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Of course, I don’t really believe that it was their hair, but rather their hearts, that the Holy Spirit set ablaze that day. After seven weeks of living in the shadows, afraid to be seen or heard by much of anyone, the apostles were suddenly on fire with the desire to share the Good News about the friend and fellow Galilean whom they’d come to know as the Face of God.
Read Sharon’s entire reflection on Pentecost by clicking “Read More.”
St. Mary’s Women’s Retreat—Spring 2023
Brave and Bold Biblical Women and What They Teach Us
Saturday, June 3, 10 AM to 3 PM
(Gather as early at 9:30 AM; Optional no-host dinner follows at the Public House in Springfield)
Eugene Yacht Club, Fern Ridge Reservoir
Click “Read More” for details and a link to register.
I encourage you to celebrate Easter as profoundly as you embrace Lent. It is quite common to take on a Lenten practice or two. These practices in Lent help us to fulfill the invitation at Ash Wednesday to observe Lent “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” These practices are wonderful; I have been spiritually nourished by them over the years. I wonder sometimes, though, if we should consider adopting Easter practices. Not practices of fasting, but of feasting. Not practices of asceticism, but practices of flourishing. Not practices of inward self-examination, but ones that make us look outward, reaching out to one another, connecting and deepening relationships, seeking new life through Christ’s resurrection.
Read Bingham’s entire reflection by clicking “Read More.”
Lent is upon us. The forty days of Lent are modeled on the Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, preparing himself for ministry. We take these 40 days to prepare ourselves for the central moment of our faith: Easter. Early in the life of the Church, Christians would set aside this time before Easter to prepare themselves with acts of fasting, charity, prayer, and study. In other words, to work on their “holy habits.”
To read Bingham’s entire reflection, click “Read More.”
With God’s help, St. Mary’s Anti-Racism Committee will lead the parish in anti-racist education and awareness-raising. We will work on transforming knowledge gained into concrete action and strengthening of relationships.
Please click “Read More'“ to read the Vestry’s entire write up on our new Anti Racism Committee.
Inviting Children and Youth Around the Altar at the Eucharist
For decades, at our 9:30 a.m. Sunday service, we have invited children and and youth to come up around the altar for the Eucharistic prayer. The COVID pandemic put a stop to this practice. Some of you may have forgotten, and others may have never experienced this practice. The reasons we invite children and youth to come forward around the altar are multiple:
Click “Read More” to read the rest of this article.
Love in Action - An Outreach Luncheon series
Sunday, January 22, in Berktold Hall. Lunch is served at 12:15 PM. Presentation starts at 12:30 PM.
This month, join us to learn more about Community Supported Shelters. If you’ve been unsheltered for years, have experienced trauma, or are struggling with mental and emotional health issues, simply getting along with others can be a significant challenge.
Read more about this event by clicking “Read More.”
At a recent gathering of clergy, we were asked the following question: What time of day is it for your community? One person said that it felt like it was five minutes before midnight. Another said it was five minutes after midnight. One person said it was high noon. My response was dawn. Here’s why.
The Vestry has been reflecting on quotes from John Phillip Newell’s text, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul at each meeting this year. It has been a joy to start our meetings reflecting on his words. The quotes that were shared with us for the September and October meetings invite us to search and see the holy in each other as well as in nature. These reminders have been helpful as we continue to live in the liminal space that is this season of “next normal.” There is a bit of trepidation as we wonder what is around the corner and how to best love our neighbors, but as Newell so gently reminds us, “There is hope. And it is a hope based on our deepest knowing, that every human being is sacred, body and soul.” It’s that hope the Vestry carries as we keep working to identify and meet the needs of our church community.
Read the Vestry’s entire report by clicking “Read More.”
Christians have gotten mixed messages about bodies. On the one hand, St. Paul has told us that our body is a temple. On the other hand, he has said, “Nothing good dwells within my flesh.” For many of us, the second message has been emphasized, and not the first. Using breath work and movement as embodied prayer, as well as poetry, Visio Divina, and small-group sharing, we will explore what it means to be a sacred body in a community of other embodied sacred persons living in an embodied and sacred cosmos.
Read about this four-week offering by clicking “Read More.”
The Vestry has decided that starting on Sunday, September 11th, our 9:30 service and its activities will become mask optional. This change is due to now universal vaccine eligibility. Everyone 6 months and older who wants to be vaccinated can finally access the vaccine. The last group to become eligible was the under-5s, who could get their first dose in mid-June. Depending on how quickly families were able to get that first dose and which vaccine they received, children in this age group started to become fully vaccinated in early August, with many more coming up to full vaccination throughout August and September.
Please click “Read More” to read the entire update on our Covid policies.
Since returning to the sanctuary for worship services, many parishioners have commented on the sound of our organ. Several have spoken to our Music Director and Organist, John Jantzi, and have asked if something has changed. Your ears do not deceive you! During the first two years of the pandemic, the sanctuary was not as heavily used, offering a unique opportunity to renovate the organ.
To read the entire article about our organ renovation, click “Read More.”
This spring has felt like a season of hybridity, or like a continual lesson in how to occupy the both-and situations that characterize much of our reality right now. Our reflection that began our May Vestry meeting focused on the dual nature of our existence as people of joy and resurrection enmeshed in a world of sorrow. In a passage from Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, John Phillip Newell encourages us to embrace tears not as a sign of emotional weakness but as a way of cleansing our inner sight. He writes that we should not hide or be ashamed of tears but should instead recognize their power to reveal the “glistening of heaven in earth” and to help us feel “more deeply within us the current of life’s sorrows.”
As I look forward to this next year and all the continued growth and expansion it offers, I am excited, humbled, and proud to be a part of this amazing community. I am truly blessed by the supportive team of clergy and staff, and all of you who show me your genuine care.
Read Ryan’s entire reflection by clicking “Read More.”
