A Two Goal Lead is the Most Dangerous Lead...

The Rev. Aron Kramer Christmas Eve Sunday December 24, 2007 Well baby I've been here before I know this room and I've walked this floor, I used to live alone before I knew you I've seen your flag on the marble arch But love is not a victory march It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Now maybe there is a God above But all I've ever learned from love Was how to shoot someone who outdrew you it's not a cry that you hear at night It's not somebody who's seen the light It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah Leonard Cohen caught something in the imagery of a broken Hallelujah. There is something on this night when we sing hallelujah, when hallelujah is on all our altar hangings, on this night when we give praise for the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, on this night when God puts on human flesh and walks among us, as us, with us, that rings true about a broken hallelujah. In the Gospel, the people of God are ordered to be...

One year ago today, about this time of the day, 9:30, I received a call from Sara telling me Eliot was being admitted to Fairview University for something serious. It would not be until later that evening we would find out it was Leukemia. Sara and I are reflecting on that day today, trying to remember its details, the love and support that out poured from Gethsemane, from the Diocese, from our families. It was a crazy time, and because of the generosity of so many people we were truly able to be a family during that crisis. Eliot is doing so well today, he is happy and learning to be a little kid all over again. We face a challenging remaining two and a half years, and let me tell you that last day of maintenance will be one heck of a party. Thank you to all who walked that scary time with us and supported us as we faced this scary thing. Be well Aron

The Rev. Aron Kramer Advent Sermon Series II Sunday, December 9, 2007 In the absence of Christ, what emerges? The city is where we work out our corporate life. The city is the place where we witness the emergence of Christ in ways we could only scarcely imagine. The city is the place where the poor and wealthy walk the same streets. The city is where the oppressed and the oppressors live. The city is where darkness and light wage an eternal battle. Christ set himself towards Jerusalem, towards the city so long ago, to go there and to be killed, but he was not just killed in the city. In the city, Christ was resurrected, in the city Christ ripped the curtain of the temple, blowing the box of the limitations that religion and authority had set upon God. It was in the city that Christ’ resurrection happened; it was in the city that the apostles began their work. It was in the city that Christ began to emerge. Fred Burnham, an Episcopalian I have had the pleasure to ...

The Rev. Aron Kramer Advent Sermon Series I Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 In the absence of Christ, what emerges? If you read my email this week, you saw that I asked the provocative question, what do Jesus and slime mold have in common? Before I answer that, let me tell you a little bit about slime mold, my new favorite slimy organism. Scientists have been studying for years different kinds of systems that use simple and small components to build higher level intelligence. Essentially, organisms that have no brain or organization at all and how they come together to create a more intelligent organism that can actually get things done. So back to slime mold, say you are walking in a forest and you come across this red, orange-ish slimy goo lying on a log, or in the midst of some leaves, seemingly sitting still in a mass on the forest floor. If you were to come back later, it might be gone, or it might be in a different place, if the weather were to cool down and get rainy, it mi...

The Rev. Aron Kramer Last Pentecost Sunday, November 25, 2007 Our journey always begins with our trip to the Inn. After days of waiting and hearing rumors of a miracle in Bethlehem, we go to the Inn, but God is not there, they say God is in the stable out back. We leave the Inn and go to the stable; there the shepherds say God is not here, God has left with his family to go to Egypt. We leave the stable and go to Egypt, but the people there do not know God and we return to God’s birth place where God’s family says God is in the Temple. We go to the Temple, but God, the people say, is out in the country and by the seaside, making apostles out of some. We go to the Apostles to find God, but God, the Apostles say, is not with them, God is at the outskirts of town, with the poor, the lame, the widowed, the orphaned and the oppressed. We go to the outskirts of town, to find the poor, the lame, the widowed, the orphaned and the oppressed, some say they have been healed, others as...

Just got the newest Trinity News magazine and read an amazing interview. Read it here , it is very cool. The article is called: The Objective of Islam is Peace Be well, A+

I am studying for my sermon next Sunday and reading a little piece about the Colossians reading and discovered this little gem about the community in colossa, or whatever their name was, and the news they were receiving about the Gospel not being adequate for their faith. It reads: "There is a host of different ways in which contemporary believers can be tempted to feel that the basic gospel message is inadequate and that it needs to be supplemented by additional religious rites or disciplines, more sophisticated knowledge, or some compelling experience, if they are to be accepted by God or to reach their full potential as human beings. They need to hear... that there is no inadequacy about its basic message." Now, I don't know about you, but that was kind of wonderful to hear. It gave my heart a boost, to think that the Gospel message as we have it is all that we need to understand the basic message of faith, the basic message of Christ. We are in the midst of studying...

I am reading a new book called "Signs of Emergence" by Kester Brewin. I stumbled upon it by chance, I am doing and Advent Sermon Series on Emergence, called "In the Absence of Christ, what emerges?" Of course in my perfect world I would have blended the thought and science behind the Science of Emergence with different Anglican Theology and doctrines to make this brilliant statement of how science and theology are coming together and how are response is to be amazingly brilliant children of God. Then the boiler died, our chimney still hasn't been fixed and many other sordid things that are not making me happy. Anyway, in reading this book, I stumbled across a little quote that got me really excited: "The only way to consider whether our structures are serving us is to stop and reflect on them. To dismantle them; take them apart piece by piece. Expose them to the air. Lay them on the ground and let everyone walk around them and get a good look at them ...

You can read about this here on the Diocesan website. I wanted to post this so people could read a little bit about the goal as this network idea seems to have a lot of energy right now. So read through and make comments, I will comment early next week or later today depending on how much time I have to write. This is just the first operational strategies, #6 not the entire Goal, so the rest will come soon. Thanks! A+ Goal 3: Recreate the Diocese as a Network To redevelop the entire diocese by the end of 2009 to function primarily as a network of congregations and ministries. These networks will exercise local initiative and responsibility for shared ministry in their contexts. Recommended Mission & Ministry Initiatives Initiative 6: Develop Network Infrastructure: We need to re-conceive and redevelop the diocese as a network of congregations and ministries where organization, communication and the use of resources flow along the lines of meaningful relationships and shared minist...

I snapped this picture of Naomi yesterday, not so flattering of Eliot, but what a shot of Naomi. She was having a great time.

So I ended up speaking on the floor convention and looking back at that previous initial post, I realized I changed a lot of that. So here is the text of the statmenet I read at convention, what I actually said: It is vital to the future of the Diocese and the integrity of the BCMS work that we call a Bishop Coadjutor. To do anything else would limit the effectiveness of how we continue to discover how we will be the Church together. God is working among us, and I believe that this process is an opportunity to deepen our commitment and participation with God in the mission God is calling us all to. With the work of the BCMS at the center of all we do in the search for a new visionary leader we can be confident that we elect someone who can work collaboratively and in full partnership with all of us to continue to create a pioneering vision for the future of the Church. I imagine the demands upon the time of a bishop are great, only Bishop Jelinek can tell us what that demand is lik...

Had a Baptism on Sunday and was reminded of how core that action is to my life of faith. I love how the Baptismal Covenant, though uniquely Episcopalian, says nothing about being an Episcopalian or even for that matter, says nothing about institutional Church. It was so refreshing. It was similar to past experiences where I re-discovered those things I loved as a child or a young adult, things that gave me energy, passion and nourishment, not just nostalgia and useless memories. For instance, and laugh at your own risk, Dragonlance Fantasy novels, I love those things and read them regularly still today. They were enduring objects, hobbies or activities that I have, for a long time, enjoyed immensly. Saying the Baptismal Covenant with the members of my parish, claiming those questions as a core piece of who I am as Christian, really was like breathing fresh and new air. I heard little about our Baptismal covenant at Convention, or of what we as a Episcopalians claim as pieces of ho...

I am ever the optimist, I always assume that people are operating out of the general good of their hearts, for the betterment of whatever it is they might be working or advocating for. I am also not one to hold a grudge, and will jump on board with the decisions made by a body that they believe are what that particular body needs. So, of course, when I was on the losing end of just about every resolution presented at convention I was able to look forward to what would come next and prepare myself to support the decisions I need to support as we move forward. Tonight I put all my eggs into the basket to try to get a coadjutor process passed as the way we would proceed in calling a new bishop. We missed that by three votes, granted, a majority of the Diocese wanted to have a coadjutor, but because of a motion to have the vote by orders it lost, clergy passed it 86-59 and the laity narrowly missed it by a vote of 114 to 117. Makes for some nail biting prime time entertainment, let me t...

I believe it is in the best interest of the Diocese of Minnesota to proceed with a modified version of Bishop Jelinek’s coadjutor plan. I believe we have already completed a two year interim process through the powerful work of the BCMS and that this work needs to be the core of the Bishop Coadjutor search process. The Bishop’s Commission for Mission Strategy has looked closely at and been honest about our diocesan wide bad habits and helped us acknowledge, honor and move forward to create collaborative relationships and collegiality among laity and clergy. We have begun to overcome our bad habits and new partnerships and opportunities have emerged. We have begun to discover our gifts, talents and skills as we have heard the Good News in the ministries and missions of congregations around the Diocese. The past two years have been extraordinarily challenging and anxiety provoking. We have asked HOW we will be the Church together as we move forward. Two years of maintenance and deep s...

I am listening, right now, to a podcast from Speaking of Faith in which Krista Tippett interviews a young Rabbi fro LA named Sharon Brous. She is crazy inspirational. One thing she said that has kept hitting me is this: "What do we want the world to look like and what are we doing about it." Powerful stuff, wow, what if we as a community gathered together and had a real conversation about just this topic. What do we want, what do we desire, what is it we see when we look at the world, and how then, do we see GOd in it. She is quite cutting edge, even going so far as to say about worship if you are not inspired each time you come to celebrate go see a movie instead, I should say that. More to come when I finish this podcast, it is amazing! Be well, A+

Well, sometimes the best of intentions just don't cut it, do they. Today I am sitting in my office getting caught up on email, and mail and phone messages and all that wonderful stuff. I have been in Baltimore since Friday and just returned to my office. My office, today, is freezing cold, I mean freezing, even I couldn't handle it anymore. So I walked downstairs flipped on the boiler, thinking I would like to have it run for a while and warm the place up. So I did. And it got warm, I was comfortable, and was planning on turning the boiler off at about 12:30 before I left for my 1PM appt. It was not long after I turned the boiler on, 25 minutes MAYBE, the sirens started screaming, the fire trucks, and I mean a lot of them, more than I have ever heard, starting coming towards the church, so I got up to see where they were going, and what they were doing. When I stood up, and looked out my office window, lo and behold they were sitting right there looking at our roof. I we...

I was sitting in an office today and looked at the front page of the Star Tribune. On said front page was an article about how my alma mater is rejecting a request to have Bishop Desmond Tutu come and speak. For the record, I think it is ridiculous, of course that a man such as Tutu, with the tremendous accomplishments he has achieved, is going to be sent away from even a Roman Catholic institution. Sara and I are both appalled and have more reasons to not give any of our hard earned dough to the University. Anyway, as I looked at the front page, I was struck to see what they were actually writing. The paper, and this is my first reaction, had the GALL to place Archbishop Tutu in the same company as the president of Iran, can't spell his name right now, Ann Coulter and Michael Moore. WHAT??? Ann Coulter? What has she done that could even shine a candle to the ministry Bishop Tutu has accomplished? What has Michael Moore done? And the president of Iran? Yikes, the point, ...

This is what i put together for the blessing of the animals service I was at this weekend, the 6th of October. Our pets, as many of you already know, help us remember significant moments in our lives. My wife and I had a chocolate lab named Fran; Fran was the first pet we had as new family living in the world. She was beautiful and gentle and cuddly and so much fun to play with. On September 10th, 2001, the day before the Twin Towers fell, Fran was jumping up and down at our back door, she really wanted to go outside, it was morning, so I assumed she had a full bladder and needed to be let out. When I opened the door, I realized she was not so much interested in finding a fire hydrant as she wanted the rabbit that was hiding somewhere in our backyard. She took off after the rabbit and during the chase leaped over the flower bed in our back yard, in that moment her life changed, our lives changed. She landed on her neck, had somehow paralyzed herself in the jump, and couldn’t move...

For 2 years I have wanted to do a blessing of the animals service at the Garden, and for 2 years I have failed to make it work. I do have a blessing of the animals service to preside at however, this year, at the Veterinary Medical Center at the University of Minnesota on Saturday, October 6th at 4:30PM. All are welcome to bring their pets, pictures of pets that have died or even, and this is my addition, stuffed animals that are meaningful. Should be fun, be sure to join us! Be well, A+

Here is my sermon from Sunday, enjoy... We believe God is here, seriously we do. So how will we make the words on our sign ring truer each day as we live our life in God together? We believe that God is actively working in our lives to change the world, to reveal the Kingdom of God to all who wish to experience it. We believe God is here, not far off in a galaxy far away, but right here, living next to us. God’s presence among us is a tough question though, it is a tough question because the idea of God being actively present in our lives has been co-opted by conservative Christians throughout the world, conservative Christians around the world who believe God active in our lives now means that God will make me rich if I pray enough; people who believe that God will intervene in Iraq and destroy the heathen, namely all of Islam. People who believe that means their children will be healed of debilitating diseases without medical intervention; people who believe that God brought deb...

The Rev. Aron Kramer 17 Pentecost Sunday, September 23, 2007 God appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever God did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately he received a hundred cattle and he was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred. So he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred acres of land. Rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling jealous and slighted because his neighbor had received more than he. Finally, he stated his third wish: that God would strike him blind in one eye. There is little imagination in this story on the part of the farmer, there is little creativity, it is a story about jealousy, desire and wanting to have more than anyone else. Today’s Gospel left me hanging, is there anyon...

Jeff Smith died, and with him goes much knowledge and joy for Gethsemane. It will be a little more empty without him around, it will be a little more predictable as well. Below is the homily I preached at his burial service. HOMILY FOR JEFF SMITH'S BURIAL SERVICE Matthew 5:2-11 I walked away from last nights time of sharing stories about Jeff with one clear conclusion, I am grateful I was never in the same car as Jeff while he was driving. The other characteristic of Jeff that I heard in stories shared last night, a characteristic most of us knew resided in Jeff’s heart, was his willingness to help others. Jeff would not think twice about helping people, whether it meant getting them home from Church, drying out basements or racing to Gethsemane to turn off the alarm, Jeff never thought twice about such action, it was his nature to help, to heal, to rescue, to be present when others were too busy. Shortly after my son was diagnosed with Leukemia and we had returned home from th...

I preached this last week, the 29th in Duluth. I hope you like it, it created a lot of questions and conversation about prayer and was quite enlightening. I did not finish it, so someday hope to conclude it in a way that is more final and even more clear. Enjoy. Preaching about, much less talking about prayer is a difficult thing. Because what about those unanswered prayers, what about those times when we feel God never got up out of bed to answer the door. Or worse, what about those times when we feel God gave us a snake or a scorpion instead of food and sustenance? Prayer can be a difficult thing, some of us must be more holy than others to have had our prayers answered, while others clearly were not holy enough, and that is why their prayers were not answered. Today’s Gospel is the story of how we came to have the Lord’s Prayer as our central Christian prayer. It is the giving, the teaching of Jesus to his disciples who desired to know how they should pray when they needed a...