Dear St. John’s,

“Tikkun Olam” is a Hebrew phrase that means healing or repairing the world. According to an article by scholar Jonathan Krasner, “Many American Jews consider it a cornerstone of their Jewish identity, a key reason they’re committed to making the world a better place.”

As Christians, we also are called to be world healers. God called us in Genesis to be good stewards of Creation. And the Church’s mission, as described in the catechism in the back of our prayer book, is “to restore all people to unity with God and with each other in Christ.”

This work of repair and restoration could take many forms: praying for others; performing acts of kindness and mercy; taking steps to help achieve justice and peace among all people, as we promise in the baptismal covenant; picking up trash or recycling our waste or planting a garden; engaging with others we disagree with in respectful dialogue.

What can we each do this week as part of Tikkun Olam?
 
Rev. Sharon
 

Dear St. John’s,
 
Lately, the church calendar has been filled with stories of call and conversion. In last week’s Gospel, Philip and Nathanael become Jesus’ disciples. Yesterday marked what is called the Confession of Saint Peter, when the disciple Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This Sunday, we will hear about Jesus’ invitation to fishermen Simon (Peter) and Andrew to follow him and become “fishers of people.” And Thursday will celebrate the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus.
 
Jesus calls each of us to follow him. As happened with those early disciples, we each experience that call differently.

This Sunday, we will resume Bible study with a look at some of these biblical stories of call and talk about the disciples’ experiences and our own. How did we come to believe in Jesus? How is God calling us today?
 
I hope you will join us for this discussion. We’ll worship as usual at 10:30 a.m., when we will welcome three new young members through baptism. Then we’ll gather for coffee hour and begin Bible study about 11:45. I’m anxious to hear your stories!
 
Rev. Sharon

Dear St. John’s,
Today is the 12th day of Christmas (cue the drummers drumming), which means that tomorrow is Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is when we celebrate the arrival of wise men who followed a star to Bethlehem to see Jesus, “the child who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2).
An “epiphany” is a manifestation – in this case, the first manifestation of Christ to the gentiles, or non-Jews. The season of Epiphany is filled with signs or manifestations of Jesus’ true nature, from his baptism, when a voice from heaven declares, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11), to Jesus’ first recorded miracle turning water into wine to his mountaintop transfiguration.
One fun tradition is to write a special Epiphany blessing on doorways. The blessing changes each year and follows a formula. This year, it is 20+C+M+B+24. The letters come from the traditional names for the wise men: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. They also are an abbreviation for “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” which means “May Christ bless this dwelling.”
So, consider taking a piece of chalk and creating a little “holy graffiti” at your house. Here’s a link to an article with more details about this ancient practice. https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/.../for-an-epiphany.../
Rev. Sharon
P.S. – We’re keeping a close eye on the weather reports. The current plan is to hold church in person on Sunday for those who can safely make it. But if you are worried about travel conditions, please err on the side of safety and stay at home. There are plenty of worship opportunities available online!
If we feel we must cancel in-person worship for safety reasons, we will send out an email by 9 a.m. on Sunday and include a Zoom link so you can join me for worship led from my home.