What is "HOPE" good for? or Is "HOPE" good for anything?

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

A Very Present HOPE

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

Desmond Tutu                                                                           

As votes are cast throughout the nation at this hour, we may, regardless of our political affiliation, not know how to feel. In fact, we may be waiting until it's over to decide how we will feel.

As Christians, we are called to live and be a certain way in the world that doesn't come naturally. Jesus commands us to love one another, whether or not we feel particularly loving.  

In his address to the Diocese of Olympia, Bishop Phillip reminds us that we are all called into the love of God that banishes all fear and that our hope is to be found in the living presence and ongoing work of Jesus Christ. I commend his brief address. It did my heart and soul good to listen to his words of wisdom:  Fear Not, Embracing the Call to Love

So too, we are called to hope even, and especially, in the face of uncertainty and darkness. Desmond Tutu embodied a fierce hope that God and love would win out over the fear and oppression of Apartheid. So too, are we called to live in hope.  

Saint John's: A Community for Hope. 

For us, "Christian Hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God's purpose for the world." -Book of Common Prayer, p. 861. It is the inner conviction that whispers, "Even though it seems like all is lost, there is still life to be found, and I will do everything in my power to protect it."   

Cynicism is the currency of despair - that dark belief that nothing we do matters, and that who we are is really not much. This leads us to also conclude that others don't really matter. Leaving us with hearts so withered that we become unable to experience, let alone see goodness. 

Hope is not passive; it's an active participation in the unfolding of God's kingdom here on earth. It's the belief that God's ways—love, justice, and peace—are not confined to some distant future but are breaking into our world right now. It's a refusal to be limited by what we see with our own eyes, recognizing, as Saint Paul reminds us, that we only "see through a glass darkly." Hope trusts in the unseen, that "help is already on its way," as Elizabeth Barrett Browning so beautifully wrote. It's a fierce hope that refuses to be consumed by despair, proclaiming that light exists, that love will prevail, and that darkness will ultimately be overcome.   

We gather at Saint John's because we hold onto the audacious belief that God became one of us so that we might become partakers in the divine nature. We strive to be one with each other and one with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Some may scoff at this and say it's foolish, naive, even dangerous. We hear "The world is the way it is, get used to it," or "People never change." But we choose hope. We choose love. We choose to believe in the possibility of transformation both within ourselves and the world around us.  

Blessings and peace,

In Autumn, Turning to the Harvest

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

The Newness of Fall

Dear Ones, 

Do you remember that invigorating sense of purpose at the start of a new school year? That mix of anticipation and anxiety stepping into a higher grade, sure it would be far more demanding than the last. And those cool, crisp evenings arriving earlier each night.

That's how I'm experiencing the many good things emerging by God's grace and the ways you're using your gifts to breathe new life into our parish.

You'll see specific instances of this new life toward the end of this post, but I want to begin with something new happening tomorrow.

The Feast of the Holy Cross  

Tomorrow, we observe the Feast of the Holy Cross, one of twelve major feasts celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches.

A Meditative Four-Minute Film:  What’s new is that we haven’t celebrated major feasts like this in recent years, but more than that… We’ll celebrate this Feast with a brief, meditative film to set the tone for the day. This prelude to worship appeals to the poetic and mystical faculties we all possess but may not always recognize.

The Children Will Lead: Also, tomorrow, for the Gospel reading, the children will conduct a Holy Cross liturgy with four short Gospel accounts. These brief Gospel stories invite us to reflect on how the Holy Cross is both a touchstone and an endless resource for our journey and companionship through this mortal life together.

In addition to blessing cross pendants for the children, we will also bless the most recent commission of mantel crosses based on our Altar Cross for pastoral visits.

What other New Things?

A Newly Formed Choir: Nearly twenty parishioners have responded to the invitation to share their individual creative gifts of song and chant. The generous response, combined with the skillful leadership and support of Michael Monnikendam, has created something new and beautiful. Last Sunday’s music was amazing and created a foundation for all our voices to join in glorifying God and refreshing our souls.

Our New Processional Banner:  The hand-sewn parish banner, a labor of love, led our procession and was dedicated and blessed, as were those who created this treasure. Rick Long carried the banner in today’s procession for the Consecration of our new Diocesan Bishop Philip LaBelle.

Children's Formation Every Sunday: A weekly program for children’s formation also began last Sunday and will be on full display at tomorrow’s worship.

Diane Perman, Jackie Halstead, and I have been working together to more fully incorporate children and teens into our liturgical ministries. I’ve shared with them recent research that shows a strong correlation between life-long participation in church life and the degree to which relationships across generations are fostered.

One researcher observed rather bluntly: “Is it any wonder that teenagers leave the church in their high school years? They have never had the opportunity to develop a sense of belonging and loyalty to the faith community. Teenagers don’t leave the church; the church and teens were never introduced!”

So, we are experimenting with a monthly rotation in which children participate and sometimes lead parts of our worship. 

Blessings and peace,

P.S. This post just touches on those things that touch on our Sunday Worship. Many more life-giving things are here or in the works, and you'll see more on these items in today's Companion.

Introducing a New Seasonal Worship Booklet

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

Dear Ones,

This morning, we will be using a new worship booklet to guide us through the "Late Summer Season."  

Why the change? First, this change is a direct response to the feedback and advice of many in the parish who have expressed a desire for us to be more mindful of our resources. But in addition to reducing the material and time required to produce a booklet for each Sunday's Liturgy, this new format reflects a very intentional move to encourage a more active role for the laity in our worship and to introduce new members and reintroduce life-long Episcopalians to the rich Anglican traditions of our faith as found in the Book of Common Prayer and the 1982 Hymnal. Lastly, it offers helpful insights into the history and meaning behind many of our worship practices.   

Things Changed and Left Unchanged: Nothing has been added to or subtracted from the traditional liturgy. If you heard a recording of today's service, you would be unable to distinguish it from any other typical Sunday's Liturgy.   

Here's what has changed: 

Listening to Scripture: The lessons from Holy Scripture will be printed this Sunday as an insert. After this week, instead of reading along, we'll hear the scripture readings aloud. This ancient practice fosters a deeper connection to the Word of God within our community. Printed copies will be available for those with hearing difficulties or children learning to read. Bibles are also in the pews for reference.

Reciting the Psalms: We'll recite the Psalms together from the Book of Common Prayer, enriching our worship with the familiar and comforting language of our tradition. And for people newer to Anglicanism, this serves as a practical introduction to the Prayer Book.

Regular use of the 1982 Hymnal: In addition to their beauty and our personal history with them, the hymns contained in the 1982 Hymnal trace the church's historical journey, theological understanding, and liturgical practices. Singing these hymns connects Episcopalians to our spiritual heritage and the broader Anglican Communion. Much of what is found in the '82 Hymnal was written for particular seasons of the church year or specific occasions like baptisms, weddings, and funerals, thereby deepening our experience and understanding of the sacred events. Last but not least, these hymns are powerful tools to teach and give expression to complex theological concepts in accessible and memorable ways. We will also introduce music and hymnody of more recently published Episcopal hymnals.

Prayers of the People: We'll use one of the standard forms from the Prayer Book. The names of those requesting prayer will be listed on the back of the insert. During the Prayers of the People, the Intercessor will pause, inviting you to say aloud the name(s) on the prayer card you received with your booklet. The back of the card includes a corresponding prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. In addition to praying aloud for these folks during worship, I encourage you to incorporate them into your daily prayers. This shared practice of carrying one another in prayer will, over time, become a more natural and intentional part of our lives as members of St. John's.

Prayer for our Country: Before the prelude, we'll join in a prayer for our country found in the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer, written nearly a century ago, speaks to timeless Christian and American values. I will offer the prayer today, but in the future, I would like members of the Vestry and parishioners who wish, to sign up to lead us in this prayer.  

I invite you to embrace these changes with curiosity and openness. Some things we try may not work as expected, while others may prove transformative to our common prayer and shared life. We can only discern this by doing. As Christians, our task is not be successful, but to be faithful, trusting the Holy Spirit to continue Jesus' teaching and life within us.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude for all of your suggestions. If you don't see all the changes you hoped for, rest assured that there will be additional changes that reflect many of your ideas in the upcoming seasonal booklet. I am especially grateful for the considerable thought, patience, and intentional work of Michael Monnikendam and Trish Tiura on this project.

Blessings and peace always,