Last Sunday, we had forty people in church, including a little clutch of Sunday school children gathering to make Advent Table wreaths, as well as viewers tuning in from home. We also had a warm church to worship in with filtered air. All in all, it felt like a solid move forward as we step into Advent and the holiday season. This Saturday, we are hosting a Quiet Day which will be led by a “rockstar” spiritual director and writer of the Episcopal Church, Barbara Crafton. Next Sunday, December 12th, we will receive Bp. Mary Glasspool for a Visitation and Confirmation Service. Please keep the following Confirmands in your prayers this week: Kenna Bradley, Addie Dring, Julianne Korb, Drew Krzemienski, Wilson Lark, Emmaline LeBuhn, Julia Smith-Marrone, Caitlin Thomas, Scarlett Zumbro and Alex Williams.
Other notable signs of God’s blessing: The Advent Angel Tree Refugee fundraiser, launched at IPC and St. B’s last Sunday, yielded $3500 towards the cost of household items for the Refugee Family we will be hosting. Also the Rivertowns for Refugees fundraiser at South Presbyterian Church (a separate organization to our own IPC/St.B’s for Refugees) raised $26,125 for the broader resettlement effort. For more insight into how God’s Spirit is moving in our community, read on!
In the Spirit of expectation and hope,
Gareth
This past Sunday in my sermon I leaned heavily on the wisdom of Anne Lamott as I explored the nature of mercy as it relates to the practices we immerse ourselves in during Holy Week. Here’s her definition of what mercy looks like: “Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate […]
Back in the 50’s and 60’s, it was thought that 500-year-old church divisions could be healed if churches reached across denominational lines and got to know each other. This was an exciting time for the churches in Irvington, as all the fundamental theological issues between the Protestant, Catholic, and Anglican Churches were on the way […]
In my message last week, I wrote of an emerging sense of optimism shared by our church leadership that church life can once again take on the semblance of normality. This past week, Bishop Dietsche shared his own sense of optimism in a letter entitled, “Return of the Common Cup.” He wrote, “…with the waning […]