Dear St. John's Community,
I recently heard someone allude to the fact that COVID has put the world into survival mode.
At St. John's, before COVID, we were in creation mode. We were exploring ways to build upon our strengths and the remarkable opportunities St. John's enjoys, when all of a sudden, like so many other institutions, we had to reinvent how we do just about everything. And on top of that, we have had a revolution arrive literally on our doorstep.
I am grateful that in recent weeks the pace has slowed just a bit, allowing us to move back into creation mode. I am seeing creativity and new inspiration bubbling back up into the system. Good new initiatives are starting to take shape, including the work of our Regathering Task Force and an in-depth initiative we will be doing to grow the fabric of our community while engaging the topic of race, based on a program from The Episcopal Church called "Sacred Ground."
For the next week and a half I will be taking a little vacation time with my family, but the efforts we've begun will continue by o
ur staff and lay leaders during this time.
I pray that we all will have a chance to get the restoration we need so that we'll be ready to do the exciting work God is calling us to do in the months ahead.
Thank you for your steady support and faithfulness throughout this entire period. I will leave you now with the words of one of my favorite collects from the Book of Common Prayer. It is a
collect for guidance:
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God's peace,
Rob+
