Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Oh my. As I look at my calendar, I start thinking about the benefits of being a hermit. There is SO MUCH coming up! Wreath and plant sale. Poor Man’s Gambit concert. St. Margaret’s Day. Stewardship. Book study classes. Thanksgiving. Advent. Giving Tree. Christmas. Personal life. Not to mention the Iglesia Luz de Esperanza, yoga, and the pipe band, using the church! And I’ll be driving to Rhode Island to participate in the
ordination to the priesthood of the deacon who is my virtual curate.
As I say, the benefits of being a hermit. And I am absolutely positively certain that I am not the only one with this kind of calendar. Many of you may have an even more full one! BUT, I’d like everyone to sit down for a moment and take a breath. Ask yourselves, “Why am I doing all this? WHY?”
My immediate personal answer is that I’m doing many of these things for God and God’s people.
Something came up yesterday in our Bible Study class, that has been in my mind since I ran across it. The ancient Jewish traditions involved sacrifice of animals or grains in order to atone for sins. If you read the Old Testament, you will often find references to this practice in the Temple. Contemporary Judaism does not do this. Instead, service and almsgiving are among the gifts we give to God, as replacements for the ancient sacrifices.
I loved this! Not, of course, that what we do is to atone for our sins. Jesus already sorted all of that out. We do the things that benefit the church, the community and people, in thanksgiving for all that God does for us. When we’re little, we’re taught that if people give us a gift, we should write a thank you note. So, I’m thinking that the money, time and service I donate is a way of sending thank you notes back to God. Not just because we are obeying the commands to help each other and support the church, but because I am so grateful for the endless gifts showered down on me. I’d spend all my time writing lists of them, if I tried to give thanks for them individually! One of my favorite is the gift of life itself.
If we keep this in mind as we are accomplishing one thing after the other, it changes the meaning. Could it help us be a bit less overwhelmed, recognizing it’s service to our Good God who serves us so much every day?
Praying daily with you, for our nation, our diocese, our parishes, and the world,
Mo. Laura
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COMING UP!
- October 6-November 24, Book Study, 7:00 p.m. online. Preregistration required
(send note to Laura) - November 3 and November 17 6:00 Yoga class moved to Monday these weeks
- November 9 9:00 a.m. Orders due for Christmas wreaths and plants.
- November 14 7:00 Poor Man’s Gambit Concert. Tickets
available here. Sign up to help. - November 16 9:00 ST. MARGARET’S DAY SERVICE and
Reception. Sign up to help. - December 1, Advent Book Study, 7:00 p.m., online. A Child Is Born: A Beginner’s
Guide to Nativity Stories. Preregistration required (send note to Laura) - Wrapping Presents at Boscov’s Fundraiser. Contact Janice Clymer to volunteer
imcraftyj@gmail.com. - Wednesday evenings, yoga class at 6:00 (discount for St. M members)
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00
- Saturdays, Seventh Day Adventist congregation, 9:00-3:00