Read more from the Diocese. Read here.
From prayer to advocacy to feeding the hungry, Bishop Hughes reminds us that perseverance is more than surviving hard times – it’s trusting God’s ongoing work through us to bring hope and transformation.
Read the transcript.

This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. I started talking in my last post about gifts that people of faith and the faith community share with the rest of the world. At this time of year, we are starting to think about gifts. We’re making our list and figuring out how much we’re spending and when it needs to be purchased so it can get to where it needs to arrive. We’re thinking about what we’ll be doing with our time. We’re thinking about others, people that we know and that matter in our lives, and one of the gifts that we bring as people of faith and faith community, I talked about last, time was unity.
Today, I want to talk about perseverance. That perseverance is something that we learn as people of faith. We learn it through simple things – that sometimes, when you read a hard passage of the Bible, you don’t just walk away from it and toss it and say, “I’m never going to understand it” – we dig into it. We study more about it. We learn what the original words were and the language they were written in. We learn about the people that they were written for, and when we learn more about it and when we sit with it day by day, sometimes those passages that seem incredibly hard yield something that is very important for us to know and that we grow with, because we have that knowledge.
We know that we have perseverance when we pray for things, that God answers prayers. And sometimes we pray for things once, and then we don’t think about them again, and we’re surprised by the answer. But sometimes we have to pray until something happens. We just keep on praying until something changes, whether the change is within us or for us. We keep praying until something happens. We call those PUSH prayers: Pray Until Something Happens.
So with these kinds of things, with study, with PUSH prayers, with long term relationships – we know sometimes we just have to keep working at it and work through if there’s trouble, if there’s been something hard or hurtful or that happens in a relationship that we’ve got to work at that. We’ve got to ask for forgiveness. We have to forgive other people. We have to persevere through whatever that trouble is, to get to the good, to the healing, to the transformation on the other side.
Every part of our faith teaches us something about perseverance. And I love in Paul’s letters to the Romans, where he talks about suffering or affliction when things go wrong, and he says, we actually boast about things going wrong, because we know that when things go wrong, we’re going to learn about perseverance, and perseverance yields hope, and hope is where we meet with God and where God turns us and that situation into something completely different. That perseverance is part of the process of being faithful.
Perseverance is something that we are already in the process of doing right now when it comes to people who are hungry. We know that with the ending of SNAP benefits that happened on November 1. I know, personally, I was hoping that there would be reprieve that came from the administration, especially after the judge’s direction to the administration, that has only happened partially, and who knows when that will actually happen. We haven’t been sitting around waiting. Our food pantries, which we have all over our diocese – many of our churches have pantries – our food pantries have been gearing up for weeks. They are ready for this moment. And they’re not just ready for this moment, they are ready to go the distance.
We’ve been there before. It was called COVID, where people lost their jobs – and remember in New Jersey, it took almost 18 months for some people to get their first unemployment check. For whatever reason that happened, we were ready for it. We have increased food as the number of people receiving in our pantries has increased. I have to tell you that in the five years that we experienced between the start of pandemic and when we officially slipped into that place that we call post-pandemic – in those five years, the food pantries in our diocese in general, at least doubled, and many tripled, the number of people that they serve. Some have even kind of grown exponentially, serving four or five times more than they served before. So our people have been at it. It’s called perseverance.
And it’s not simply that we provide this food. We also advocate. We talk to our governor, we talk to the offices that work with food pantries. We explain to them the kind of help that we’re providing, but the help that we also need to make sure that people are eating and not worried about receiving food. We also are caring for the people that are in line to receive food. We’re there to pray with them. We’re there to talk with them. We’re there to remember their name. We’re there to assure them that what happened to them, it could happen to anyone and they didn’t do anything wrong. When they lost their job, they were downsized, or they lost their benefits through something that was not their fault at all. This is perseverance.
And here’s the thing about perseverance, is it reminds you of how strong you are. How strong God made you in the first place. And it reminds you that God is always doing work through you and through other people, and that in all that we do, God gives hope – not just to us, but to the people that we serve.
So remember this, this energetic desire that we have to serve God’s people in this way, this is all about perseverance, which is a gift from God that leads only to more gifts. So as this unfolds and continues, know this: We know how to persevere.

Read more from the Diocese. Read here.

Bishop Hughes reflects on her time at a gathering hosted by the Iona Collaborative in the Diocese of Texas, where leaders are exploring how the Episcopal Church might share its gifts more generously. She invites us to see money, buildings, and all we have as gifts from God – meant not only for our own joy, but to bless our neighbors, our parishes, and the wider Church.​ Watch the video (time: 4:59) or read the transcript.
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Video Transcript

This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. I should say from the Diocese of Newark, because this week I’m in the Diocese of Texas. I’m down at their camp, Camp Allen, is part of a conference being hosted by the Iona Collaborative. That’s the same group which we get the training that we’re putting our lay pastors and deacons through, Iona, so happy to be here, it’s something that they are hosting, because they certainly have given us quite a lot in terms of our training lay pastoral leaders and training people to be deacons. So it’s a way of us being able to give back to them.
And they’ve been wanting to gather people to think about the resources in the Episcopal Church, and how so many of those resources reside in a small area of the church. So the wealth of the church sits with the wealthiest organizations and congregations and dioceses of the church. And how do we consider the thought of sharing that with the parts of the church that don’t have the wealth, the organizations that don’t have the wealth, the dioceses that don’t have the wealth.
I can say I was glad to be invited because I want to support the Iona Collaborative because they have been such a big support of our diocese. I’m glad to be a part of the conversation, because I think it’s an important one that we need to have on all levels of the church, that the Episcopal Church needs to have that conversation, our diocese needs to have that conversation, our parishes need to have that conversation, and certainly as individuals and in our households, we need to have that conversation.
So I’m glad to be a part of it, but I have to say I’ve also been dreading it. And I’ve been dreading it, because I know how we are when it comes to money. We on some level, we all devolve to our youngest selves, and we look at our finances, we look at the money that we have, and we say, mine. This is mine. I worked for it. I put myself through college. I’m the one who stayed late, I’m the one who did the extra work, and I’m the one who climbed the corporate ladder. I’m the one who put my neck out there. I’m the one who my clients appreciate. I’m the one who fits a specific need in my business. This is mine. I earned it. It is mine. And parishes can have that same kind of point of view. This is mine. We ran the pledge campaign. Someone gave this to us. It is ours. A diocese can have that same point of view, that we have done this work with our parishes. This is ours. And the entirety of the Episcopal Church can say, we come from a nation where people are high earners and well taken care of, and this is ours.
And yet there is some part of us that knows that every single thing that we have, that the wisdom, the brains, the experience, the knowledge, the questioning that God has given us, that gave us the ability to get ourselves through college, get ourselves in the jobs, help us have the kind of lives that we have – that all of that came from God in the first place. So if it came from God in the first place, chances are God didn’t just give it to us, just so that we can be happy. Now God wants us to be happy, but God gave it to us saying, here, I’m giving you this, and I want you to take care of your neighbors. I want you to take care of those people you worship with. I want you to take care of your community. I want you to take care of that other church, you know, the ones where they can barely afford a priest once a month. I want you to help them out. I want you to be in ministry with them.
These are the conversations that need to happen all over the church. They need to happen everywhere. They need to happen in our parishes. They need to happen in our diocese. They need to happen in the Episcopal Church. They need to happen in our households. They need to happen inside, in our own interior, our souls need to hear us have those conversations with ourselves and with God.
Money is a gift. The buildings we’re in are a gift. These are all assets that are valuable and that are important to us, but they are gifts given to us by God, and God always gives gifts with an expectation that we are also going to give.
So as you move through life this summer and you enjoy the bounty that is summer, having the extra time, having the freshest vegetables and fruits. New Jersey, I love summer tomatoes! As we enjoy all these things all along the way, thank God for the gift, and then immediately give some of it away. Hand it to somebody else who needs that blessing.

Breaking Bread Together: St. John's Saturday Luncheon Social by Sandra Lee Schubert
This is the unedited version. The article was featured on the Diocese of Newark website and e-news. 

On the hill where Cornelia Street meets Cedar Street, behind St. John's Church, something wonderful happens every Saturday. The parish hall kitchen hums with activity as volunteers prepare lunch for their community. Today, it's the men's group from St. Peter's trading their usual spiral ham and potatoes for hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings.
Steve greets everyone by name, asking about family members who couldn't make it. Jerry serves the food with a smile. The mailman stops by during his lunch break, delivering St. John's mail before joining the meal. For one precious hour, the parish hall buzzes with conversation, laughter, and the simple joy of sharing a meal. St. Peter’s has been a part of the program for over 20 years. The Men’s group and the Women’s group are active supporters of the luncheon. Steve loves the interaction with the men who are bagging bread donated by Anthony’s Bakery, cooking food, and setting up the hall for lunch. He enjoys the interaction with the guests who come through the red door and be seen chatting up people or eating lunch with the guests.
This is exactly what the Saturday Luncheon Social was created for: food, fellowship, and genuine human connection, served every Saturday from noon to 1 p.m.

​A Legacy of Service
The Saturday Luncheon Social began around 2000 under the leadership of Rev. Stephanie Wethered, St. John's first female rector. During her tenure, The Episcopal Diocese of Newark named St. John's "Church of the Year" in recognition of their community support work. Rev. Wethered's vision extended beyond Sunday worship, establishing the Community Development Corp. (CDC), an after-school program for low-income families, and the Saturday Luncheon Social—opening both kitchen and hearts to the wider community.
Originally served by a women's group, the luncheon has evolved into a collaborative effort hosted by local church groups of different denominations. Each group brings its unique flavor of food and hospitality to the table. Natalie, a deacon from the First Presbyterian Church of Boonton, says they enjoy making delicious meals for people. “It's our mission to serve the community.” We love the cast of characters who walk through the doors.”
Helen, from Mt. Zion Baptist church, loves the camaraderie the luncheon offers. People can arrive sad, but will leave with a smile on their faces. “I love cooking and serving food. I especially enjoy being called “Aunt Helen” by the people enjoying the food.  

The Regulars and the Newcomers
Twenty-five years later (with only the pandemic shutdown interrupting service), familiar faces gather around the tables. There are people who have been coming for years—families and friends who live down the block or travel from surrounding areas to be part of this weekly tradition. One guest started coming by bringing a friend from a nursing home and was amazed that he was applauded entering the hall. Years later, he still comes. Joe says, “it is the highlight of the week and has become dear to my heart.”
Agnes shares a similar story. Her dad would bring his friend Joe shopping, banking and to the luncheon. She would bring him on the days her dads couldn’t make it. Years later when her dad became sick it became her refuge and support. And on occasion there are four generations of families at one meal.
Of all the guests we spoke to offered similar tales. They love the atmosphere of homeyness and fellowship that they find here. For an hour, they relax, meet with family and friends, and enjoy a good meal. If they came in lonely, they eventually found friends.
The original vision remains unchanged: providing a social gathering where people can meet over a good meal. But execution has beautifully evolved. St. Peter's men's group might serve their beloved ham and potatoes one week, while their women's group offers splendid chicken parmigiana the next. The Presbyterian church down the block delights in variety, bringing something different each time they host. Mt. Zion’s Baptist church delights in cooking and serving good food, while St. John’s loves their opportunities to serve. All the churches have served for over 10 years or more. The Boonton United Methodist church is the newest participant, serving just two years with will bless the hall with the small daughter of the Pastor.
What matters most is that everyone leaves well-fed, often with extra food for later or a meal for a family member who couldn't make it.

Challenges and Hope
Before the pandemic, the luncheon regularly served a minimum of 25 people. Now, attendance fluctuates—sometimes as few as five people join for lunch. This presents a challenge for groups who have invested time, effort, and money into preparing meals. They would gladly feed more, but they continue showing up faithfully, ensuring leftovers find their way to those who need them.
St. John's has reached out through conversations and social media, hoping to connect with more community members who might benefit from or enjoy this weekly gathering.
Behind the scenes, St. John's works to maintain the space, keep the kitchen updated, and provide the supplies needed for each luncheon—plates, bowls, napkins, and cutlery. Many items are donated by parishioners, local residents, and the hosting groups themselves, creating a true community effort.

An Open Table
The Saturday Luncheon Social is open to everyone. You don't have to be hungry—you might just want a place to eat with a few people on a Saturday afternoon. The table is set, the welcome is genuine, and the conversation flows as freely as the coffee.
Join us any Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. And if you're part of a group that would like to provide a meal, new volunteer groups are always welcome. After all, there's always room for one more at the table.

Read more from the Diocese. Read here. 

Bishop Hughes speaks candidly about a challenge many of us face but rarely name: fear. Whether it's fear of speaking up, taking action, or even praying, she reminds us that fear doesn't disqualify us from God's call – it’s often part of the journey – and she encourages us to “do it anyway... and do it afraid.” (Time: 5:49 | Read the transcript.)
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Video Transcript
This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark, and I want to talk with you about fear, which is something I’ve been hearing quite a lot about from people around the diocese and around the community. I’ve been hearing it in general for a while these days, and it’s the fear that keeps people from doing the thing that they feel that God is calling them to do. Most often, where I hear it is people say, “I’m afraid to say anything, because if I say something, it’s going to upset the situation I’m in. It’s going to upset the relationships that I’m in. I’m afraid to do anything. I don’t want to do anything that causes some kind of harm or that makes it worse. I’m afraid to be in a situation where I might get into trouble myself.”
“I’m afraid” – someone has said to me, more than one person has said to me – “I’m afraid to even pray at this point, because I don’t know that I am a very good prayer. I don’t know that I have the right words to say. Maybe other people who are stronger at praying should be the ones doing the praying at this point.”
Every time someone has talked to me about their fear, what they have really been saying to me is, “I feel called by God to do something, but I’m so nervous that I’ve talked myself out of doing it.”
I was thinking about this, and this weekend, it suddenly came to me. I remembered a sermon that I heard at my own first ordination, when I was ordained to the transitional diaconate before becoming a priest. It was the Reverend Teddy Brooks who preached, she is a priest in the Diocese of New York. She was a priest there then, and she still is today. And she preached about fear, and she was specifically talking to us as newly ordained people and saying, “It is going to be normal that you will be afraid. You’re going to be afraid you’re making a mistake, you’re going to be afraid of taking a risk, you’re going to be afraid of your own shadow half the time because you’re afraid you’re going to do it wrong. It’s normal to be afraid when you’re doing something new. It’s normal to be afraid when you’re taking a risk. And the way God is able to do something is you go with your fear and with God, and you do it anyway. You do it afraid.”
I remember those words, and from time to time, they come back to me. “You do it anyway, and you do it afraid.” They’ve stayed with me. And I was thinking this weekend when I remembered that you can go all through scripture and see these stories. I’ll just share two with you, Moses and Mary. Moses, face to face with God, and God says directly to Moses, “Go back to Egypt and save my people.” And Moses is afraid, and he doesn’t want to go, but he goes anyway. He does it afraid. He does it anyway, and God is able to do this wonderful work of freeing people who had been held captive. I think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, being told by the angel that she is going to bring the Savior of the world into being, and she sits there, not understanding, wondering, afraid, how can this be happening to me? And she does it anyway. She does it afraid.
In my own life, I’m so grateful to the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur, who moved to Texas when I was a little girl, specifically to start an integrated school. Not a school for black children or Mexican children or white children, but a school for all children. It was the first. Schools were not integrated, they were segregated in Fort Worth at that time. And that is where I learned how to read and where I learned how to study. And I think about those sisters being the first to do something like that. I imagine that they were afraid, and they did it anyway. They did it afraid.
Dear ones, you have got to know that this is our time. This is our time where God is calling us into things that are going to feel really bold and are going to require courage and going to require bravery. But you have got to know that if God is calling you to speak up for someone else’s justice and for their right care in the world, if you do it anyway, and do it afraid even, God will do something with it. When you stand with someone as their friend, protecting them and making sure that they have their rights observed and that they have adequate legal representation, you may be afraid, but when you do it anyway, and when you do it afraid, God will be in it with you.
And most certainly whatever words you offer in prayer, even if you are absolutely clear with all your heart that you are inadequate, that you don’t have the right words to pray, that whatever words you utter in prayer when you do it anyway and when you do it afraid – especially when you do it afraid – God is there and is listening and is acting upon your prayer.
This is the time we live in, a time where we’re going to step into those, as we say in this diocese, those bold acts of justice and faith and love. We may be afraid, but we’re going to do it anyway.

Read more from the Diocese. Read here. 

Bishop Hughes shares her experience of finding community both with the pilgrims who last week heard first-hand accounts of the civil rights movement in Alabama and at a conference for Black clergy women this week in Chicago, and talks about what community means to her and why it's important to seek it out.
(Time: 5:39 | Read the transcript.)

This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark, and I am not in our diocese this week, nor was I last week. Last week, I joined together with people from our diocese as we went on pilgrimage to the American South. We spent the week in Alabama learning about, exploring, discovering the issues leading up to the civil rights movement and how the civil rights movement was experienced by people in Birmingham and in Montgomery and in Selma.
We had the incredible honor of listening to people talk to us in each of those cities, they are called foot soldiers. They were all children. They were 13 when they were a part of the civil rights movement. They gathered and marched together. They had instructions in how to participate in civil disobedience in non-violent ways, and all of them could point to the place where they were either chased down by police, by dogs, or had fire hoses turned upon them. They could point to those places. They could also point to the place where they were arrested, to the jail that they were sent to at 13. And as they told us these stories, one of the things that they said over and over again that was so important to them, as they so passionately told these stories, is it that they tell them because it’s important for us to know our history. It’s important for us to not make the same mistakes again and again, and that knowledge of history is the only way to prevent that.
Something else wonderful happened on that time together is that the community, those of us who gathered to be a part of this pilgrimage, that we as a community, leaned upon each other. We experienced sadness. Shock. It was hard to hear, at times, the things that had happened, hard to read about, to see about, but also, we found ourselves inspired and uplifted by the story of others, and in that five days that we spent together, we became a very solid community together.
I said goodbye to that group on pilgrimage in Selma, and as they headed back to Newark, I headed on to Chicago to gather for a conference hosted by some of the Black women bishops in The Episcopal Church for Black clergy women, both deacons and priests, across the United States. There are about 70 of them that were able to gather with us, and we’ve been spending time talking about what ministry is like for us these days, learning from a theologian, the Reverend Dr Renita Weems has been with us, and also supporting each other in our ministries. And we, too, in the short time we have been together, have become a very strong and deep community.
And I, when I think of these two experiences being back to back the way they are, there is something that that both of them have in common, though they were very different gatherings and were together for very different reasons. But what they hold in common is what happened to us as a place of community. We have been honest with each other, we have told the truth, we have said exactly what we think and what we feel, and not tried to blame anybody else for our feelings, but have been able to hold each other in the things that we feel. We’ve been able also to talk about our hopes and dreams and the things that we worry will not ever come true. And we’ve also been able to talk about the ways that we have seen God do nothing short of a miracle in our own lives. We became very strong communities in a short amount of time.
And I cannot help but say to you, as we head into the deepest part of the summer: please use this summer as a time to be a part of a strong community. And I’m not just talking about coffee hour conversation after church. I’m talking about being in the place where you can tell the truth, when you can let down the facade, when you can be genuinely who you are, a place where you can be hopeful, where you can be sad, where you can be shocked, where you can be weary, and where you can look for where God is doing something in life and in the world. Be a part of community.
It’s interesting to me right now how people want a place where they belong, but they don’t want to belong to anything. It’s as if we have forgotten how to be in community. But I can tell you this, that if you start, if you try, you’ll be surprised how fast it all comes back to you.
I would say, both on that pilgrimage and in this conference, the biggest gift that everyone received was the gift of community. I hope that you will go after that gift. It is there. It is waiting for you. Go find it this summer.

More from the Diocese. Read here. 

Addressing the current conflict around immigration, Bishop Hughes reminds us that silence can be misinterpreted as agreement, and encourages Christians to engage in meaningful, compassionate conversations grounded in the teachings of Jesus – even across deep differences. (Time: 6:18 | Read the transcript.)

This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. I have been asked in the last few weeks by people, both in our churches and people from other denominations and people from no faith tradition at all, including people who don’t believe anything. I’ve been asked while in church. I’ve been asked while in the grocery store. I’ve been asked all along life’s way from people, how are we supposed to talk with people about immigration when the opinions are so strong and fixed and finite and polar opposites? How can we be in conversation about what we’re seeing?
So I think it’s important to recognize that our reactions to what we’re seeing, are a way of God’s Spirit talking to us saying, you’re called to say something. You are called to do something. When you see someone being hurt, when you see someone’s rights being trampled, when you see someone being treated unfairly or without dignity, without respect, and treating in ways that are not humane at all, and you have a reaction to that that tells you that person needs help. That’s the spirit saying, your job is to help them. And part of helping right now is learning how to talk about this and how to talk about it across difference, because what we’re being fed by people who are motivated to keep us separated and to keep us in polar opposite camps, what we’re being fed about them is that the others will not listen.
And there may be truth to that, but still, whether we think someone listens or not, it’s important for us to think through what it is we want to say. So there’s some areas that I think are really important to prepare ourselves to be able to talk succinctly into this. One, as people of faith – and I’m speaking directly to Christians right now – as people of faith, get yourself in the gospels. Read Jesus’s words. What did he say about taking care of the people who were the least among us? How does he treat people who are other, or people who are in trouble? What does he say about talking with people or being with people across differences? And what does he say about how we are to treat the people that we think of as our enemies. Use his words as guidance and motivation, and pay attention to the ones that resonate the most with you, and say those to yourself over and over and over again until they become part of your very own vernacular.
My own example of that, as I say so often, if I have a problem with my sibling, my brother or my sister, I go directly to deal with them before I take myself to the altar. I don’t sit and stew over something. I go directly to them. That’s my way of internalizing something that Jesus said about how we are to work with other people. You need to find your way to do that.
Secondly, I recommend that you spend as much time as you can reading people who are writing about these things, reading people who are writing – and you don’t have to just read books, they have articles that are online, many of them you can see on videotape, but people who have for years been talking about injustice and how we are to treat people with justice. Read Catherine Meeks. She’s out of our own tradition in the Episcopal Church. You can find her online, and you can find her in books. Read William Barber, who’s been leading the Poor People’s Campaign for as long as I possibly can remember, and knows something about treating people who are the least among us. Read our own former Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, who talks eloquently, both in writing and in words, about who we can be as a nation, who we can be as a people, when we all are one. We are powerful when we are one. Read Desmond Tutu. Read Matthew Desmond. These are people who are writing about the inequities that we find in the world, but read them and pay attention to the things that they talk about and how they give you a sense of real ways, not just feelings, but very practical ways to talk about some of the things we’re facing.
The next thing I think is important is to pray, to ask God to give you the words, to help you think this through, to help you frame what it is you want to say.
And then lastly, I would say, practice. These four things: looking at Jesus’s words, looking at the words of experts, looking at the thinking of experts, spending time asking God to guide you, and then practice with people that you know. You don’t want to just go practice in the middle of something happening in your family or in the workplace or with someone who you do not know at all, but you want to get your legs underneath you, in terms of how to talk about what you see happening with migrants, and what might be a more excellent way than what we’re seeing right now. It’s a starting place, and it takes time.
And I want to encourage you to spend time figuring out how to have those conversations, because now is the time to speak. Being silent is not working for us. Being silent is heard as approval. And I think kind of regardless of where you sit politically in any of this, when we look at the humanity of it, it takes the politics away. I’m always aware that at a graveside, when people are grieving, there is no party, there is no political party. There is simply sadness and a sense of loss. And the people who help those who are mourning.
So, do the work that it takes to figure out how to speak into this time rather than being afraid of it or silent during it.



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More from the Diocese. Read here. 

Bishop Hughes addresses the emotional toll of hate and injustice in today’s world, acknowledging the pain many feel while emphasizing that responding to hate with hate leads to spiritual emptiness. Instead, she recommends three daily practices: cultivating gratitude, actively helping others, and seeking rest – both physical and spiritual – which will fortify us for the demanding ministry needed today. (Time: 6:06.)
Video TranscriptThis is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. Recently, someone shared with me what they’re struggling with in this time that we’re in, and as they said it: “You know what? These people hate us and I hate them right back.” And then they went on to say that it didn’t actually make them feel better to hate them right back, but they couldn’t stand what people were doing so much, they didn’t know what else to do but to hate them right back. But it didn’t leave them in a good place. Of course, it didn’t leave them in a good place, because that is not how God created us to be.
On one hand, I completely understand that hate in response, when you feel out of control, when you’re watching abuse of power, when you’re watching corruption, when you’re watching people be diminished or be dehumanized or spoken of in ways that are dehumanizing, in addition to the behavior towards them that is dehumanizing. When you see the loss of decency on a large scale, when you see the kind of re-interpretation of things that are historical fact, as if that they are something that we can simply forget and life will go right on. That when you see all of these things, and when you know people whose lives are in danger, of course you’re going to have a reaction to that.
So my question for us is, how do we react in such a way that we’re joining Jesus Christ, and that we are living out bold acts of justice, peace and love as we follow Jesus Christ – that’s what our mission statement says. We invite people to join us in following Jesus Christ into bold acts of justice, peace and love. It sounds like just the ticket for right now, but also it is a hard place to be when we watch the level of disregard for the dignity of other people go on.
So one of the things that I’m aware of is that when you’ve got a big task in front of you, it’s important to orient yourself towards that task. So we know that what we want to do is live into these bold acts of justice, peace and love, and what will help us do that? I’ve got three things in mind. One, that we need to practice gratitude. We need to spend time being grateful for the things that God has given us. That we pay attention every day, all throughout the day, different times in the day, thanking people for the goodness that they bring into our lives, or for the gift that they have given us just by their very presence or by taking care of something. And that we also are grateful for the world that God has put us in, that we notice the things that are part of creation, and that we’re grateful for those things. When you are spending time practicing gratitude, you forget to be fearful and you forget to be full of hatred, because you get very much caught up in the love that God has for all of us. So one is practicing gratitude.
Two is to help God’s people, wherever they are and with whatever they need. And when I say God’s people, I mean all people, because God created all people. I don’t mean just Episcopalians. I don’t mean just Christians who believe the way you believe, but I mean all people. When God says, “Feed my sheep,” God isn’t talking about one or two little sheep from one herd. God is saying a”ALL of the sheep!” Please take care of God’s people. When we start taking care of God’s people, then we forget to think of ourselves as helpless. Find somebody every day that you can help.
And then the last thing that I think is really important right now is to get good rest. Some of this is we are tired. We’re tired of the non-stop intensity, the non-stop abuse that we’re seeing, the-non stop lying that we’re seeing, the non-stop distortion of things, that that wears us down. So what we have to do is put ourselves in the place where we see truth and where we see love and where we see God’s peace. Part of that is getting enough sleep, but part of that is taking a break for those other things. Take a break from your devices. Take a break from cable news. Take a break from the voices that are bent on telling you what you cannot accomplish, and put yourself in the presence of God, whether that’s go sit in a quiet church someplace, or to sit in your backyard or in a park or go for a walk, to read scripture, to listen to your favorite music or listen to hymns that you like, to read spiritual autobiographies – put yourself in a place where you get not only good physical rest, but good spiritual rest.
It takes hard work, deep faithfulness and fortitude to do the kind of ministry that we’re talking about doing today. And if you are one who wants to live into those bold acts of justice, peace and love, then it is very important that you feed your own spirit. So on a daily basis, find ways, look at ways, to practice gratitude. Make that part of your life on a daily basis. Find someone that you can help. Make that a part of your life. On a daily basis, put yourself in the presence of God and get good rest. No matter how it is you want to serve God and God’s people, God will meet you there you.

​ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Here’s what’s happening at St. John’s, around the diocese, and in the local community.​

SAVE THE DATES:
On September 7 we will return to Winter hours at 10:30 a.m. 
Sunday, September 21 we will have Father Mitchell and a welcome back party for Coffee Hour.
Sunday, September 28 we will have a table at Boonton day on Main Street. 

PRAYER LIST Let Kathy Cascone (casconek(at)yahoo.com or 973-219-1007) know if you wish to add anyone to the parish prayer list, or if a name is ready to be removed.
 
COMMUNICATION Staying well-informed is important, especially during transitional times. Here are some ways to learn what’s happening and stay involved:

• Alert Sharon Liparini if your email changes, so you can continue to receive parish email announcements.
• Check out our website, Facebook page and other social media. (And let Sandra Lee Schubert know if you’d like to help post photos and events.)
• Subscribe to The VOICE Online, the diocesan newsletter published every other Wednesday with news, events and features from around the diocese. Sign up at https://dioceseofnewark.org/e-news