A Year in the Life of Trinity, Easton - 2012

This is the Rector's report to the Annual Meeting of Trinity Church, Easton, PA by the Rev. Canon Andrew Gerns. The annual meeting was on January 27, 2013.

Just who are Episcopalians? Would you believe Ninjas?

Updated: Version 2.0



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We're having a boatload of baptisms!

This coming weekend, April 19 and 20, we are having a boatload of baptisms!

Saturday night, we will baptize Gabriella during our monthly Spanish-language service!

Then on Sunday, when Bishop Paul visits, we will baptize Kameko, Danielle, Kristopher, Kierstan, and Logan.

We are initiating six people into full membership in the Body of Christ!

There are special days we like to baptize people: The Sunday after the Epiphany (Jan 6): The Baptism of Our Lord (see more below); The Great Vigil of Easter; Pentecost Sunday; The Sunday after All Saints and whenever the Bishop is present for a visitation. It is a very special thing when the Bishop takes part in Christian initiation! That is what will happen this Sunday!

Here is a summary of what baptism is, as described by Father Matthew at Christ Church, Rye, NY.



At Trinity, Easton some other things will happen that are not shown in the video--every parish does things in their own way, even though the basic action of the liturgy is the same!

During the Baptism, we ask everyone to promise to do everything in their power to uphold the candidates in their life in Christ. And we all say "We will!" in big loud voices. At Trinity, we put our promise in writing. Everyone who is baptized here gets a really, really big baptismal certificate that everyone Not just the priest (or in this Sunday's case, the Bishop) signs, and not just the parents and godparents either. Everyone in the congregation! Everyone who came from out of town to be with their friends when their children were baptized signs. And, most important, every member of Trinity who is present signs too!

These certificates look great and are a great reminder of a great truth! I have seen these certificates, covered with signatures, hanging in children's bedrooms, a tangible sign that they are now a part of a community, a branch on the vine of Christ, and a member of the Body of Christ.

Something else happens. They receive a candle that is lit from the paschal candle which reminds us that the newly baptized shares in the light of Christ and that they are Christ's light in the world, and that the Holy Spirit animates and lights their heart, mind and spirit. We suggest that every April 19 or 20th, the family lights their baptismal candle and say some prayers--at dinner time around the table is good--giving thanks for the child and reminding them of this important day!

But wait! There's more! Each candidate puts on a new garment, as a sign that they have put off the old life of sin and put on immortality, renewal, and abundant life in Jesus Christ. In the ancient church, candidates literally took off old clothes and put on new white garments as a sign of their new identity in Jesus Christ. We symbolize and model that with these new, white garments.

This Sunday, because Bishop Paul will be present, we will be put in mind that baptism is an action not just of individuals but of the whole church! Bishop Paul will anoint each of the newly baptized with Chrism, making clear that each of these new members of the body of the Church will sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever.

Finally, each child will receive Communion as a sign of their full membership in the Christ's body, the Church.

Then, we'll go the parish hall and have cake! Wow! What could be better? A fitting celebration for a glorious day!

Oh, yeah...every January, on the Sunday after Epiphany (that's January 6th) we do a "reunion of baptismal vows" where we invite those who have been baptized at Trinity in the past year, and five, ten and fifteen years ago to come back to their "home" church with, if possible, their parents and godparents, to renew their baptismal promises with the rest of the congregation.

Baptism is a big deal to us in the Episcopal Church because it is how we are adopted into Christ's family and given the grace to be Jesus' friends and apprentices!

Come this Sunday and join in the excitement of watching six people enter into new life in Jesus Christ at Trinity! As Fr. Matthew says...come on in, the water's fine!

So what is a “Canon Pastor?”

On January 25^th, during the celebration of my 25 years as a priest, Bishop Paul announced that I have been appointed “Canon Pastor to the Bishop.”

One of the more common responses was “Congratulations!” (Long pause.) “What’s a Canon?”

Former Roman Catholics can think of the title “monsignor,” but I don’t know what this is, so I don’t even know if I’d believe it. In England, I suppose, I would be called a “non-residentiary canon” since I am not on the staff of a Cathedral and yet I have a specific job to or for the Bishop.

Bishop Paul’s description of my duties, while written in a lighthearted manner, describe a serious purpose: “the maintenance of the spiritual health of the bishop through stated retreats and repeated checking in, even when such checking might be unwelcome.” He also wrote that “the Canon Pastor has the task of assisting the bishop in maintaining perspective, hope, and a sense that God always works the divine purpose out, despite or through our best planned efforts.”

As I understand it, this is a role that is not that different from what I am supposed to do with you. Be a pastor. Check in with how things are going. Reflect with you on how we perceive God at work in our lives. Pray for you and with you. Offer pastoral support when times are tough, including offering and coordinating the services of the church. Sometimes ask possibly uncomfortable questions about your prayer life or spiritual health. Listen.

(There are other things Rectors are to do: Teach, preach, lead worship, chair vestries and take part in the councils of the church, etc. etc.…and these won’t change. But I am talking about what we in the States call the “pastoral” role.)

Obviously, this appointment was not a total surprise. We had been discussing this since about a year after the previous Canon Pastor, the Rev. Cn. F. Bryan Williams, died. Bishop Paul and I had been trying this role on for size for about that long.

I see myself following much the same pattern that I followed back in my hospital days, especially when I was chaplain to staff who were higher up the “food chain” than me. I am neither a confessor nor a spiritual director, but as a person who accompanies another person through this portion of his spiritual journey.

As a Clinical Chaplain, I was professionally and ethically bound to undertake regular supervision with a colleague of equal or greater pastoral experience. The idea was that by discussing ones ministry with a trusted colleague, one could gain “super” vision—see the big picture—and also perhaps hear the voice of God that might get obscured in the noise of everyday work. Just so you know, I have a spiritual director with whom I meet about once every other month for this very purpose. From time to time, I have entered into supervisory or coaching relationships as well. I meet with a peer supervisory group.

This is why you have heard me suggest in my sermons that people who are going deeper in their spiritual life should seriously consider working with a spiritual director. Part of the pastoral role of a parish priest is to offer some of that same “super-vision” to parishioners.

Bishop Paul said that “Alone among the clergy, the Canon Pastor to the Bishop has the right and duty to nag the bishop.” Well, it is not my style to nag, but you get the idea. I am happy to say that I am not alone in this. The Bishop has surrounded himself with others who support him in various ways. My counterpart, the Rector of Trinity, Bethlehem, Mother Laura Howell, helps the Bishop maintain hope and perspective by serving as the “Foole to the Bishop.” An modern update of a medieval office, this person speaks truth to power, often in humorous or ironic ways. Mother Laura is also a clinical chaplain, so we bring some similar skills. I guess I am just not that good with a joke.

The truth is that all clergy need to gather around themselves trusted, skilled, honest and compassionate people to help maintain perspective, give a sense of hope and equilibrium in what can be a very stressful ministry. It is good for the parish that they be intentional about this practice.

Bishop Paul once told us (clergy) that our parish’s prayer life or stewardship will never rise above the level of our own. A challenging thought. He has not said this, but I expect he is demonstrating something when he does in public what could have been easily accomplished in private: that the prayer, stewardship, and self-care of the clergy—or the congregations as a whole—cannot rise above the level of their bishop.