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Where Our Power Lies

I am sure most of you are familiar with the Thirteenth Chapter of Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, which reads:

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

NAFTA

I often feel acutely aware that I am probably the least informed person in our Church when it comes to politics, economics and foreign policy, but I try not to be. I strive to be informed about issues as they arise, and I want to understand the history of issues and the rationale behind the policies that have shaped our world. The free trade agreements under the Clinton administration had a profound effect on my life as a child. So much of the work going oversees disrupted or even downright snuffed out the industries in the small towns we lived in. This shift in economics played a big part of our move to the south, which was a defining event in my family. Years ago, I listened to an economist arguing in favor of these trade agreements, and he made quite a compelling case. He claimed, the more the world is intertwined the more stable and prosperous it becomes. These agreements ensured cooperation, trade and mutual dependency that would make conflict less likely. However true this may be, there was still a significant cost to pay.

Mortality, Halloween, and Elections, OH MY!

It is Halloween, and this is the last article I will write before All Saints’ Day, which is this coming Sunday, and the presidential election on Tuesday. This is the one year I have both of my sons at St. Luke’s Day School, and we just got done walking in the Halloween Parade. My youngest, who is only two, freaked out when I put him in his costume, which was a great reason to put him on my shoulders and carry him for the parade. Just this one year I got to dress up as a dinosaur along with both of my sons while we walked around the Church with all of the other parents cheering. It was glorious.

Give to Grow

Friends,

I cannot believe it is already stewardship season again at St. Luke’s! This is an anxiety inducing time for the leadership and staff for the Church. However, it is also an exciting time, because it forces us to imagine how we can grow more into our ministry. I thought I would take this time to give a few practical bits of information about money and St. Luke’s, and the honest reason why I tithe my salary to the Church.

First, here are some things that might help you understand how our money situation works:

Right now, we are asking you to pledge for 2025. Pledging is just telling us what you expect to give in the next calendar year, which we will use to plan and budget accordingly. In the stewardship material you can see that we hope to add two new staff positions. To accomplish this we will need to increase our pledged income by a significant sum. This is aspirational, but if we can pull it off then we will be in tremendous shape for the future.
- Remember, you have to pledge every year. Even if you have auto-payments set up, that doesn’t count as a pledge. We need something from you every year with your plans or we can’t use it for the budget.
Giving is different than pledging. If you give in a way that we can track (we can track online giving or checks. If you put cash in the plate, we won’t know it’s from you!), then it will be added to your statement. If you pledged and you are giving toward your pledge, make sure to let us know in the comment section or in the check memo line.
We don’t get any money from the Diocese! The money moves the other way. We could not function without the Diocese, and giving to the Diocese is an important way of supporting the greater Church. We take an average of the last three years of income from pledges and plate offerings, and give ten percent of that to the Diocese.
- On a similar note, you may have noticed that we have cell phone towers in the steeple. We cannot use those funds to support the operations of the Church, and the funds we receive from that rent only go to capital improvement, like our new parish hall.
- The gist is, we don’t have a magical source of funds to pay salaries and keep the lights on, which is why we need your contributions!
You will hear us occasionally talk about tithing. Tithing is giving ten percent of your income to the Church. Those who practice it consider it a spiritual practice.
Our average pledge is about $4,800.00. Giving is not a competition, and I generally try not to know who gives what. If you give below or above that amount you will receive no guilt or special treatment. This is just for you to know how much people give for us to maintain our ministries.
This year we are doing a huge push for stewardship, not just to maintain the status quo, but fundamentally change how we do ministry. Please give to grow our ministry and help us thrive!

Ok, so now it’s time for the honest reasons why I tithe my salary to the Church. This is a symptom of my privilege, and an old insecurity about if I am giving enough. I was twenty-six years old when I started to make grown-up money, and less than a year later I got married to someone who also made money. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have omnipresent anxiety about my checking account, which up to that point was always low. I immediately did two things when those checks started to come in. First, I went out for a steak dinner almost every night, and then I felt incredibly guilty about this perceived indulgence.

Virginia Theological Seminary has its flaws, and seminary is just an innately difficult time, but I made it through debt-free because of the generosity of that institution. Then I was in my first Church being overwhelmingly and enthusiastically supported by a congregation that paid me, and helped Leandra and I get ready for our upcoming wedding. Going from a “getting by” mentality to being showered with resources and support was a shock to the system. I suddenly became aware of how privileged and fortunate I was to be in that position. The steak addiction took years and a possible act of God to break, but I started tithing my salary back to the Church right away, which changed my weird and amorphous feelings of guilt to an act of thankfulness and appreciation.

The Episcopal Church is flawed, and I love it because it doesn’t pretend that it is not, and I would not be who I am without the Church. The schools, seminaries, charities, disaster relief efforts, music programs, retreat centers and the rest of the good things that stem from the Church could not exist without vibrant local congregations. I expected to agonize every year about how much to give to the Church I worked for, but since I tithe there is no need for agonizing. I give ten percent, I feel good about it, and I go on with my life knowing that I am supporting a tiny sliver of the foundation of our big and wonderful Church.

An unexpected result of this giving habit was that I became increasingly thankful for the ministries within the Churches. Giving stopped feeling like being compelled or guilted into doing something, and it became more about being part of the team that was getting stuff done, helping people, and insisting on being a growing Church in a world that becoming increasingly ambivalent toward religion. I was “all in” with my congregation, and giving out of a spirit of thanksgiving made my giving joyful.

The Episcopal Church may or may not have affected you to the same degree that it has affected me, but if you are reading this, then St. Luke’s has undoubtedly affected you. Whether it is military family with us just for a year or two, life-long members, or stranger just peaking their heads in for the first time, we strive to give people a home.

Thank you for making St. Luke’s your home, and if you are able I encourage to give so we can grow.

Blessings,

Nick

Sacred Rocks and Exxon Mobile

The Schar Cancer Center Institute is housed in the former corporate headquarters of Exxon Mobile, and the building very much looks like it was a former corporate headquarters. The grounds, architecture, much of the art and character of the place feels more corporate than medical. This is not meant to be a negative judgment at all. There are unique advantages to this medical complex versus INOVA Fairfax, which is right across the street. INOVA Fairfax is nearly impossible to navigate, while Schar was built all at one time. Though it’s purpose is now different, it is significantly easier to get around, and just feels more intentional than other hospitals that were added to gradually over the course of decades. With that being said, when I first went there it felt a little soulless. For some reason I really hate the fake waterfall that is by the front door. I just don’t like things that are made to look like things they are not, like the oil candles that look like wax candles for the altar. I like the fact that Carol takes such good care of our wax candles. It’s messy, but feels real.

The Future is Never Simple

I have for you a brief tale of two of my pet-peeves with our campus.

For our first segment, let me tell you about the cursed trash-eating squirrels that would routinely terrorize the day school. We once had maybe eight residential style trash cans in the alley and we were part of the county’s routine trash pick-up. The cans had been there for as long as anyone could remember, and squirrels had chewed large holes through them. I hated this, because trash would blow everywhere and it would often smell bad and get over-filled. For our Church members this was a non-issue, because the problem was hidden and few had any dealings with it. For me, not only as the priest but a new Day School parent, this was terrible. I was often the first person to walk down the alley in the morning to drop off my then two-year-old son who was just beginning school. On our cute journey to school, we would routinely spook this family aggressive squirrels getting their breakfast in the trashcans, and they would explode out of the squirrel sized holes, bolt to the fence and thoroughly scare the daylights out of us.

Discretely Funding the Discretionary Fund

We are getting in full swing here at St. Luke’s! This Sunday we will offer the blessing of the animals at both services and after the 10:00 am in the grove for whomever wants to swing by. We also have the children’s choir singing for the first time this ministry year, which is always a great sign of things to come. This is also the last weekend before the pumpkins arrive and we get our pumpkin patch going! With the arrival of decorative gourd season and cooler weather, we embrace the annual ritual of doing things a bit differently.

Weird and Welcoming

I have a lot of personal history at Virginia Theological Seminary, which is just a short drive from St. Luke’s. I graduated from VTS in 2014, got hit by a car immediately after my graduation, and then got married there just a few months later. Seminary was not an easy time for me. I honestly wouldn’t trade it for the world, but you couldn’t pay me enough to go back. Seminary is just an innately weird time in the lives of people preparing for ordained ministry.

Don’t Feed the Trolls

Friends,

Before I get to you about my point, let me info-dump on you about our AV ministry.

When the pandemic was declared, St. Luke’s rose to the occasion to keep people connected to their faith community. This meant outdoor worship with an FM transmitter at 8:00 am on Sundays, and getting high quality streaming for the 10:00 am service. This was made possible by some generous donors, and the skills and hard work of our former associate Rev. Chip Russell. I arrived when this was our regular rhythm, and it was how I initially got to know our congregation.

Meet the Incredible, Versatile Sally Lombardo!

You will begin to see a new face around St. Luke’s!

Sally Lombardo will be with us for this school year as our “seminarian”. If you did not already know, Virginia Theological Seminary is not far away, and it is the largest Anglican Seminary in the world! I thought I would take a moment to describe what Sally is, what she is not, and why I am excited that she is with us.

The Tent is Up.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I remember as I child the cool air coming in would fill me with adrenaline and excitement, for the upcoming soccer and football games and practices that would begin to dominant my life. The freedom of summer was beginning to drag on too much, and as much as I resisted it, the structure and growth that came with the school year was always a welcome change. This morning when I let the dogs out my lungs were filled with cool air, and it reminded me of those first months back to school as a child, and energy coursed through my spirit. Instead of my preparing for football practices and readjusting to doing homework again, my brain went to all of the wonderful things at St. Luke’s and all of the work that will go into them. The tent has gone up in the grove and it will stay up until at least Halloween, which is a sign that things will be happening here for quite some time, and they all seem to begin with this Sunday, which is when we Kick Off our year!

Tedious, Fraught but Honest

Friends,

One of the things that has surprised me the most in my ministry thus far is how much I have grown to truly appreciate the institution of the Episcopal Church. And I want to be clear, by institution, I mean all of the bureaucracy, paperwork, committee structures, finances, conventions with too many speakers and resolutions, strategic plans, and stewardship campaigns and all of the other stuff that people often do not like about Church. Jesus didn’t talk about these things, and as an overly naive and idealistic seminarian, I thought I could go through ministry without having to sully my spirit with the slippery slope of the sin that is fundraising, trying to increase budgets and building an endowment.

Dumb Luck vs Grace

I had a moment that felt like it was out of some sort of moralistic religious movie on Monday. As I was pulling into the Church parking lot around 1:00 pm with my carry out lunch in hand, I was met by a very frail elderly African American man pushing a walker. He explained to me that he is homeless, a cancer patient and was in need of help. This was the perfect setting for me to receive some sort of perspective shifting lesson that both renewed my faith in God and humanity, while renewing my call to serve those in most need. All of those things are good, and honestly, it was certainly where I thought the afternoon was heading when I met my new friend, but the interaction showed something messier, more human, but no less faith filled.

VBS at St. Luke’s

A few months ago, we were pulling out all sorts of neat things from the cabinets in the library. Cabinets, nooks, and other discrete storage places in Churches often become repositories for meaningful things that don’t otherwise have a home. Idle cabinets in Church must be fiercely protected and managed, because eventually someone will come across something special that is at least tangentially related to our Church at home or from somewhere else on our campus, and they won’t have a place to put it. Not wanting to throw it away, these well-meaning people stuff these treasurers into underutilized spaces with the hopes they will one day find someone that can see their value.

Grief is Weird

You have probably met at least one of my dogs. Vanilla Bean is the oldest, and probably the most visible. She is incredible with children, and if I am going to take a dog to Church on Sunday, it is going to be her. Peanut is a different sort of pup, and prefers the company of residents at Paul Springs or similar places. She is not great at walking, but does it enthusiastically and loves to lean against anyone that will love on her. Garbanzo was our surprise dog. In September of 2018 our dear friend found her abandoned on the Smith River, and called me to help retrieve her on my paddle board. When we arrived, we found her sitting on the lap of our friend going down the river like it was the most natural thing to do.

I’m not telling you the name of the lake

It has been a very long time since I have taken a planned Sunday off. Now, there have been a couple of Sundays I was not at St. Luke’s, but I was still preaching, like at our vestry and parish retreats at Shrine Mont. This also does not mean that I haven’t taken vacations. I was just on vacation a couple of weeks ago, but worked things out so I didn’t have to miss a Sunday. I am not saying this to sounds like a poor, suffering, and over-worked priest. On the contrary, this week I keep finding my mind wandering to the lectionary to see what the lessons are for this Sunday and next, and then I realize that I won’t be preaching the next TWO Sundays!!! Your former associate priest, Rev. Grace Pratt will be filling in for me both Sundays at all three services, and honestly, I am jealous because she has a great narrative arch in the Gospels about Jesus constantly trying to take a break, but people keep pestering him, so he performs miracles. If you are Jesus, then it is truly hard to take a break, but like most everyone else, I just sometimes convince myself I am that important. This Saturday, my entire family will be flying to Northwest Georgia to go to my favorite place in the world, which is a little-known lake in the middle of the nowhere and surrounded by mountains, and I am currently thinking of little else.

Saying Goodbye at Hello

Summer is a weird time, especially for kids. When I was young the rhythm of school always felt so permanent. I knew who I sat next to during school, what friend I got to eat lunch with, and who my crew was during recess. Summer felt like I was drinking fun and freedom from a fire hose, and then school would start back up again, but it always felt so foreign in the beginning. You had to get used to a new teacher, classroom with a different desk layout, and new classmates that you would bond with, or sometimes learn to avoid. One of the things that bothered me is when people seemed to disappear. It’s a thing that families like - to move in the summer so they avoid disrupting a school year. This makes perfect sense, but it was disorienting from my perspective because some of my more casual friends would just sort of not be there from the previous year. I wasn’t close enough to be invited to the going away party, but I was close enough to miss their presence.

St. Luke’s is Powered by the Son and the Sun

Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that soon you will see new solar panels on the roof of St. Luke’s! This is probably a surprise for most. I find the story about how this came about to be quite compelling. I imagine you might have quite a few questions about this, and I thought I would try to address a few of them.

Nick's Technology Assisted Message

In robes of white, amidst the sunlit sands,

Where waves caress and whispers meet the land,

A priest sits, pen in hand, his heart aglow,

To write of faith where gentle waters flow.

Using ChatGPT, his guide in verse and prose,

From AI's wisdom, inspiration flows,

Each algorithmic whisper, like a prayer,

Crafting messages of love and care.

Beneath the azure sky, his thoughts take flight,

In tandem with the AI's guiding light,

He crafts his words with knowledge vast and deep,

From pixels born, his flock's devotion keep.

For though he's far from his beloved church,

His soul connects through AI's helpful search,

Each line composed, a blend of human grace,

And technology's embrace in sacred space.

With seagulls' cries as chorus to his verse,

He pens the teachings that will disperse,

Across the digital expanse, their reach,

A priestly mission aided by AI's speech.

From sunlit shore, his sermon finds its way,

With ChatGPT's assistance day by day,

His congregation touched by wisdom's gleam,

From the beach, where faith and pixels stream.

In every line, the ocean's endless song,

Echoes of belief both firm and strong,

A priest, AI, and beachside reverie,

Uniting hearts in faith and harmony.

Authentically written messages from Father Nick will resume next week :)

Strategically Planning for Faith

Paul Johnson was the head of St. Luke’s search committee when I was called to be your priest, and he said something to me after I was officially called that has always stuck with me. He said, “Your strengths are our weakness, and our strengths are your weakness.” With the point being, that we would complement each other well. I don’t remember telling the committee that organization, following protocols, and all that stuff wasn’t my strong suit, but apparently, they picked up on it fairly quickly!