Rector's Note

Dear Friends in Christ,

I’ve been reviewing the schedule for the fall and I’m excited to see the variety of things that will be offered — some things are new and some are long-standing traditions done in new ways. For example, on October 4 we will have a blessing of the animals and pet food drive as we have for decades, only it will be offered in the parking lot with priests going from car to car to offer blessings. 

That’s going to be the way of things for a while as we seek to do the things we know well amidst this pandemic. We are looking at liturgical high points on the calendar like All Souls, All Saints, and Christmas, and trying to figure out what they look like so that we continue to do the most important thing we do — worship as a community — even though it will be offered in ways none of us anticipated not long ago.

There are toy drives, retreats, classes, visits from Saint Nicholas, opportunities for quiet prayer in the church, and more on the calendar and more information will be coming about all of those. Even as we add new things to the calendar we maintain the constant rhythm of prayer and thanksgiving with morning prayer and the daily Eucharist offered online. 

In the past I have referred to the Church’s role as being both sail and anchor in the lives of Christians. It should propel us forward at times and hold us safely in place at other times. We are looking for ways to be both in this time. So, I hope that you will take advantage both of the new and the constant in the weeks ahead. All of us can use a little push now and then, and all of us need to know some things remain fixed and steady in a storm.

Without stretching the storm and boat metaphor too much I want to close with a prayer I’ve always liked, attributed to Sir Francis Drake. It reads:

“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little, When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity, And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery; Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.”

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert