Dear People of St. James’,
I don’t know about you, but, as a kid, I always dreaded writing the “what I did on my summer vacation” essay. Admittedly, this is probably because I was a nerd. Some kids went to far off and glorious places. I did a lot of reading in the living room. Sometimes, I went to math camp.
However, as we wrap up this past summer at St. James’, I am inspired by all that we have done together over just a few months.
Here are some highlights:
We had the Rev. Dr. William Barber at our church, and we rallied for voting rights at the Capitol!
We supported the efforts of our 501(c)3 Welcome Table as they developed a new Strategic Plan, held the Freedom School summer program at Pecan Springs Elementary School, transitioned to a new on-campus model for Neighbor 2 Neighbor, and adopted the use of a donor management system which will contribute to the sustainability of these ministries.
We brought the evening service back in person at 5 pm.
We started live streaming three of our services every Sunday.
We hired Music Minister, HouFei Yang.
We welcomed new members to our congregation, many of whom found us online.
We grieved heavy losses together and found God’s presence in each other.
We hosted the Austin meeting for the annual diocesan Latino Lay Leadership Conference, gathering leaders from Proyecto Santiago, San Juan, and San Francisco.
We brought people together for conversations on On Juneteenth and the poetry of Pauli Murray, and we continued to support the ongoing work of One Human Race.
We went all out in celebration of Pauli Murray Sunday and raised more money for the Pauli Murray Scholarship.
We celebrated with Ora Houston as she received an honorary degree from the Seminary of the Southwest and with Lora Livingston as she was honored by the Union of Black Episcopalians.
We accompanied Lynn Osgood, who served with us as an Iona student, as she was ordained to the transitional diaconate. We saw The Rev. Lindsey Ardrey, who served with us, ordained to the priesthood in Louisiana.
Sarah Mast, one of our own sent to seminary, taught a summer theology class for the young adult group.
We brought our childcare workers back from furlough and reopened the nursery.
We brought back Vacation Bible School.
The youth group went on Camino.
We did Camp.
We sang.
We prayed daily.
We repaired broken things.
We got brave and started to give some serious consideration to how to deal with the $913,844 in debt that remains to us some 14 years after moving in at 1941 Webberville.
We planned for a fall kick-off midsurge.
It has been quite a summer. Maybe you feel refreshed, or maybe you still feel tired.
Today, I feel encouraged because, in spite of all of the doing of summer, it is clear to me that the hearts of the People of St. James’ continue to be responsive to God’s call to let the radical hospitality of God reshape our lives and our loves. So, I see you volunteering your time to resettle refugees and to get food to elders and families still facing scarcity. I hear you praying for the people of Haiti. You are on the phone consoling those who grieve. You are preparing classes to help minds and hearts reach beyond current limits to see anew. You are courageously allowing your mind and heart to ponder the gap between our current realities and the world for which God’s love longs, and wondering about how you participate in that gap. You are comforting children and parents anxious about school. You are refusing to give up on those with whom you disagree. You are letting your own heart heal so that you might be an instrument of the healing power of God.
I thank God for you, because I, limited human being that I am, cannot know or see or do all the things, but communion with you transforms my knowing and my seeing and my doing into something more loving toward others and more untiring and alive to God’s Spirit.
May you be blessed with the knowledge of God’s presence in your knowing, in your seeing, and in your doing. And, even in this season, may you find rest and peace. God is with us! Here we find new life.
Rev. Eileen