Two months

Dear Friends in Christ -

This past Sunday was my two month anniversary here at St. Paul's. The occasion was marked by a wonderfully festive baptism. The words of the anointing always ring in my ears for days afterward - "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever." It's a seal that can't be broken even after the warm scent of the rosemary-infused oil has vanished and the oil has been washed away by sweat or a bath. To belong to Christ is to always be loved, always held, always sustained. What good news!

And the day was marked by another parish event, too, the parish annual meeting. I was thrilled to see so many of our members present. The meeting was informative and unifying though - dare I say it? - a bit long. But it was so important for all budget information to be "in the light." And so absolutely essential for every voice to be heard. Surely for every one who raises and issue or asks a questions, there are five more with the same concern or question who didn't speak up.

Thank you. Thank you to all at St. Paul's for a remarkable day.

Blessings,
Janet+

PS - A favorite quote from these past two weeks, shared by a parishioner: " I do not understand the mystery of grace; only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us." -Anne Lamott

God's power at work

This past weekend, a group of 16 high school kids from St. Paul's spent the weekend at Lake Champion, a 370-acre campground retreat in southern New York. The kids had an awesome time - food, games, friends and - most important - opportunities for encountering our LIVING God. If you know someone in this photo, ask him or her what the experience was like. You will hear echoes of God's voice, tracings of God's hand at work.

God intends to do a great work in and through all of us here at St. Paul's. It's already started. You can be a part of it. Just do what Jesus told his disciples to do:
1.Make path through the crowds (for us, the "crowds" are time commitments, material stuff, work and school pressures) and help the children come to him.
2.Follow the example of the kids and seek Jesus yourself.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

After two weeks of no posts, I'm back on the blog! I've been suffering from illness - in me (sinus infection) and in my computer (network glitch). Now that both my computer and I have experienced some healing, I'm ready to roll out a number of things that I want to share with you.

The first thing I want to share is a prayer. Today is the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 18-25), sponsored by the World Council of Churches. Please join with me in praying about this year's theme "Breaking the Silence." Christian communities in South Africa are asking Christians around the world to "express their growing unity both by 'breaking the silence' [particularly about issues of sexual taboos and HIV/AIDS] and by joining together in responding to human suffering."

Please pray with me the following prayer, which is an adaptation of a prayer provided by the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute:
Lord God, we bless you for the love that you have shown us through Jesus Christ our Lord. In Him, we are conquerors over hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and the sword. In the midst of the silence of abandonment and solitude, of sickness and death, pour out your love, that we may be ever more faithful to serve you, and that our joy to do your will be ever greater.
We bless you and glorify you, O Lord, for you listen to the silence of our hearts. You act within us with power, healing us and leading us to speak in the name of Jesus, your Son. Send us into the world to break down the walls of silence that separate us.
May we witness to you, our only Savior, by being ever more united by "one faith and one baptism." And may we grow in grace and in the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Amen.

My Favorite Christmas Card . . .

. . . reads:

peace.
it does not mean to be in a place
where there is no noise, trouble
or hard work. it means to be in
the midst of those things and still
be calm in your heart.
-- author unknown

Quotes of the Day

On some days, this blog will contain reflections; on other days, prayers. Often, you'll find useful information on things going on in our parish. And regularly you'll find a quote or photo or some bit of nonsense. The purpose is to stir the pot and start a conversation or two . . . .

Two quotes on living day by day:

"It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis." - Margaret Bonnano

"I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time." - Charles Schulz

Quotes from The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said - Selected and compiled by Robert Byrne

Habits

Take your vitamins . . . floss your teeth . . . go to the gym . . . As our doctors often remind us, our good habits keep us alive and kickin'; our bad habits can kill us.

As we start a new year, we often pause to review our life habits. Have you thought lately about the habits of your heart?

Does your heart race to wonder and revel in joy? Does your heart slow in a few quiet, still places during each day? Does your heart have a regular rhythm of work and worship, play and prayer?

If you feel like your heart is beating out of sync and needs a tune-up, the good news is, we have Pacemaker. Our God is the God who breathed healthy rhythms into the very fabric of creation. And the one who created YOU invites you to indulge in habits that sustain your life, day-in-day out. And I'm talking about rhythms even more important than eating right, taking your vitamins and working out. Those rhythms are about your body. I'm talking about the rhythms that keep your soul alive.

I don't know what habit you need - maybe Scripture reading, maybe prayer, maybe attending worship regularly, maybe talking through tough issues with a Christian friend. But NOW is the time!

One of the habits that helps my heart beat in time is reading the Scripture lessons set out in the Daily Office Lectionary (don't let that word scare you, it just means lessons or readings) in the Book of Common Prayer. These readings are designed so that if you read the three lessons (Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel) every day for two years, you've read pretty much the whole Bible. If you read all the Psalms recommended, you read through the Psalms every six weeks.

Since the system is a little confusing, let me just point you in the right direction: you can find the readings for today (Tuesday, 1/2/07) on page 940 under "Jan. 2." If you can't figure things out from there, and the additional instructions on pages 934-935 don't help (and they may not - they're a little confusing, too), don't hesitate to shoot me an email - revjanet@stpaulsct.org.

Studies show that it takes six weeks for any new habit to take root in us in such a way that it "sticks," so don't give up if your new "habit of the heart" feels clumsy or if you get out of sync with your new rhythm for a day or two (or longer!).

May this be a year in which your heart beats at one with the goodness of God and all creation.