Abide ... or Abide?

A few weekends ago the Vestry and I went on retreat together to the monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Mass.  This is an Episcopal order of monks, who open their guesthouse to individuals and groups to experience the quiet serenity of a praying community.  While we were there, a monk named Br. David led us in three sessions on the subject of silence, retreat and abiding in God's love.

I've been thinking a lot recently about something Br. David said in one of his talks, because it

Praying Twice

I love to sing.  I've loved to sing since I was a boy, singing in choirs and on stage.  I don't have the best voice, but I hope the joy I experience when singing comes across, even if all the notes aren't quite right.

It has been said that the one who sings their praises and prayers, actually prays twice. The joy, emotion, and beauty of music amplifies and magnifies the words we say to God. I feel that whenever I sing in worship.  The poetry of the songs and service music are things of beauty in themselves, but

Director of Ministry Position

St. Peter’s by-the-Sea is looking for an energetic and passionate lay disciple of Jesus Christ to serve as our Director of Ministry.  This full-time (40+ hour/week) job entails coordinating a variety of ministries, particularly those serving our children and youth (ages 5-18), those that welcome and honor newcomers and guests, and those serving the “least and lost” of our wider community. 

JOB DESCRIPTION
Oversight of formation for children and youth ministries

• Recruit, train, and mentor Sunday
  
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Living Stones Update

I just want to catch everyone up on what's going on with the Living Stones Campaign, and reiterate some of the things I wrote about in the letter mailed out last week. 

Beginning last fall with a highly successful Feasibility Study, we learned what YOU want to do, and what you prioritize.  From that the Vestry, based on the recommendations of Jeff Knauer (our campaign consultant), the campaign Steering Committee and the campaign Building Committee, has constructed a three-tiered campaign. 

1. The first
   
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The Darkness Did Not Overcome It

As I've been preparing for Holy Week this year, my mind keeps going back to part of John's gospel appointed for Christmas.  "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5)."  It's what I keep thinking of as I read the gospel texts appointed for each day this week, and especially for Thursday and Friday.  The sense of a descending darkness, trying desperately to envelope the light, to snuff it out, to extinguish it for good.  (I encourage you to listen to

Of Kingdom, Power and Glory

On Sunday we'll begin our Holy Week journey with the traditional Liturgy of the Palms and reading of the Passion.  Palm Sunday is a powerful, if conflicted, day in our worship life.  Powerful, because our "Hosannas" echo those of the crowds in Jerusalem that fateful day long ago, when Jesus rode a donkey into the city and was hailed as king. So we wave our palm fronds, and sing "All Glory, Laud and Honor," and form our own joyful procession.

But we don't stay in that joyful place too long.  Right

We've Come to See Jesus

On Sunday we'll hear the gospel story of a group of Greeks who come to the disciples asking to meet Jesus.  They weren't from the area, likely didn't know all the local customs, but still, they'd heard about Jesus.  And so they plucked up the courage to come and see for themselves.  Must have taken courage. 

Now, back a generation or two ago, in our country you could rightly expect that everyone had a least some familiarity with Jesus.  Most people were born into the Christian faith, and attended

Snake Bit

This Sunday we hear one of the strangest of stories in the entire Bible. It's the sort of story that will leave you scratching your head in puzzlement, or cause the hair on your neck to stand on end. That's because it's a story about snakes.

In the book of Numbers we read about a day when God finally got fed up with the people. They'd been liberated from Egypt, delivered across the Red Sea, fed with manna, and given water from the rock to drink. They were free, but they weren't content. Numbers tells of five

Why We Fast

As we approach the season's third week, I hope you are finding yourself settling down into Lent, and maintaining the disciplines and practices you chose to keep.  In my experience, most people who choose a Lenten discipline choose to fast, and perhaps you chose to give up something like chocolate or sodas or coffee.  If so, bless you.  But I want to clear up two common misconceptions about why we conduct these fasts.

First, we don't fast to share in the suffering of Jesus.  People sometimes think that fasting