Apalachicola, Florida.......................................................July 10, 2020
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Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia
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Dear Friends in Christ,
When the altar is adorned in green and the priest is wearing green vestments, you can be sure we are in what the Church calls “Ordinary Time.”
This “time” feels anything but ordinary to me. It is downright extra ordinary!
This is not the first time that society has been in this type of situation and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Just look at the life of the father of monasticism, Saint Benedict of Nursia.
Benedict was born in 480 and witnessed the breakdown of Western Society, political instability, licentiousness, and the beginning of a barbarian regime. In the year 500, as a 20-year-old student in Rome, St. Benedict found a lifestyle and society that disgusted him. Fed up with life in Rome, he decided to depart for somewhere far away from the city. He eventually settled in a cave near Lake Subiaco some 40 miles from Rome. There
,
Benedict met a monk named Romanus whose monastery was on the mountain near the cave. Romanus gave Benedict his habit and some spiritual advice. Presently, Benedict either shared the cave with another monk or his male nurse and gradually a community gathered there in or near the cave above Lake Subiaco
.
Benedict was never ordained, nor did he desire to become the father of monasticism; he just wanted to get away.
Benedict was never a pious monk: he sort of made discipleship up as he went along; yet he had a quiet confidence that God would care for and make order out of both his and our lives. Again, he just wanted peace and quiet and to leave far behind the craziness of Roman life. Evidently God had other plans for him because soon a steady stream of visitors came to see him and before long, Benedict realized God visits us as the guest.
The
"Rule of Saint Benedict"
(73 short chapters on how to live as a monk under an abbot) is now 15 centuries old and I think can be summed up in these words:
“Peace, pray, and work.”
A Benedictine usually prayed for four hours, read sacred texts for five, worked for six hours, slept for eight, and ate for one. In chapter 53, Benedict teaches that all guests are to be received as Christ. In the Anglican Communion, many religious orders are influenced by his
Rule
and when I go on retreat at a Benedictine monastery, there is always one room left vacant, just in case an unexpected guest might drop in.
In these crazy times, can you relate to the 20-year-old Benedict? Don’t you just want to get away from all that is going on? Look at the political instability; a virus that won’t let up; race relations that are strained; and, many who have a reckless disregard for the health of others. Like Benedict, somedays I’d like to go sit in a cave until all of this passes us by. But, like Benedict, you and I cannot hide from our Incarnational God. I truly believe the incarnate Jesus came by Benedict’s cave in the form of a visitor, a guest, like the three men that Abraham entertained. It was not an intrusion but a gift that changed both Benedict and the world. Benedict’s life was continually interrupted by visitors to whom he would give the same amount of time and love as the Lord had given him.
Like the young Benedict, many of us in this modern society would like to have some peace of mind, self-protection, privacy, and, as a society, we tend to lean toward suspicion rather than openness. These are the ingredients for the same type of barbarism that we fear, and from which St. Benedict fled.
In the readings for this day (Luke 14:27-33), we are told that each disciple must count the cost of following Christ. Benedict finally accepted that full participation in the life of Christ meant being a host to Christ in every person whom he encountered. The cost for Benedict and for us during this "Great Pause", and forever, is to accept Christ’s incarnation in everyone we meet. When we accept Christ’s invitation to grow more and more into his likeness, then we become Christlike to others. Then, there is no cost; there is only reward. Surrendering to Christ frees us to be Christ to others and others to be Christ to us.
I had hoped that this shutdown would be healthy, hallowed, holy time, but now I have had enough isolation and sometimes it feels like hollow time. If you feel like I do, then please don’t give up on Christ and don’t give up on the world. Through God’s grace, we can leave our spiritual doors open and be prepared to let Christ visit us in our caves. I just hope it doesn’t take three years!
I am yearning for the day when Christ surprises me in my cave and pray I will entertain him as he blesses me with his presence. I am eager to soak it in, for I know I have the desire and, right now, the time. If you are feeling like this, I pray our Lord surprises and blesses you too.
Until then, my prayer for all of us comes from the chorus of hymn 602:
“Jesu, Jesu,
Fill us with your love,
Show us how to serve,
The neighbors we have from you.”
Wishing you a holy “Ordinary Time,” I am your Servant and His,
Eric+
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Readings for Sunday,
July 12, 2020
, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Readings for Sunday,
July 19, 2020
, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
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Weekend Worship on Trinity's Steps
Join us on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 10 am for outdoor worship services from the steps of Trinity.
Please bring your favorite outdoor chairs; we will have some chairs available for those who cannot bring their own.
If it is raining at the time of the worship service, that service will be cancelled. Eric will record each week's service, available for viewing on Sunday - via "From the Rector" email, on
Trinity's website
, and on
Trinity's Facebook page
.
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(Click on the image above to enjoy "America, the Beautiful", played by
Martha Gherardi during Trinity's Worship Service on the Fourth of July.)
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Mending the Cracks in our
Societal Foundation
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Have you ever inherited an heirloom that was damaged? My friend Sarah+ and I were talking the other night about how our society is responding to the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. She said that our society is like the person who inherits the ancestral home; a house that has both a history and defects.
My first home was built in 1825…there were no 90-degree angles at the corners, no level floors, and the foundation was made of fieldstone which was in need of immediate repair. My wife Linda loved that house and my children call it there “ancestral home”; they, too, loved it because it was where they grew up. When the house was sold after Linda’s death, the real estate agent pointed out all of the things that I had not been able to repair. The new buyer inherited our legacy, our history, and our home’s defects.
Our modern society has inherited the American ancestral home, with all of its glorious and life-giving moments, but also all of its defects. The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation are like the defects I had to address in my first home. In order for that home to remain standing and become stronger and safer, its defects had to be addressed. If we wish to permit our society to grow stronger and safer, then we must address the cracks in our societal foundation.
With that in mind, a group of parishioners began to think how we can begin to mend the cracks here in Apalachicola and Franklin County. As Episcopalians, they naturally turned to our sacred Book of Common Prayer and our Baptismal Covenant found on pages 304-305. There they found the words we recite at least five times a year (All Saints’ Day, The Baptism of Our Lord, The Great Vigil of Easter, Pentecost, and at the annual Episcopal visitation),
“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
With those words weighing on their hearts and souls, they approached the Vestry in order to approve a banner with those words on it, to be hung on the 6
th
Street side of the church building. Last week, to see how it looks, it was suspended from the side of the church for 24 hours. Within that period of time, I had more than a few folks who either knocked on the door to say thank you, or who drove by the rectory giving a thumbs up, or who walked by taking pictures and saying, “thank you Trinity Church!” After it was taken down in order to install a more permanent anchoring system, many came by fearing it would disappear forever. I assured them that it would reappear shortly.
To those who allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to their hearts and to those
on the Vestry who approved this balm in Gilead as the first step toward
healing the cracks in our societal foundation, I say God bless and thank you.
Who would have ever thought the Episcopal Church knew how to evangelize?
Eric+
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A Brief Update from Your Finance Committee --
It has been a while since I reported to the congregation on behalf of the Finance Committee. In the meantime, Eric, as Priest, and Kirk, as Treasurer, have provided timely updates on the overall financial status. We have just received the financials for the end of June and, all things considered, we are doing okay.
I do wish to report that the Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 15. We have asked Committee Chairs to share financial needs through the end of December so that the Finance Committee can make reasonable estimates necessary to get us through the remainder of the fiscal year.
On behalf of the Finance Committee, I’ll report the outcomes of that meeting in a subsequent issue of the
Bay View
.
Blessings and be safe -- Ralph
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In Case of an Emergency....
Many of us do not have family members in the immediate area, and in these COVID-19 days, we are isolated from regular contact with neighbors.
In an emergency, your Trinity family wants to be of assistance.
If you would like t0 keep your emergency contact information on file at Trinity, just print and complete this
form
, then return it to Shannon in the office.
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Scout Pack 347 Making & Selling Face Masks
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Because of Covid-19, Cub Scout Pack 347's fundraising efforts have come to
a halt.They've decided to go with the situation and make & sell face masks. Each one is double layered - cotton on the outside and flannel on the inside.
Many designs to choose from.
They are $10 each proceeds benefit Pack 347.
Trinity has long been a major supporter of this active Scout group.
To order yours, call Abby Cozine at 850-340-0960
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Sunday Services are 8 am & 10:30 am, Eastern time
Church address: 79 6th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Office address: 76 5th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Mailing address: PO Box 667, Apalachicola, Florida 32329
Phone number: (850) 653-9550
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