Dear St. John’s,
I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving. It’s a good time to count our blessings and to give thanks to God for all that we have. Often, gratitude is a matter of perspective. I once heard a story about a rich traveler who stopped at a monastery and asked if he could spend the night. By chance, a poor man did the same. The next morning, the monks asked how they had slept. “Oh, it was terrible!” said the rich man. “The mattress and the blanket were thin, and the pillow was small. It was nothing like my big feather bed and thick quilts and fluffy pillow back home.” The poor man, however, reported that he experienced a wonderful night’s sleep. “Everything was so warm and comfortable,” he said. “I’m used to sleeping on the ground, with a stone for a pillow and only my coat the stars to cover me.” Life presents many challenges. But even in difficult circumstances, we can learn to see the so-called silver lining. That rich man might have given thanks for the monastery’s hospitality, even if it wasn’t as luxurious as he was used to at home. After all, if the monks hadn’t taken him in, he might have been sleeping on the ground under the stars himself. An attitude of gratitude is healthy. It helps us to maintain a positive mindset and remain aware of God’s many blessings. It gives us hope. Among my blessings, I give thanks for all of you and for the ministries of St. John’s. As we embark upon the holiday season, let us demonstrate our gratitude by continuing to find ways to serve our neighbors. This will bring even more blessings to be thankful for – for them and for us! Rev. Sharon P.S. – Among the world’s blessings is the pause in the war in the Holy Land and the release of hostages. The following prayer is from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. A LITANY FOR THE RESTORATION OF PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND
0 Comments
Dear St. John’s,
We’ve experienced many losses in our church community this year. Parishioners and relatives have died. Our music director left. Some have faced health crises. In recent years, St. John’s also said goodbye to beloved clergy members. The COVID pandemic changed how we work, attend school, vote and participate in church. We’ve seen ongoing gun violence and political strife in our country. And we’ve witnessed unrest and warfare across the world, including the current war in the Holy Land. All of these can provoke grief within us. I don’t write this to depress you, but to acknowledge that we have reasons to mourn and that grief is a natural response to sad and traumatic events. But grief is a journey, not a destination, and we do not have to travel it alone. Starting this Sunday, I invite you to join with others on this journey as we explore what the Bible and faith say about grief and how they can help us heal. We’ll meet at 11:45 a.m. in the parish hall after our 10:30 a.m. worship service. Our discussion topics will be: Nov. 19: What am I grieving? How do I express my sadness? Dec. 3: I feel so angry. Is that normal? How do I handle it? Dec. 17: How can I heal? Where does God fit into all of this? All are welcome. Come to coffee hour and join us for the discussions, and invite others to join us as well. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
I’m writing this week to update you about our music program. Starting this Sunday, Wyatt Sikora will accompany our worship services on the piano every other week. On the alternate weeks, Christian Carozza will play the organ. Christian has been a familiar face at the organ bench for the last several months. On alternate weeks, he plays at St. John’s in Dover. Wyatt has been our guest musician on two Sundays. A Boonton resident, he is a music teacher and graphic designer, mixed-media artist who also contributed to our Stations of the Cross exhibit last spring. Please join me in welcoming them and making them feel at home at St. John’s as they work with the choir to provide music to enhance our worship. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
This week, we celebrate All Saints’ Day. We remember giants of the faith, like Mary Magdalene and John the Evangelist, and the many people throughout history whose examples we’d like to emulate: Dame Julian of Norwich, John and Charles Wesley, Harriet Tubman, Oscar Romero. It’s also a time to remember our personal saints. These are the people who made a difference in our lives and helped us grow in faith and love. It could be our grandmother or a beloved teacher or maybe the school crossing guard. I encourage you to think about who has been a saint in your life, and to give thanks for them. If you can, join us in church on Sunday, when we will read the names and display photographs of some of these spiritual ancestors. Let us take courage and inspiration from the saints, famous and not-so-famous and those known to God alone. For all form the communion of saints, who surround us as we strive to continue God’s work here on earth. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
We awake this morning to news of another mass shooting, this time in Maine. Yesterday, an incredibly fast-developing Category 5 hurricane hit Acapulco. Images of devastation in Israel and Gaza fill our television screens. War continues in Ukraine. Sometimes the bad news seems overwhelming. And yet, as I write this, I look out the window and see the beauty of God’s creation as geese fly across a cloudless blue sky above the colorful trees of autumn. I remember that God is with us and will not abandon us, no matter what happens. God is Love, and Love has the final say. In the end, Love will win. Let us continue to pray for peace and an end to violence and war and for a solution to the climate crisis. And let us hold fast to Paul’s words in his letter to the Romans: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
Today, one of our members received a text message supposedly from me, requesting them to purchase gift cards for me. THIS WAS A COMPLETE SCAM. Fortunately, she contacted me before making the purchase. Telephone and online scams are prevalent and sophisticated these days, aided by computer technologies. Please be cautious in responding to emails or texts that don’t sound right, ask for a favor, or ask you to “email me back when you get this,” especially without reason or context. If it doesn’t sound like me, it may not be! If it’s not coming from my phone number or from my pastor or personal email, it may be a “phishing” expedition. WHEN IN DOUBT, PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY, using my email or cell number. Below is a notice the diocese sent out after I alerted them to this incident. The link provides helpful guidelines. Rev. Sharon From the diocese: One of our parishes has reported that a member received the classic gift card scam via a text message purporting to be from their clergy. Please continue to treat ALL requests to buy gift cards - or make any other type of financial transaction - with suspicion, and block the phone number or email of any identified scam. These guidelines for email scams also hold for text scams: https://dioceseofnewark.org/geeks/whaling-email-attacks-how-foil-them Dear St. John’s,
The news from the Middle East this past week has been heartrending. Families slaughtered, homes bombed, hostages taken. Between Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza, more than 3,000 people reportedly have been killed. The United Nations reports that ten times that many have been displaced. The atrocities and ongoing conflict and growing humanitarian crisis spark tears and anger. How should we respond? How can we make a difference? Today, I called a local rabbi and asked how we could offer support. He spoke of the importance of recognizing each other’s humanity. Of teaching love not hate. His message was exactly the kind of words that the Rabbi we follow spoke 2,000 years ago, when he told us to love our neighbors. He also urged us to contact any Jewish friends we have to ask how they are doing and let them know we support them. I encourage you to follow his advice and to continue to pray for peace to the one who created and loves us all. I conclude with a prayer from another rabbi that a friend posted on Facebook, along with a beautiful photograph of three young boys representing the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – standing shoulder to shoulder on a balcony in Jerusalem. May such images of peace soon replace those of war now filling our screens. Rev. Sharon Two peoples, one land, Three faiths, one root, One earth, one mother, One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny, One broken heart, One God. We pray to You: Grant us a vision of unity. May we see the many in the one and the one in the many. May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences Help us to see clearly. Guide us gently and firmly toward each other, Toward peace. Amen. Rabbi Sheila Weinberg Jewish Community of Amherst, Amherst, MA P.S. -- Don't forget to bring food this Sunday to donate to the local food pantry. This Sunday also is the last day to donate scratch-off lottery tickets for the Oct. 22 tricky tray. Dear St. John’s,
I hope you all will be able to come on Sunday to hear Peeka Trenkle preach at the Morning Prayer service at 10:30 a.m. as we complete our observance of Creation Season. Some of you may know Peeka as a member of Church of the Saviour in Denville and a participant in the Got Faith! program. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She is a licensed preacher in the Diocese of Newark, and her preaching centers around Creation Care. I am taking some time off through next Tuesday. I am, however, still available to respond to pastoral emergencies during this time. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s, One of the great joys of life is sharing this planet with so many other creatures, from majestic tigers and elephants to tiny beetles and butterflies. Many of us share our homes with beloved companion animals. And many of us attract and provide for birds and butterflies and bees with our feeders and gardens. This Sunday, we will continue our celebration of the Creation Season with a blessing of animals. I invite you to bring your pets to church to receive a blessing. You also may bring a photograph or picture on a cell phone of your pet, or a beloved stuffed animal. Let us give thanks for the multitude of inhabitants of God’s creation, and the glimpses of God we see in them. Rev. Sharon A Reading attributed to Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature — even a caterpillar — I would never have to prepare a sermon, so full of God is every creature. Dear St. John’s, Yesterday was the feast day of St. Matthew the Evangelist. Our church is named after St. John the Evangelist. We know them as the credited authors of two of the Gospels, the written accounts of the Good News of Jesus’ life and ministry, death and resurrection. Those accounts have helped to spread and build faith throughout the world for almost 2,000 years. As baptized Christians, we are called to carry on the evangelists’ work of sharing God’s Good News. One way to do this is to share stories of our faith. To help us learn how to do this, or to do it better, the diocese is offering a workshop called “This is My Story: Learning to Share Our Faith Stories” from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, at St. Elizabeth’s, Ridgewood. I hope you will consider attending as a step toward deepening your own faith and sharing it with others. Here is the link for more information: https://dioceseofnewark.org/.../my-story-learning-share... Rev. Sharon |
AuthorSArticles are posted by the Communication team, Rev. Sharon and others. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|