Dear parishioners,
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Greetings on this first day of May. The sun shines, the birds chirp, and the awe-inspiring colors of flowering blossoms clothe the ground under our feet. As we’re met with symbols of rebirth and new beginnings all around us in the natural world, it’s strangely ironic that a wintery-like frost coats the still gears of so much in our social and economic machinery. It feels like it’s time to get rolling! Indeed, there is a palpable tension in our atmosphere that blends, uneasily, the invitation to stillness brought about by quarantine with a parallel sense of pronounced restlessness all around us.
In conversations with many of you this week, I’ve heard counterbalancing perspectives on our current circumstances that range from waiting at the ready for the permission to resume our routines to the expressed conviction that perhaps our “normal” wasn’t such a good thing in the first place, and that we ought not be in any rush to get back to it. I suppose that my sensibilities place me in the BOTH/AND of this dialogue. I simply cannot wait for us to be back together on campus. I want to hear our choir!! I want to break bread together, shake hands and receive hugs of welcome!!
And yet, my spirit whispers to me something of the Ignatian mantra that “God is present in ALL things”, telling me to slow down and to pay particular attention to the NOW. Yesterday one of our parishioners and I spoke about the simple act of mindfully taking walks and of just how much there is to celebrate here in nature’s Eastertide. We mused over how often we miss out on inspiration when we step outside under headphones or with our faces tucked in toward cellphone screens. I think that it raises a generative question for all of us: How often do we miss out on the simple, God-affirming joy of observing nature with our full attention? I’ve been trying to embrace the invitation to pay attention to God’s Creation as a spiritual practice of late, just watching the birds and taking in the flowers, and I must say…I’m feeling profoundly thankful for the blessings of a life on this earth…in this place…at this time. I’m reminded of a wonderful short film that I recently hosted a forum on at: www.livegodspeed.org Take a look!!
It’s my heart prayer that we can find balance as a community here in the month of May: a healthy mid-point between our holy desires to be the church in the ways that we trust and know, AND in embracing innovation through the sacred gift of unexpected time to reflect and to be still. May our loving Lord bless and keep you friends.
Father Rick+
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Join us for worship this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, online! Click here to bring you to our website destination that will have the service, the bulletin to download, and a link for giving, if you choose to give via online donations. The service will be uploaded to this post on Saturday afternoon, so if you visit prior to that, you will not see the service video until that time, so please check back!
After you worship, join us for our VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR:
Consider joining the virtual coffee hour, hosted by Joe and Christina McLaughlin. Here are the details:
Don’t forget to join Christina and Joe McLaughlin, hosting a weekly “Virtual Coffee Hour.” This is all new to us, so take a chance, set up zoom and see how it all goes! It will be fun to connect and whether you want to stay on for 5 minutes or the full session, grab your cup of coffee or tea, pull up a chair, and say hello to your fellow parishioners.
Here is a link of step-by-step instructions to set up zoom, that Christina put together.
https://sainteds.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/St-Eds-Coffee-Hour-Invite-and-How-To.pdf
And, if you have any questions, Christina has offered to please give her a call and she can help! Her number is 717-415-7043. DATE: SUNDAY, APRIL 26th
TIME: 10 – 10:45 am
PLACE: Wherever you are comfortable with your computer in your home environment!
WHAT TO BRING: Your coffee and something interesting to share with others!
** This join code and passcode will not be posted on the public website of Facebook.
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Please visit our website and on the home page under “News and Posts” you will find, on Fridays, a video message from Bishop Scanlan. We encourage you to take the time to view these weekly messages of prayer, encouragement, and sharing of ideas and diocesan resources you may find interesting to connect with.