There is a question at the heart of our reading from the Prophet Habakkuk: How do we remain faithful in dark times?

Blessings,

Father Dan

This week we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels and we honor those who have completed their four years of training in the Education for Ministry Program. Leslie Valentine, their mentor in the program, will be our preacher. We give thanks for the many lay ministries at St. John's as together we form the Body of Christ.

Blessings,

Father Dan

As we continue to celibate Creation Season, this week we also celebrate a baptism. The renewed creation of God's hope for the world is made present each time someone is baptized and made a new child of God, claimed as Christ's own forever. So, as we prepare for this experience. I invite you to pray the Collect for Baptism form the Book of Common Prayer (p.254).

Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turn us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Blessings,

Father Mark

"Choose life!" This is the  mandate Moses gives to the people of Israel just before they enter the promised land. These words speak to us as well. In a culture where the value of autonomy and personal freedom mask human greed and selfishness, we do well to remember God's way of life calls us to respect and honor every human being created in God's image, and during this creation season, choosing life, calls us to conserve and honor the earth and her creatures. Failure to live by divine wisdom will in fact lead to death -- violence among human beings, injustice in our relations with one another, and the death of our planet. This week, what particular ways will  you and I imagine so that we choose life?

Blessings,

Father Mark

The Church invites us to pray this prayer, or Collect for Labor Day;

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On this Labor Day weekend, Fr. Dan will reflect on this Collect during his sermon.

Blessings,

Father Dan

In this week's Gospel reading, we hear the story of a woman so burdened by heaviness in her life, that she is physically bent over -- and she has been that way for 18 years! While she can't even look up, Jesus sees her and frees her from her burden. 

While we may not feel as overwhelmed in our lives as did this woman in Luke's Gospel, the grace and healing power of Jesus is available to lighten our burdens and bring us freedom and healing. Jesus sees you and me. Imagine him looking at you and asking -- what do you need me to do for you? Will we allow him to release us into a more abundant life?

Blessings,

Father Mark

This Sunday we commemorate the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, a day when we celebrate God's taking Mary to himself after her death -- an event that doesn't separate Mary from us as extraordinary, but joins us in our common humanity, returning to the heart of God.

Blessings,

Father Dan

In this week's Gospel Jesus says, "Don't be afraid little flock" because we are walking towards God's kingdom. In fact we are already citizens of it. What a tender, encouraging word. We may feel anxious, insecure, that we will not have the resources we need, but don't be afraid. Walk on. live abundantly. Keep your eyes on the prize. 

Blessings,

?Fr. Mark

Greetings to the St. John's community! We are so pleased to be back at St. John's to serve as your long-term supply clergy over the next several months until your Vestry selects a priest-in-charge. While the authority for this congregation lies with the Wardens, we have been sent by the Bishop to be in charge of liturgical life and pastoral care. 

One of the opportunities of this transition period is to rethink and expand the liturgical vision to include some new possibilities. Starting this week we will streamline the 10:00 service so that it is shorter, especially for the rest of the summer. We also use a different Eucharistic Prayer, approved by the Episcopal Church, but outside the Book of Common Prayer., Please note, the 8:00 service will remain unchanged and retrain the beauty of Rite I.

This week Fr. Dan will preach. A question raised by this week's Gospel reading is whether in times of anxiety we choose to isolate or anchor ourselves in partnership with the promises of God. What an appropriate theme as St. John's enters this time and looks to what God has in mind for your future. 

Blessings,

?

Fr. Mark and Fr. Dan