Dear People of St. James’:
One of the beautiful things about being part of a multicultural and multilingual church community is that we have marvelous companions for this spiritual journey who have so much to teach us. We are coming to the end of Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month on October 15, but the opportunities for transformation through the continuing practices of encounter do not stop and must not stop as we walk together.
Here are some tangible ways to make the practice of being companions for this spiritual journey a reality over the coming months:
- Go to the 1 pm service. Stay for Coffee Hour.
- Ask someone from the 1 pm about the Caminando con Cristo Retiro (Walking with Christ Retreat) that St. James’ will host for about 100 people from Latino ministries from the Austin area this Saturday, October 12. Hear their story.
- Work side-by-side on our Parish Workday to get things done for the common good on October 19.
- Spend some time with the altar or ofrenda for el Día de los Muertos (All Souls Day) in the narthex to remember and honor those who have gone before us. The Mexic-Arte Museum’s Viva La Vida! Festival and Parade is on Saturday, October 26. The service of remembrance will be on Saturday, November 2, at 7 pm.
- Pray for those who do not have the right to vote because of their immigration status in the coming election. Listen to their hopes.
- Pray for those whose life and livelihoods are dependent on executive orders and the courts. Listen to their hopes.
- Pray for families who fear separation. Listen to their hopes.
- Pray for families who have suffered separation. Listen to their hopes.
- When you read and interpret scripture or do theology, consider who your thought partners are. Here is a great reading list.
- Celebrate Thanksgiving together. St. James’ will have a bilingual Thanksgiving Day service on November 28. There is something subversive in celebrating this particular national holiday in a way that acknowledges the tragedy of colonization for indigenous peoples. This aligns our work of thanksgiving with the paths of repentance to which we are called to walk together.
- Learn about the different Marian traditions and observances celebrated in December.
- In late December, join in with Las Posadas, a tradition that explores the searching of the holy family for a safe place where the Christ child might be born.
This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea, right? Just as the people of St. James’ seek to celebrate and honor Black history all year round, let us not forget the opportunities we have to make gospel work happen together by being brothers and sisters, siblings in Christ to one another, in spite of the boundaries of language and culture and story. Those boundaries are permeable thanks to the blessing of our shared humanity, and it is in those boundary spaces, at the fronteras, that we encounter God’s transforming Spirit.
Rev. Eileen
