Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson's Blog

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In my mind, nothing captures the cozy atmosphere of a rainy autumn day better than curling up in front of the fire with a good book, a cup of tea, and this wonderful soup and sandwich combo.

Once you taste the smoky depth that smoked paprika and alderwood smoked salt add to this super easy tomato soup and the richness of the butter and half and half, all for less cost than buying a can of soup.....well, you'll never visit the soup aisle of the grocery store again. I promise.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ripe tomatoes

1 medium sweet onion

6 Tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon smoke paprika

1/4 teaspoon alderwood smoked salt

dash ground red pepper

1/4 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut tomatoes into quarters and the onion into chunks and butter into slices. Add all to saucepan and cook on medium-low heat. Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes until the onions soften and the tomatoes reduced to mush.

2. Add in seasonings. Stir. Then using an immersion blender, been until the tomato soup reaches a chunky smoothness that you desire. 

3. Gently fold in the half and half and bring to desired heat again. Taste and adjust seasonings.

4. If you're feeling so inclined, finish with a dollop of pesto and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

Serve with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or with a oven-melted pita pepper jack cheese sandwich.

Perfect for a rainy autumn day!

When we think of God, if we think of Him at all, He seems very removed from our lives.

How could He ever appreciate what it feels like to lose a much needed job and then worry about keeping our home and affording groceries? How would God know how it feels when we take our child to the doctor and the diagnosis isn’t the flu, but leukemia?

Still, we send up prayers to this remote God. Even when they feel as effective as letting go of a balloon and watching it drift away on the random currents of the wind.

When the people of the Old Testament watched for the promised Messiah, they imagined he would “reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:7)

Instead, our Messiah was born in a stable, a child of average parents. Yet with these humble beginnings, he fulfilled the first prophesy and first inkling of his destiny. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23)

As he grew into a man, a humble carpenter, he did not become a warrior like David, nor did he ever become a king. No wonder he was not accepted then or even now.

In the time of Jesus, as today, we live in war-torn countries where people are persecuted for what they believe, and where income disparity means that the cyclical dips in the economy can mean disaster for some and opportunity for others.

We live in a world where seemingly random life-taking acts of terror or crime or illness can create holes in a heart that leave us doubled over in stunned shock, no matter what our economic status.

Can the people of the Old Testament, or we today, be blamed for imagining that our Savior could only come to save us as an invincible warrior king?

Yet, inexplicably, God had a much more radical idea of what “God with us” would mean.

Had Jesus Christ fulfilled the wishes of his people by taking the mantle of warrior king, he could easily have restored the freedom and fortunes of the people of Israel. And certainly that would have fulfilled God’s promise to His chosen people.

Instead, God had a greater plan. He came not to save and restore one group, but all people.

Had Jesus come as a king to unite the entire world under one banner, he would have been removed from us. After all, when is the last time that a commoner sat down to dinner with a king?

How could a king understand the needs of a blind man, the sorrows of a prostitute, the insecurities and jealousy of two sisters?

Such simple, essential humanity would never be experienced by a Messiah King.

Which is why God, in His infinite wisdom, not only became human, he lived among us as a common man.  He experienced our tears of sorrow when a child died in our arms. He laughed with us around a wedding table where we drank wine. He understood and forgave a best friend who made a promise he could not keep.

Yes, Jesus is best known for the miracles he performed, but it was his daily involvement in our lives that allows us to claim, “God with us.”

Even as he was crucified, nailed through hands and legs to a cross, left to die in agony, experiencing the very human feeling of abandonment as he cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

I never understood this moment between Father and Son.

Until I realized that “God with us” means always with us, even in the darkest hour.

It is only when “God with us” has experienced every aspect of our humanity, our broken body, our broken heart, that the resurrection can convey the love, forgiveness, and redemption encompassed in one life.

Because he chose to be “God with us” rather than a warrior king removed from us. Because he chose to save all of us rather than some of us. He has been rejected by most of us.  

We wanted a Messiah who would ride into battle with us, kill our enemies and show our superiority by exerting his overwhelming power.

Instead, we received a Messiah who taught us to love our enemies, to feed the poor, to include all people in the gift of God’s love.

Because he lived as a humble man, he was called a prophet, a teacher, a rabbi, only human.

But when we examine his life and his legacy, we can conclude that he is “God with us”, the personification of God’s desire to experience our humanity and demonstrate his love for us by sharing our lives.

So that when we pray, we can know that he has been here too.

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Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson is the author of A Map of Heaven and other books. You can reach her at: Suzanne@suzanneelizabeths.com or www.facebook.com/suzanneelizabeths

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In Kathleen Norris’s book of essays on faith, she describes God’s grace like this: One day, sitting at the departure gate of an airport, she watched a young couple with an infant. As the infant looked around every time its gaze would make contact with a human it would beam with delight. It didn’t matter whether the human was young or old, ugly or beautiful, the infant smiled with joy.

Enchanted, Norris concluded, “I realized this is how God looks at us, staring into our faces in order to be delighted, to see the creature he made and called good, along with the rest of creation. And, as Psalm 139 puts it, darkness is as nothing to God, who can look right through whatever evil we’ve done in our lives to the creature made in the divine image.”

If God’s grace is given freely as an infant’s smile, why do we find it so difficult to accept?

Perhaps it begins with the simple definition of grace: “unmerited favor”.

As humans, especially as Americans, we believe that everything we have, either good or bad, has been earned through our own efforts, the sweat of our brow, or the result of our cunning.

Therefore, it goes against our ingrained nature to believe that God, so much greater than we, would willingly provide favor that we did not earn and could never be worthy of. And yet, that is the definition of grace.

One of the greatest stumbling blocks of my personal faith is embracing God’s love for me. Oh yes, I sing the familiar hymn. But when I closely examine my heart, the words ring hollow.

So it is only natural that my acceptance of God’s grace is somewhat akin to my belief that I will eventually win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse’ $7,000 a Week for Life’ contest.

But that is because I do not see myself as God sees me.

Yesterday, the Mystery Lovers Book Club of Summit County held our monthly meeting at the Next Page bookstore in Frisco. We discussed Still Life, the first book in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, one of my favorite authors. In this mystery series, one of the most beloved characters is a horrible old woman named Ruth. She is a raging alcoholic when she speaks it is only to insult or swear at her friends, and she has made some terrible mistakes in her long life.

Yet, when this award-winning poet puts pen to paper, it is as if a beam of light shoots from her barnacled old soul straight to heaven. The beauty and sorrow of her words are incandescent.

If Kathleen Norris’s delighted infant is a metaphor for how God feels about us, then Louise Penny’s Ruth is how God sees us. Not our mistakes, but our beauty. The golden light of our soul that perhaps we are blind to, but which God sees because he created us in his own image.

Yet we remain as blind to God’s unmerited favor as we do to our inner light. Because we cannot see ourselves as a piece of God’s heart, we do not believe we merit God’s favor. That it is given freely and available always. That there is nothing that can separate us from his love.

What then stops us from receiving it? What stops me, a lifelong Christian, from truly accepting God’s grace and love?

If I cannot accept God’s grace if I cannot believe I am worthy of God’s love, is all hope lost? Is the divide never to be breached?

I believe all we can do, all I can do, is turn toward God as I am. With open arms and an open heart, turn toward God and say, “Here I am.”

God has promised that he will do the rest. “I will give them the heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7)

With our whole heart.  

On three different occasions, I have had three different priests ask me during Confession if I truly believe that God loves me.

God is trying to reach me. God is reaching toward each of us.

When I finally believe God loves me it will not be difficult to trust God. And if I trust God with a heart wide open, fear of the future will no longer be background white noise.

Experiencing God’s grace, trusting God’s limitless love, creates the freedom to embrace the future with arms wide open.

That is amazing grace.

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson is the author of A Map of Heaven and other books. You can reach her at: Suzanne@suzanneelizabeths.com or www.facebook.com/suzanneelizabeths

I like to make a deep dish quiche, enjoy a piece for brunch, freeze the rest for breakfast on the go during the week. It can be carefully reheated in the microwave, although it tastes better if re-heated in the oven.

Food Processor Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose (AP) Flour ( I used 1 cup of AP flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon regular salt)

8 Tablespoons cold butter cut into slices

4-5 Tablespoons ice water

Directions:

In the food processor combine flour, salt, butter. Pulse until the butter and flour have become a sandy texture of small lumps of butter covered in flour.

Add in the ice cold water, one tablespoon at at time, while the food processor runs, until flour, butter, and water begin to form a ball.

Take the ball of dough out of the food processor and place on a floured surface. At this point, I like to roll out the dough and place it in the 9-inch pie plate and then let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

I roll it out first because I've never been able to roll out the dough once it's chilled. This way saves me a great deal of time and frustration.

 Although this is a play on a traditional Quiche Lorraine, you can use the egg custard mixture as your base and make several different variations to suit your taste or what you have in the pantry. 

For instance, for a more traditional Quiche Lorraine switch out the spinach for gently cooked onions. Or switch the bacon for cooked ground sausage, use a sharp cheddar cheese, and chopped broccoli. 

Quiche Filling:

2 1/2 cups of grated cheese - For the Spinach Quiche Lorraine, I use Swiss Cheese, Emmentaler, or Gruyere 

2 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces and fried lightly.

1 12 oz package of frozen spinach cooked and drained well....you want to get all of the water of it.

1/2 cup of milk or half and half

1/2 cup of Greek yogurt

5 eggs beaten

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Combine eggs, milk, yogurt, and seasonings, mix well

In the pie crust layer: cheese, spinach, bacon, cheese, and then pour the egg mixture over all.

Bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Last Saturday I arrived at Mass an hour early. It was my first time as a Lector (reader), and I wanted to make sure that I did it right. I went to the lectern, and read the Old Testament and New Testament readings that had been assigned to the Mass that evening. I’d been practicing all week, but I knew I would be nervous standing before the congregation for the first time.

Despite my introversion, I love God’s Word and enjoy sharing its beauty with others. As I was to learn, there is something special about reading it aloud during Mass.

I ran through both passages twice. Then I went and sat in the pew assigned to readers, to wait for Mass to begin.

And here’s what I saw…

For the next forty-five minutes, familiar faces scurried around the church preparing for Mass. Barb Rasmussen lighted candles and prepared the altar. Later, she would take her place at the front door with Margie Breslin to greet parishioners. Steve, our Cantor, and Maggie, our pianist, were in the chapel warming up to lead the congregation in song.

Deacon Chuck read through the list of prayer requests, and while the church buzzed with preparations, Father Joe was hearing confessions in the confessional at the back of the church.

Fifteen minutes before Mass started, four men and women who would serve as Eucharist Ministers picked up the wooden cross necklace that they would wear as they served the consecrated bread and wine later in the Mass. And then it was time to begin.

I completed my first reading, sat down on the bench behind the lectern while Steve took my place to lead us in singing Psalm 40. Steve sung the opening verse: “I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me.” The congregation sang the response: “Lord, come to my aid!”

When I heard the Psalm’s words and meaning come to life as it was sung, tears came to my eyes with the stark difference between reading the psalm silently at home and hearing it sung in this sacred setting.

I understood two things in that moment: why the Psalms are meant to be sung, and why we take care to prepare ourselves to deliver our part of the Mass. As Steve finished and I rose to read a passage from Hebrews, I asked God to help me to convey the beauty of His Word as well.

On a bright Sunday morning two blocks away at Father Dyer’s United Methodist Church, Taylor Katherine and Charlie Moorefield ring the church bell to welcome everyone to church. Barb Cole coordinates the volunteers who read the week’s Bible reading, call the congregation to light candles for prayer intentions, and welcome visitors with complimentary tubes of lip balm, a mountain necessity. Then there are the beautiful voices of the volunteer choir led by Music Director, Jason Wilber, and Accompanist, Steve Worrall.

Even at Saint Dunstan’s small storefront church, Ken Mace, a retired architect, wears full vestments and assists throughout the service; Bonnie Schmidt plays traditional hymns on the organ.

Last Saturday evening as I sat waiting for Mass to begin, I realized what I had missed in previous weeks when I showed up ten minutes before church started: how vital volunteers are to the life of each of our churches.

When we notice these people who greet us each week, collect the offering, sing in the choir, if we think of them at all, we might surmise that they have a special calling or gift, and we have neither the time nor talent to join them.

Of course, that simply isn’t the case. All that is required is to show up thirty-minutes early once or twice a month. Every church needs the participation of more members of its congregation. Far too often, a few faithful souls are carrying more than their share of the volunteer load.

Let’s change that. I challenge you to find your place to pitch in when you go to church this Sunday.

I’ve described the numerous volunteer opportunities that occur during the weekly church service, but I also know that each church has great needs for volunteers for the service projects they sponsor during the week such as weekly community dinners, food bank, and religious education classes.

Here’s the payoff for you: I believe you will experience a renewing of your faith as you participate in God’s work. You’ll make new friends, develop a closer relationship with your church, and yes, I believe you will be blessed in many ways, as well.

Join me by becoming an active participant in your church community!

Suzanne Anderson is the author of A Map of Heaven and other books. You can reach her at: Suzanne@suzanneelizabeths.com or www.facebook.com/suzanneelizabeths

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The other morning I was praying and asking God for help with my job search and house hunt...I feel as if I've been praying this same prayer for years.

And then I opened up my Bible and read the following two verses. They seemed like a very  good response:

For God is not unjust to forget my work and labor of love which I have shown toward His name in that I have ministered to the saints and do minister. - Hebrews 6:10

O Lord, You are my God, I will exalt You. I praise Your name for You have done wonderful things, Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. - Isaiah 25:1

I believe that God speaks to us through His Word. I believe that God wants to console us and offer us encouragement when we are in the midst of trials.

Amen.

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If you walk into St. Mary’s Church on any given Thursday between 5 and 6 p.m. you might be confused. In the dim light of early evening, you will find four to twenty people sitting in silence, at a polite distance from one another, heads bowed in prayer or gazing at the altar.

You might think they were waiting for something to happen. The start of a church service, perhaps?

No, not at this time. Instead, each person will sit for the entire hour in silence. And yes, you will see a core group of the same people every week.

I’ve become one of them. Apart from Mass, this is the hour I most look forward to each week.

In our weekly church bulletin, it’s listed simply as “Adoration.” It’s also known as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour of contemplative prayer as we sit in the presence of God with the exposition of the consecrated sacrament displayed in a starburst monstrance on the altar.

I began attending sporadically at first. Then as I realized how much I received during this hour, I have tried to make it an integral part of my week.

 Here’s the thing. I have devotional time with God every morning at home. I read the Bible, then a devotional, and I pray. But there is something palpably different during Adoration.

 I hesitate to describe it because I’ll sound ‘woo-woo’. But there is no other way than to say that when I sit in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and still my mind, I experience a feeling of the presence of God that is altogether different than when I simply pray at home. Pope John Paul called it the ‘wellspring of grace’.

When I started, I thought Adoration and contemplative prayer served a similar purpose to meditation, a quieting of one’s mind. However, after reading a slim volume by Henri J.M. Nouwen, with the unfortunate title Clowning in Rome, I came to a different understanding.

In meditation, the goal is to attain an emptying of the self. During the hour of Adoration we quiet the mind, empty our self, but the goal becomes opening our heart and mind to God. We empty ourselves so we can become filled with the Holy Spirit.

What a difference! Rather than sitting in isolation, we are joined by God and understand that He is as interested in our concerns as we are.

Weekly Adoration has changed the way I approach God in prayer. It has taught me the value of spending an extended time in prayerful conversation with God.

As with meditation, contemplative prayer requires an initial period of bringing oneself into a state of mind where we can be receptive to the presence of God.

For instance, I find that the first twenty minutes, my mind will chatter away, reflecting my need to make sure that I am heard.

Eventually, around the thirty-minute mark, my mind clears, and I can finally turn my attention toward God. At this point, I sometimes repeat the name of God, or Jesus, or Holy Spirit, as a means to focus my attention and intention on God’s presence.

When I finally let go, I am able to simply enjoy worshipping God. This I believe is the point of real communion in prayer.

From this foundation, I believe this hour of contemplative prayer can grow into what Henri Nouwen describes as ‘unceasing prayer’. We can turn the unceasing thoughts that fill our mind during the day into an ongoing dialogue with God by opening our heart and mind to His continual presence always with us, by offering our thoughts to Him.

As our thoughts move from a “self-centered monologue to a God-centered dialogue” we go from “fearful isolation into a fearless conversation with God.”

This connection has helped me enormously. I encourage you try it: set aside one hour a week for contemplative prayer and dialogue with God.

If you cannot make it to a Catholic church to participate in weekly Adoration, I believe there are two keys to bringing this practice into your own home.

Setting aside at least one hour where you can sit in silence, undisturbed, is optimal. I say this because as I mentioned above, it takes about 30 minutes to quiet your mind and become receptive to God.

Second, to bring your mind into God’s presence, I believe it would be helpful to read a passage or two from the Bible before you begin. I find the Psalms are particularly helpful.

As Henri Nouwen writes, “…solitude is the place where God reveals himself as God with us, as the God who is our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier, as the God who is the source, the center and the purpose of our existence, as the God who wants to give himself to us with an unconditional unlimited and unrestrained love…

In solitude, we meet God. In solitude, we leave behind our many activities, concerns, plans, and projects, and enter into the presence of our loving God…And there we see that he alone is God, that he alone is love.”

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Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson is the author of A Map of Heaven and other books. You can reach her at: Suzanne@suzanneelizabeths.com or www.facebook.com/suzanneelizabeths

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I love carrot cake and this recipe is perfect for two people and when you have a taste for cake but don't want to bake two layers. It's a quick and simple recipe that yields a moist and delicious cake using just one pan.

The recipe was inspired by a recipe found in Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell. I say 'inspired by' because I changed his recipe in two ways: Instead of 1 1/4 cups of All Purpose (AP) flour, I used 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour to give it a more full-bodied flavor. Second, instead of 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, I used 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. I love this flavor combination, the spicy warmth of the nutmeg is the perfect compliment to cinnamon.

Ingredients:

1 cup of AP flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 pound (about 4 large) carrots grated

1/2 cup walnuts chopped

Optional: 1/2 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter softened at room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Note: Cut this frosting recipe in half if you don't plan to cut the cake horizontally in half

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grate the carrots. Line a 9X2 inch with parchment paper or lightly grease the interior.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, in a medium bowl.

3. In a large bowl whisk together the sugars, oil, yogurt, egg, and vanilla.

4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Then fold in the carrots and walnuts.

5. Pour mixture into the cake pan and bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

6. Let cool for 10 minutes, then take out of the cake pan and let cool completely. While the cake is cooling, coming the cheese cake frosting ingredients, beating until fluffy. 

7. If you love frosting....cut the single layer of cake horizontally into two layers and frost both. Otherwise, decrease the frosting by half and just frost the one layer.

Enjoy!

Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell

with Forewards by Alice Waters and Michael Pollan

I preview many books I want to buy by first checking them out from the library. That was the case with Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell. I was drawn to this cookbook for two reasons: 1) I'm currently have a fan-crush on all things Alice Waters and Chez Panisse...and Cal is a chef at Chez Panisse, 2) The description of the book on Amazon noted it's narrative style, i.e., it tells a story as well as providing a full compliment of recipes.

Cal describes writing this book for his sons. "This is a manuscript sent from father to sons to codify a core group of recipes. It's a book my sons will turn to when they can't reach me by phone..." The book is built around a dozen basic recipes that are then built upon with variations. It truly is a cooking school in a cookbook. Cal's writing style is also very friendly and accessible. He not only provides directions, but also the reason behind the directions and tip and tricks to make you more comfortable in the kitchen.

Highly recommended.

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I read the following excerpt from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and it struck me as something I have also experienced in my walk of faith. A period of closeness with God and then silence. And it seems that no matter how hard I pray, I hear nothing. 

Yet, my determined faith remains, even as my frustration grows. My desperate need to hand onto my faith in God's goodness, in His presence, remains.

And then, just when I'm ready to give, there is a whisper that reminds me of God's presence. 

I hope this passage will be of interest to you as well...

During this period I often fell, yet just as often I rose again. Sometimes it seemed that all creation, reason, and even the Lord Himself were against me...and faith alone was for me. I was troubled with the thought that perhaps it was pure presumption o my part to believe I had received favor and mercy from God, and that this presumption only pretended to have taken me to a point that others arrived at only after going though many difficult stages. On occasion I even thought perhaps my simple touch with God was just a willful delusion on my part, and that I didn't even have salvation!

Amazingly, all these thoughts and fears did not diminish my trust in God but rather served to increase my faith. Finally, I came to the realization that I should put aside all the thoughts which brought about these times of trouble and unrest. Immediately I found myself changed. My soul, which had been so troubled, then felt a profound sense of inward peace and rest. 

Ever since that time I have walked before God in simple faith. I have walked there with humility and love. Now I have but one thing to do: to apply myself diligently to being in God's presence, and to do nothing and say nothing that would displease Him. I hope that when I have done what I can, He will do with me whatever He pleases.

The Proactive of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

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When I received the email from John thanking me for a recent column, he mentioned that he was the pastor of a church in Dillon. When I responded that I would be interested in visiting, he demurred that it was only a small storefront church.

I imagined a hipster church. Something out of Rachel Held Evan’s Searching for Sunday. A storefront church planted by a band of twenty-somethings eager to create a place of worship that reflected their vision of church. Perhaps motivated by a longing to re-discover the intimacy of the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles, where men and women gathered together in someone’s home to celebrate Communion and share the teachings of Jesus in a small group.

Instead, what I discovered in the little storefront church tucked between a pizza joint and a coffee shop, was a small congregation of mostly older men and women seeking God in the traditional Anglican Mass using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Though the interior was   furnished modestly, the priest and server wore full vestments and the altar was covered with the finest linens as would be found at High Mass.

Saint Dunstan’s is made up of eight to ten ardent believers who began their church in a member’s home and then moved to the storefront. The Sunday Mass is led by the Reverend John Longcamp, a retired pediatrician, who followed a calling to become ordained and establish a church that follows a traditional Anglican liturgy that has for the most part been abandoned by contemporary Episcopal churches. Ken Mace, a retired architect, assists as a server, and Bonnie Schmidt plays traditional hymns on the organ.

To give you an idea of the passion of their adherence to traditional formalities, Communion is said ad orientum, which means with the priest facing east, his back to the people, to represent the congregation to God.

Interestingly, ad orientum, a practice which was replaced by ad populum (facing the people) in the Catholic church after Vatican II, has recently become a topic of discussion in the Catholic church.

While I personally prefer ad populum, because it allows me to feel as if I am fully participating in the mystery of the consecration of the bread and wine, I’d like to share with you Father John’s thoughts on the subject:

“Anglicans have continued celebrating the Eucharist ad orientum in order to show the distinction between when the priest speaks on behalf of the people, as in offering prayers, especially in offering the Eucharistic prayers, or and when he speaks in behalf of our Lord, which he does when he says the actual words of Christ, invites the congregation to make the Confession, or give a blessing in Christ’s name.  To us it is not a matter of right or wrong but of visually demonstrating the dual role of the priest.”

Although Saint Dunstan’s enthusiastically adheres to the formal Anglican service, they greet newcomers with a welcoming embrace. They hope to work with other Summit County churches on community projects in the coming year.

For example, Father Longcamp has suggested a wonderful addition to Christmas festivities this year: in hope of expanding their annual pre-Christmas Summit Cove Carol Sing, now held in the Pour House, the neighboring coffee shop, Father Longcamp envisions having a county-wide carol event.  The hope is to have, in a larger and more inspiring setting, something along the lines of the Lessons and Carols offered every year in the chapel of Kings College Cambridge, where nine Scripture readings, from Genesis through the Birth of Christ, are read by clergy, laity, and civic officials and alternated with anthems and universally familiar carols.  A free-will offering would be taken in support of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC).  As The Dillon Community Church is a major supporter of the WRC along with Our Lady of Peace, he is hoping for their participation as well.

I hope this event comes to fruition, it would be wonderful to create a new Christmas tradition that included several churches. I hope that the pastors of Summit County will get together to make this happen.                                                                                                                            

As I continue to visit new churches throughout Summit County, I discover the breadth and depth of a vibrant faith community. It is heartening to see that we are home to large community churches, as well as, storefront churches upholding traditional liturgies, each seeking God with all their heart.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting John Longcamp and the congregation of Saint Dunstan’s. It’s easy to overlook a small storefront church. But their size belies the enormous amount of work that falls on the shoulders of a few people who so strongly feel called that each week they continue to meet and create Church.

I look forward to bringing you another church profile next month. Please send me an email if you would like your church, faith community, or religious organization to be featured in this column.

Saint Dunstan’s is located at: 40 Cove Blvd., Suite B-1, Dillon, Colorado 80435, Sunday School at 9am, Sunday Worship at 10am