are the places where God will be born anew.
I do not know what the creche scene of your own life looks like this year, but I pray that in it you experience the renewed Incarnation of God's love. In the words of an earlier bishop of Massachusetts:
No ear may hear Christ’s coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.
Christmas blessings to you.
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates
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Saturday, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m., with the Rev. Paul Shoaf Kozak preaching, and candlelight, special music and hot apple cider.
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Sunday, Dec. 25 at 10 a.m., Feast of the Incarnation with Holy Eucharist, Dean Amy McCreath preaching. After the service, there will be the opportunity to make lunches for common cathedral.
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Sunday, Jan. 1 at 10 a.m. (in-person only), Service of Poems and Carols with Holy Name Day homily by the Rev. Jennifer McCracken.
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REDI Assessment remains open for wide participation from diocesan community: The diocesan Racial Justice Commission invites all people in the diocese to take part in a Racial Equity Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Assessment. It is an online survey that takes 30-35 minutes to complete, and is being offered by the commission's Subcommittee on Accountable Structures and Practices as "something people in our diocese can do to move us closer to the idea of Beloved Community." The results will help in gaining an understanding of the level of awareness and knowledge of racial equity culture and will help gauge perceptions of the environment for decision makers, staff and community members.
REDI survey results are confidential and are reported only in the aggregate, with suggested areas to develop based on a final REDI score. This assessment will be used as a baseline in 2022 and can be taken again in the future to measure progress toward race equity goals.
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Mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day at annual Boston breakfast event, in person and livestream: The 53rd annual Martin Luther King Memorial Breakfast takes place on Monday, Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, featuring as guest speaker Jelani Cobb, a writer for The New Yorker magazine and Columbia Journalism School dean. A livestream will also be available. Find more information and purchase tickets here.
The breakfast represents more than 50 years of commemoration and collaboration between St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church and Union United Methodist Church to present this annual event dedicated to Dr. King’s life and legacy. The MLK Breakfast Committee also recognizes extraordinary contributions to diversity and inclusion efforts through service and scholarships.
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Gather with Poor People's Campaign of Massachusetts for Jan. 13 unveiling of "The Embrace": Join the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign and the Poor People’s Campaign of Massachusetts on Friday, Jan. 13 at 11 a.m. for refreshments, conversation and fellowship at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont Street) in Boston prior to the unveiling of “The Embrace” at 1 p.m. on the Boston Common.
Designed by Hank Willis Thomas, an internationally acclaimed African American conceptual artist, the new memorial commemorates the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and the civil rights leaders who worked alongside them in Boston.
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Episcopal City Mission Campaign to Shrink the Racial Wealth Gap in Massachusetts: Gather via Zoom for an information session to learn about Episcopal City Mission’s new statewide campaign on shrinking the racial wealth gap in Massachusetts, and find out ways to get involved in the three areas of work: reparations; solidarity economy and investing; and state-level policy change. The info session takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 6-7 p.m. Find more details here and register here.
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Considering applying to the ordination process in 2023? Registration is open for annual Ministry Discernment Conference: The annual Ministry Discernment Conference offered by the bishops and the Commission on Ministry will be held online via Zoom on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This conference will provide an in-depth look at the 2023 edition of the Ministry Discernment Handbook and give potential inquirers an opportunity to learn about the ordination process in the Diocese of Massachusetts as they consider whether their call is to ordained ministry or committed lay ministry. Anyone considering applying for admission to the ordination process in 2023 is required to attend the conference, along with a sponsoring priest and at least one member of the parish discernment committee.
Find more information and registration here.
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Faith & Leadership: More than finding room, building an intentional community: Duke Divinity School's Faith & Leadership online magazine features CRECHE, the Charles River Episcopal Co-Housing Endeavor, and its "community-focused alternative to the for-profit housing market that is rooted in relationship and mutuality: co-housing communities in which people live like families, sharing meals, common spaces, and the rhythms of home care.” Residents are expected to cultivate relationships with their housemates and share meals, spiritual practice and decision making. They also are expected to engage with the surrounding neighborhood and in the life of the sponsoring parish, which include Emmanuel Church in Boston (Emmanuel House in Allston), St. Mary's Church in Dorchester (St. Mary's House), Trinity Parish in Newton Centre (Trinity House) and Jubilee House in development with New Roots AME Church in Dorchester.
The feature notes that finding an affordable place to live in the Boston area is more challenging than almost anywhere in the United States, and poses the question by CRECHE's executive director, the Rev. Isaac Everett, in regard to Episcopal Church real estate: "What if we used what we have to meet this deep need and, instead of merely talking about justice, we actually put people in homes?” Read more here.
WGBH News: Old North Church, a beacon of freedom, grapples with its own ties to slavery: Last year Old North Church began a broader rethinking about how to re-tell the complicated parts of its history of how slavery intertwined with the cries for freedom fueling the American Revolution. Not an easy task, considering that the church’s original steeple, the famous spire that signaled “one if by land, two if by sea” to Paul Revere, was built with the proceeds from enslaved labor.
“New England, in general, has done an excellent job of whitewashing our history, reshaping the historical narrative to suggest that slavery was maybe only a southern problem,” Old North's vicar, Matthew Cadwell, said. “In fact, it touched every area of Boston, including the church. And so that's been an important learning and a difficult learning for us at Old North.” Listen and read here.
A NOTICIA USA: BRACE Feira de Saúde e Imigração 2022: ProGente Connections was invited at the end of November to participate in a Health and Immigration Fair in Framingham organized by BRACE (Brazilian-American Center). ProGente's executive director Raquel Riberti-Bill said, "It was such a wonderful event full of resources for the Brazilian community in the MetroWest area." ProGente Connections began as a diocesan mission hub based at St. Andrew's Church in Framingham and is now a cooperative organization of seven religious entities offering services and cross-cultural partnership between Brazilian and American communities. Coverage of the November event is here.
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Dec 24: Christmas Eve at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston (in person and livestream), 7:00pm
Dec 25: Christmas Day at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston (in person and livestream), 10:00am
Jan 1: New Year's Day at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston (in person) 10:00am
Jan 4: Creation Care Justice Network Meeting, via Zoom, 7:00pm
Jan 5: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Dorothy Goehring, St. John's Church, Jamaica Plain, 6:00pm
Jan 10: Office of Immigration and Multicultural Ministries "Episcopal Church 101" with Bishop Gayle E. Harris, via Zoom, 6:00pm
Jan 13: Gathering for Unveiling of "The Embrace" Memorial on Boston Common and Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 11:00am
Jan 16: 53rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, 9:00am
Jan 17: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Parochial Report Prep (Non-financial Sections), via Zoom, 9:00am
Jan 18: Creation Care Justice Network Meeting, via Zoom, 7:00pm
Jan 20-21: Diocesan Council Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H.
Jan 21: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Parochial Report Prep (Non-financial sections), via Zoom, 9:00am
Jan 21: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Curtis Coppersmith, St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, 11:00am
Jan 22: Bishop Gates visits St. Peter's Church in Cambridge
Jan 25: Info Session on Episcopal City Mission's Campaign to Shrink the Racial Wealth Gap in MA, via Zoom, 6:00pm
Jan 28: Confirmation Service, St. Peter's-San Pedro Church, Salem, 10:30am
Jan 28: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Joseph Kimmel, St. Anne's in-the-Fields Church, Lincoln, 2:00pm
Jan 29: Bishop Gates visits Church of Our Saviour in Brookline
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