Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Happy Pentecost! This major feast of the church year represents God’s “New Thing” being made in us and among us by the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is the last and 50th day of Easter. Another way to say this is that Pentecost is the first day after seven weeks of Easter (each week having of course seven days), corresponding to the biblical “Jubilee” (the completion of 7 x 7), which was a great spiritual, social, and economic reset button in ancient Israel. The Jubilee was a time to make all things new (Rev. 21:5), to wipe the slate clean, and engage life with fresh eyes and a light heart. The Jubilee was a time of renewal, just as the Pentecost event described in the Acts of the Apostles renewed the fervor of Jesus’ disciples, “recreating” them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost, then, is the perfect day for the first large grassroots event in our Strategic Visioning Process. This process will grow from our Pentecost event (see the “Special Insert” in this publication to learn more about our event on Sunday, June 5th!), involving a Strategic Visioning Team selected by our Wardens, Vestry, and me. This team will help the Vestry and me to analyze and create directives and goals from our work on Pentecost, and will help design another, final grassroots day in September, in which we will gather again to choose from among several courses of action and directives generated from Pentecost, helping to finalize our Vision for the next several years. You’ll meet this Team soon and will receive regular updates on Strategic Visioning as the process progresses, culminating in a clear and actionable and achievable Vision after our September event occurring around the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.
Just as was the case in the original Pentecost, every voice matters! This is not a “top-down” process, but rather a “bottom-up” process in which God’s Spirit infuses all participants who open themselves to the experience of Jubilee. Let us celebrate this, our latest Jubilee—a time to honor what continues to enliven us, put down what binds us and no longer serves, and open our hearts and minds to the New Thing God is birthing through our common life as church together! As Jesus says, “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Mt 13:52). As we open the treasures, new and old, that God has placed in our hearts, let us offer them for the good of us all as we do the Pentecost / Jubilee work of crafting a holy vision together with God’s Holy Spirit!
Blessings,
Fr. James +
Rector
Posted in Newsletter
HOLY EUCHARIST
Sunday 8:00 AM
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday 9:00 AM
HOLY EUCHARIST WITH MUSIC
Sunday 10:00 AM
CHILDREN’S CHAPEL
Sunday 10:00 AM