Beloved Community,

This window, one of two depicting the Gospel story of Jesus' baptism, has come to have special meaning to me in the months that I have been your rec tor.  I see it quite clearly from where I sit during worship and have noticed that often it captures my attention during the reading of the lessons.  When it does, I am reminded that all that we are and all that we do is summed up in our baptism, when we are reminded that we are God's children and with us God is well pleased.  It reminds me of the beautifully challenging understanding we have of "the ministry of the baptized."  It raises questions for me about how it is that we understand baptism as both the affirmation that with us God is well pleased and how it is we live our lives differently once we have been "welcomed into the household of God."

One of the ways I do that as your rector is encouraging you to go deeper into your faith, in all sorts of ways.  We are an active parish, no doubt, as the "Living Our Faith" bulletin board display highlights.  Since I've joined you in ministry we've talked a lot about these ministries.  And those conversations will continue, as we continue to ask the Holy Spirit to enliven, embolden, and empower us to do the work God has and will give us to do.  This is one of the ways we will journey deeper into the heart of God.

Another way, one that we talked about during the search process and we've just begun to explore, is what is often called "faith formation."  At our Annual Meeting in February we began this part of our journey with our discussion about how we answer the call to use the gifts God has given us in the parish, the community, and the world.  Our Lenten series, the discussion of the parables, is another way we are exploring our faith and how it informs our lives.  Beginning in May we will have two new opportunities, and I hope you will find a way to join us for one or both of them.

On the first Sunday of the month, beginning May 5th (taking a break in August) , we will have "Reading with the Rector."  From 11:30 am to 12:45 pm, we will gather for a book discussion.  The book we will discuss in May is Henri Nouwen's Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World.  This book is easy to read and was life-changing for me, helping me to understand that being beloved of God is both a state of being and of becoming.  It is one of those I return to from time-to-time because I always learn something new.  

Beginning May 16th from 7:00 to 9:30 pm, we are hosting "Third Thursday Theater," an opportunity to view a documentary about a relevant issue of our time, followed by a bit of discussion.  Again we will be taking a break in August, following a July 18th "family friendly" picnic and movie (from 6:00 pmto 8:00 pm) featuring the film "He Named Me Malala" about Malala Yousafzai.

All of the information about Reading with the Rector and Third Thursday Theater will be posted on our website.  It has already been posted on the St. Stephen's calendar, so check it out for information about the books and the films we will be discussing.  Both of these offerings will be open to the wider community.

Finally, I invite all of you to think and pray about how it is that we might do more to welcome the children of the parish and, potentially, from the community into the life of the parish.  From faith formation (including, but not limited to, Sunday School) to worship to fellowship, celebrating the youngest among us is essential to our life together.  It's often said that "children are the future," though I think this is misleading.  For children to be the future, we need to include them in meaningful ways in the present, and that means creative Spirit-guided thinking about how to honor who they are and the lives they lead today, a challenge for those of us who remember the good ole days when all we had to do was open the doors on a Sunday morning.

Peace & Blessings,