The deadlines for the bulletin have all been moved up this season so I write these words on the day before Christmas Eve, with a sense of anticipation and light. The big tree in the church, as of now, has yet to be decorated; when it’s lit, especially in the dark church, it’s a magnificent sight. Every year a member of our parish donates this tree to us, so we are grateful.
We are now in a new year, we celebrate this weekend the Epiphany of the Lord which tells the story of the arrival of the magi from the east. They come to pay homage to the newborn Christ child, and already within the story there is the shadow of a threat, as Herod is suspicious of their asking about a newborn king, and responds with the massacre of all male children under the age of two. The Christ child from His birth will walk in the shadow of threat and death as he announces the good news of God’s kingdom of justice,
peace, mercy, and reconciliation, and He will go to the cross and die for that kingdom. In so many ways, the message of the Christ has always been and still is under threat, anytime we do not see and respond to the radical message of the gospel in our times.
A very fine book recommendation: “A Book of Uncommon Prayer:100 Celebrations of the Miracle and Muddle of the Ordinary” by Brian Doyle. The description on the back cover begins this way: “Prayers for cashiers and good shoes; for shorter sermons and better senators; prayers for the bruised, foolish, glorious, stumbling, brilliant Church; for chaplains and mathematicians; for idiot authors and muddy dogs..” The preface is titled, “Prayer for the Idiot Author That He Doesn’t Totally Punt in the Pages That Follow.” What I love about this book is that the 100 prayers are all about the everyday and ordinary, that they are not necessarily “proper” or pious, but are rooted in the everyday stuff and happenings of life. And isn’t that where God meets us?
Blessings on your week!
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column-April 21, 2019 (Happy Easter)
On behalf of all of us at St. Francis, we welcome you to our church as we celebrate the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection, the slow dawning upon the disciples of Jesus that the tomb was empty, that the tomb was not in fact the end of the story, but that God’s grace...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – April 14, 2019
We begin Holy Week, these profound days in which we follow Jesus as he shares a last meal with his friends, undergoes an agony in the garden as he awaits his fate, is put on trial and sentenced to death, is crucified on a lonely cross on a hill outside Jerusalem,...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – April 7, 2019
“On behalf of CPO, I want to thank the St. Francis Prayer Shawl Ministry for: 18 hats7 hats w/scarves9 fleece blankets3 smuggly w/hat (smuggly? Notsure quite what that is but itsounds comfortable!)1 knitted sweater11 crochet blankets1 blanket with sleeves and...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 31, 2019
Last Sunday, we had visitors at the 9:30 Mass from Temple Beth Or on Creedmoor Road. We welcomed them at Mass and then afterwards we met for about an hour and the group had questions about their experience. They wanted to know all kinds of things about what we...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 24, 2019
A few things this week…we continue with our 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal and we are about 40% on the way to our goal. There have been questions about whether any of the funds for the BAA are used for legal settlements related to clergy misconduct; the diocese...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 17, 2019
As we begin these days of Lent, we have seen some of the responses to the statement “Because I dare to believe in God, this Lent I am called to__________.” Some of them include: judge less, make time for silent prayer, pray for my enemies, care for the earth. I...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 10, 2019
Last Saturday, a group of 50 from our parish made a road trip to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, about 70 miles to the west of here. The museum is on the site of the Woolworth’s department store where, on February 1, 1960, four black college...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 3, 2019
This week is Ash Wednesday and so begins Lent, and you can find our Ash Wednesday schedule in the bulletin. I remember when I was growing up and the arrival of Lent was always a time to think about what we were called to give up: chocolate, desserts, movies, anything...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – February 24, 2019
Last weekend I was at Siena College near Albany for a regional gathering of friars of our province. We spent our time discussing different things, including an upcoming gathering of 400 friars from around the country in Denver in July, as six of...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – February 17, 2019
The week before last, I was in Florida for a gathering of friars from the six U.S. provinces of Franciscans who will be merging into a single U.S. province within the next few years. The gathering was a retreat of sorts, led by the noted...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column-April 21, 2019 (Happy Easter)
On behalf of all of us at St. Francis, we welcome you to our church as we celebrate the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection, the slow dawning upon the disciples of Jesus that the tomb was empty, that the tomb was not in fact the end of the story, but that God’s grace...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – April 14, 2019
We begin Holy Week, these profound days in which we follow Jesus as he shares a last meal with his friends, undergoes an agony in the garden as he awaits his fate, is put on trial and sentenced to death, is crucified on a lonely cross on a hill outside Jerusalem,...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – April 7, 2019
“On behalf of CPO, I want to thank the St. Francis Prayer Shawl Ministry for: 18 hats7 hats w/scarves9 fleece blankets3 smuggly w/hat (smuggly? Notsure quite what that is but itsounds comfortable!)1 knitted sweater11 crochet blankets1 blanket with sleeves and...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 31, 2019
Last Sunday, we had visitors at the 9:30 Mass from Temple Beth Or on Creedmoor Road. We welcomed them at Mass and then afterwards we met for about an hour and the group had questions about their experience. They wanted to know all kinds of things about what we...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 24, 2019
A few things this week…we continue with our 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal and we are about 40% on the way to our goal. There have been questions about whether any of the funds for the BAA are used for legal settlements related to clergy misconduct; the diocese...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 17, 2019
As we begin these days of Lent, we have seen some of the responses to the statement “Because I dare to believe in God, this Lent I am called to__________.” Some of them include: judge less, make time for silent prayer, pray for my enemies, care for the earth. I...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 10, 2019
Last Saturday, a group of 50 from our parish made a road trip to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, about 70 miles to the west of here. The museum is on the site of the Woolworth’s department store where, on February 1, 1960, four black college...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – March 3, 2019
This week is Ash Wednesday and so begins Lent, and you can find our Ash Wednesday schedule in the bulletin. I remember when I was growing up and the arrival of Lent was always a time to think about what we were called to give up: chocolate, desserts, movies, anything...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – February 24, 2019
Last weekend I was at Siena College near Albany for a regional gathering of friars of our province. We spent our time discussing different things, including an upcoming gathering of 400 friars from around the country in Denver in July, as six of...
St. Francis of Assisi Pastor’s Column – February 17, 2019
The week before last, I was in Florida for a gathering of friars from the six U.S. provinces of Franciscans who will be merging into a single U.S. province within the next few years. The gathering was a retreat of sorts, led by the noted...
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