All Saints' Life

The season we are about to enter, the season of Lent, is one of the most pronounced in the Christian year. Not only are the colors in church a beautiful dark red and the readings and prayers somber, many of us also mark this time by taking on a discipline - a discipline of either taking something on - more prayer, for example; or of denying ourselves something- for example sweets. Several years ago I made for myself a discipline that was so meaningful for me I've done it every year since. Last year, I invited the parish to join me in this discipline and over 30 of us supported each other in this particular discipline, the Discipline of Stuff.

The practice is very simple. On one hand, we commit to buying nothing extraneous. For me, this means no books, CDs, clothes or bottles of wine. We all probably have things that we enjoy buying that make our lives more pleasant or delightful, but are not necessary. These aren't evil or bad in and of themselves, but for this period of Lent, we pledge to do without.

On the other hand we make a commitment to a purge of our stuff. I have found it helpful to go around to each of the places where things accumulate - closets, drawers and so on, and spend time looking at my things. I interrogate each object and ask if I really need it or if I can imagine that a poor person might need it more. I return to each space more than once through the course of Lent, because I often find that things that at first I have a hard time getting rid of, I can purge in the second or third round.

The final step is then to give away our used stuff for the poor. One way to do that is to bring things to All Saints' on March 7th when there will be a truck from Pueblo Nuevo, an Episcopalian thrift shop that serves the poor near MacArthur Park. If you have a lot of stuff to purge, they will even come to your house to do a pick up. There are lots of places that sell used goods to benefit the poor. These include 'Out of the Closet,' the Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Clubs. Because I tend to do the purging throughout the season of Lent, I use the trunk of my car as a receptacle and then drive to one of those places at the end of the season.

Why do this? Because it helps us grow in Christ. In the Christian life there are two kinds of conversions. One kind of conversion is the type dramatically exemplified by Paul. Paul had persecuted the early church and then, we are told in the book of Acts, was knocked off his horse and spoken to by the voice of Jesus. From then on, he was a follower of Christ. Most of us don't have a moment nearly so dramatic, but many of us who are making the life of Christ the center of our lives can point to a moment when something inside of us made a permanent shift. Carol refers to this as the moment 'when the penny drops.'

	< \| >
ALL SAINTS' LIFE	PAGE TWO
February 2004
The season we are about to enter, the season of Lent, is one of the most pronounced in the Christian year. Not only are the colors in church a beautiful dark red and the readings and prayers somber, many of us also mark this time by taking on a discipline - a discipline of either taking something on - more prayer, for example; or of denying ourselves something- for example sweets. Several years ago I made for myself a discipline that was so meaningful for me I've done it every year since. Last year, I invited the parish to join me in this discipline and over 30 of us supported each other in this particular discipline, the Discipline of Stuff. The practice is very simple. On one hand, we commit to buying nothing extraneous. For me, this means no books, CDs, clothes or bottles of wine. We all probably have things that we enjoy buying that make our lives more pleasant or delightful, but are not necessary. These aren't evil or bad in and of themselves, but for this period of Lent, we pledge to do without. On the other hand we make a commitment to a purge of our stuff. I have found it helpful to go around to each of the places where things accumulate - closets, drawers and so on, and spend time looking at my things. I interrogate each object and ask if I really need it or if I can imagine that a poor person might need it more. I return to each space more than once through the course of Lent, because I often find that things that at first I have a hard time getting rid of, I can purge in the second or third round. The final step is then to give away our used stuff for the poor. One way to do that is to bring things to All Saints' on March 7th when there will be a truck from Pueblo Nuevo, an Episcopalian thrift shop that serves the poor near MacArthur Park. If you have a lot of stuff to purge, they will even come to your house to do a pick up. There are lots of places that sell used goods to benefit the poor. These include 'Out of the Closet,' the Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Clubs. Because I tend to do the purging throughout the season of Lent, I use the trunk of my car as a receptacle and then drive to one of those places at the end of the season. Why do this? Because it helps us grow in Christ. In the Christian life there are two kinds of conversions. One kind of conversion is the type dramatically exemplified by Paul. Paul had persecuted the early church and then, we are told in the book of Acts, was knocked off his horse and spoken to by the voice of Jesus. From then on, he was a follower of Christ. Most of us don't have a moment nearly so dramatic, but many of us who are making the life of Christ the center of our lives can point to a moment when something inside of us made a permanent shift. Carol refers to this as the moment 'when the penny drops.'	Christopher's Message But what happens, then, with the rest of our lives? This is where we turn to the second kind of conversion which, in the monastic tradition, is called 'conversatio morum,' sometimes translated as 'ongoing conversion.' This kind of conversion is the ongoing struggle to allow the Gospel to touch every part of our lives. In the words of Esther de Waal, 'conversatio means to respond totally and integrally to the word of Christ sent to all of us: 'Come, follow me!' When we take on a discipline, such as the Discipline of Stuff, it is a way of letting Christ into that part of our lives. Many of us have a conflicted relationship with our possessions. We want or take delight in new and better things. (I am delighted, just now, with the new Powerbook G4 on my desk!) At the same time, many of us have a deep desire for a more simple, uncluttered life. Perhaps we just want to decrease the amount of headaches in our life. Or perhaps the words of Jesus are in our hearts, with his love of the poor and his admonition that the rich young ruler give away all his possessions. This practice, during Lent, can be a way of taking these Gospel values for a spin. The results can be surprising. Last year, I happened to be sitting in church in front of a woman who, unbeknownst to me, had taken on this practice. I heard her say to her friend that after a couple of weeks she found it very annoying not to be able to go out shopping. Her annoyance and anger got stronger and stronger until one day she realized that every time she had the urge to shop, it was because she was unhappy. It suddenly became clear to her that in her moments of unhappiness, she could, instead of shopping, turn to Jesus. The penny dropped. For myself, the practice has had a more gradual effect. Each year when I return to the practice I find that my relationship with my things has shifted a little. I don’t accumulate things the way I used to and have a little easier time letting things go. When I shop for myself, at any time of the year, I find I'm buying fewer things. My desires are slowly shifting to other places. It is a process of Conversatio Morum. I'm gradually allowing the light of Christ to shine in this part of my life. I invite you to join me this year in the Discipline of Stuff. If you'd like to be in touch with other people who are also following this discipline, you can contact me, or sign up for the email listserv at: DisciplineOfStuff-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.