Satisfied in God's Love
I’ve been reading the Minor Prophets during my morning prayer time. I’ve been reading them, not with the intention of study but as an aid to prayer. That said I did find it interesting that the book of Joel is very difficult to date. The book can be assigned a date anywhere from 800 to 300 BCE. That is a five hundred year time span. That is a lot of time – maybe even long enough for it to be relevant today.
Joel, like most of the prophets, imagines a time when the people are in peril. A foreign nation, like a plague of locust, has invaded God’s land, and the land and its people are laid waste. Joel’s call to God’s people is for repentance and prayer. “Who knows,” the prophet says, “whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him.”
The point of the prophet’s words is, always, that God’s love for the people of God is everlasting and that in the end God will save the people. It is good to begin the day reminded of God’s love in the midst of what it takes to be a leader in the church. Clergy and laity alike work hard to be the people of God in their context and it is often challenging work. I would invite you be people of prayer and to remember the prophets who call us to know and to love the Lord. In the words of Joel, “I am sending you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied.”
Blessings on the journey,
+Michael
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The 129th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Oregon
Preparations are underway for the 2017 Diocesan Convention, which will take place October 27 - 28 at the Salem Convention Center. We are excited to announce that our keynote speaker will be the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Upcoming deadlines:
June 29: Nominations for positions in diocesan governance are due. Open position descriptions and the nomination form are on our Convention page.
July 29: Proposed Resolutions of Policy are due. Guidelines are on our Convention page.
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Congregation Close-up: St. Luke, Grants Pass
By church size theory, St. Luke’s is between a “Family Church” and a “Pastoral Church.” It has the aging parishioner demographic typical of churches outside metropolitan areas and is between permanent rectors. Nevertheless, it sustains many ministries, including the largest Daughters of the King chapter in the Diocese of Oregon, an accomplished choir, a superb altar guild, volunteer “Gardening Angels” who maintain the landscape and grounds, a bi-weekly men’s breakfast, a lay ministry supporting pastoral care, an outreach program providing food, clothing and school supplies to a disadvantaged rural community, meeting space for ten self-help groups, other outreach programs and parish ministries and a collection of cherished worship and community traditions.
It is the kind of caring, supportive community that churches aspire to be, as evidenced by the quilt ministry conducted by the parish’s Needle and Thread sewing group. Over the past six years, over forty beautifully fashioned hand-made quilts have been provided to parishioners and others with some connection to the church. These “blankets of love,’ each uniquely designed to reflect the life and interests of the recipient, are given to those who have suffered a personal loss or a major illness and also to college students and others who are leaving the parish because of a change in their lives.
Each quilt is blessed at a Sunday service and displayed afterward so that people can add their personal prayers while admiring it. Then each quilt is given to the person for whom it was made, carrying with it the prayers and blessings of the people of St. Luke’s.
Quilting is a major hobby activity in many areas, certainly as much in southern Oregon as anywhere. At St. Luke’s, it serves as an outlet for creativity and an opportunity for social contact, but it is also a tangible and lasting manifestation of Christian love.
Visit the St. Luke's website.
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Upcoming diocesan and church events:
Safe Church Trainings: May 13, St. Mark, Medford; May 20, St. Mary, Eugene; June 10, St. Paul, Salem; June 17, St. David of Wales, Portland.
The Story of David: a one hour dramatic telling of the powerful stories from the Books of Samuel and many of the Psalms. All Saints, Hillsboro. May 15, 7 pm.
Godly Play Core Training: three-day training on the fundamentals of facilitating Godly Play sessions for children. All Saints, Hillsboro. May 19 - 21.
Crozier Memorial Organ Concert: featuring David Higgs, this concert will include an original piece commissioned by Trinity Music. Trinity Cathedral. May 19, 7 pm.
Bon Voyage Concert: the Trinity Cathedral Choir of Girls, Boys, and Adults sing to raise funds for a summer tour of Paris and London. Trinity Cathedral. May 21, 5 pm.
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Today in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer:
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Lincoln City: St. James.
Chris Hertlein, rector; Kristina Burbank, deacon.
PRAY for spiritual renewal and parish growth; pray for our Community meal
Program and for guidance in responding to the needs of the hungry and
homeless.
Manzanita/Nehalem: St. Catherine of Alexandria.
Patricia Steagall, vicar;
Ann Fontaine
PRAY for a clear vision of our mission and ministry.
McMinnville: St. Barnabas.
Stephen Rodgers, priest-
in-charge.
PRAY we come to worship God, to be filled with His Spirit; living in
community as a constant reflection of the Love and Presence of God in a
hurting world.
Click here for the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.
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Events and Notices
Bishop Michael's Visitation Schedule:
St. Luke, Grants Pass: May 14
St. Martin, Shady Cove: May 14
Emmanuel, Coos Bay: May 21
St. Mary, Gardiner: May 21
Dear colleagues in Latino ministries in the Diocese of Oregon:
Given the current administration’s escalated enforcement around immigration issues, many of us find ourselves looking at ways to provide effective pastoral support for the Latino-Hispanic members of our congregations. Even if our communities are not (yet) affected by detention and deportation, the level of uncertainty and fear surely calls for a faithful and congruent pastoral support from our churches, and from our diocese.
Recognizing the value in shared resources and common strategies around situations that face us all, the Commission to End Racism and our Diocesan Leadership for Hispanic Ministries cordially invite you to participate in a strategic planning meeting to share needs and resources around pastoral support for our Latino-Hispanic congregations.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 17th at 11:00 AM at the Bishop’s Close. We will also have remote participation available for those of you not in the metro area who would like to participate.
Our agenda will be as follows:
1. We will share our experience of the realities and needs around immigration enforcement as we see them within our own Latino-Hispanic congregations
2. We will share strategies, resources and approaches in mobilizing for pastoral support
3. As time permits, we may be able to identify common strategies that can be shared and organized collaboratively throughout the diocese.
Please RSVP (Vicarstcatherines@gmail.com) in order to plan effectively for our gathering. Thank you for your faithful ministry in working with our Latino-Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ!
Blessings in Christ,
Patricia Steagall+
Clergy Transitions
Welcome to Rev. Doug Scott, new 1/2 interim vicar at St. Luke, Gresham.
Thank you to Rev. Albie Hazen, retiring as vicar of St. James, Coquille.
Congratulations
and thanks to Rev. Brad Toebben, leaving as Assistant Rector of St. Mary, Eugene, to become rector of St. Paul, Milwaukee.
Welcome to Rev. Judith Jones, new vicar at St. Stephen, Newport, and St. Luke, Waldport.
Thank you to Rev. Peter Fones for his service as interim vicar at St. Stephen, Newport, and St. Luke, Waldport.
Thank you to Rev. Dn. Linda Goertz for her service at St. David of Wales, Portland.
Upcoming Ordinations
Jonathan Kale Gavin Shumate will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests on June 1 at 5 pm, St. Stephen, Newport.
Brendan John Barnicle, Timothy Robert Hannon, Maria Gwyn McDowell, and Andrew Michael McQuery will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons on June 20 at 2 pm, Trinity Cathedral, Portland.
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Word of the Week
Whether you're a cradle Episcopalian or just walked through the red doors yesterday, chances are you've encountered some of the special vocabulary specific to our faith and wondered, what does that mean?
Check out previous Word of the Week entries and other photos on our
Instagram
account.
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