Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends,

This has been a busy week at Saint Philip’s. On Wednesday night we hosted the candidates for Bishop of Arizona. Everything came off well and people got a sense of each candidate’s gifts and vision for the diocese. Fr Peter handled the arrangements for this brilliantly and it went as smoothly as possible and people left having been welcomed by many and made to feel at home.

On Wednesday night we also welcomed the kids from Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, which works to improve the lives of thousands of orphans across Mexico, Latin America, and South America. A number of parishioners from Saint Philip’s are serving as host parents for the kids and many have volunteered in a number of ways to make their time with us welcoming and warm. On Friday, a number of Saint Philip’s parishioners spent the evening with the kids, donors, the mayor, and the consul general at the Mexican consulate where we heard the many ways NPH takes kids off the streets and gives them a new life. Mother Taylor has done amazing work pulling this all together.

On Saturday Fr Mark joined a group of Saint Philip’s parishioners to march in the Tucson Pride Parade. We were the only church represented and Fr Mark and Deacon Ruthie were the only clergy in the march. Dozens of people received hugs and blessings along the route and Ruthie said that people shouted “God bless you!” over and over to the group.

Also on Saturday we had a fiesta and benefit concert for NPH and were joined by the Tucson Girls Chorus. Our choirs joined the Girls Chorus singing together and using one of our most loved gifts, the music we make together, to change lives in the Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, and beyond. Justin and the choir, as always, did an amazing job and I was deeply grateful for the joyful participation of so many.

I write all of this not just to chronicle the events of the week – but to show just what an impact you and Saint Philip’s makes in our community. Whether it was the “God bless you!” offered again and again at the march, or the regional director of NPH calling Saint Philip’s their most important partner at the consulate, or whether it was each candidate for bishop going out of her or his way to note how warmly they felt welcomed here – this is a place that is active and engaged in the life of the diocese, the city, and even internationally.

One young man at the consulate event told his story of living on the streets of Mexico City after his father left and his mother died. He spoke of fear, and hunger, and the need just to be seen let alone loved. NPH took him in – and he was afraid at first because he thought it was a prison! Yet, for eighteen years he has been part of NPH as a student, a volunteer, and now on their staff. They gave him a bed, they clothed him, they fed him, and they loved him.

Whether it was that young man clothed, fed, and loved or whether it was so many of those who have never known a kind word from the Church because of their sexuality – Saint Philip’s is an outward and visible sign of the grace and love of God in Christ. This morning, as you read this, I hope you will take a minute to give thanks for this community as I am. I hope that you will pray for its continuing work of seeking and serving Christ in all persons.

I hope that you will give thanks that this is not just a place where wecome to Church it is a place that is striving to be the Church – to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world.

Yours in Christ,

Robert