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Lent - God Caring for the World in the Wilderness

Making a Gift of This Time

Dear People of St. Martin's,

Last night our Vestry met via Zoom. It was a good - not the same as being with each other in person, but making the best of this situation. I was grateful for people's good spirits and the work we continue to carry out, as well as the understanding for things we cannot do right now.

The night before we had a St. Martin's School meeting, also via Zoom. It was reported that a family of the school had asked if they cold be relieved of paying tuition since school is not in session. After considerate conversation, one board member said, "I think we need to communicate honestly that if our income stops now there probably won't be a school to come back to when this is all over. We have to ask our families to help us make it through." The same is true for the church. We continue to pay our staff and care for our buildings so that there will be a St. Martin's to come back to when this is over. Your continued financial support, as well as personal encouragement and prayer are as crucial now as ever.

And if you are among those who will inevitably be laid off or curtailed during this time, let us know how we can help. Can we shop for each other, or provide transportation to the doctor? How can we help?

While it is being talked about each day, no one knows when we will be able to return to our houses of worship. Yesterday, our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Curry said we need to consider the strong possibility we will not be able to gather for Holy Week or Easter. That is not a decision that has been made yet, but the possibility has prompted thinking about what is possible in the midst of other things that are not possible right now.

Below I will share with you some of the online resources for prayer, study and worship that I have appreciated over the years. There are countless others and if you have a favorite, send me the information and we can share ideas.

I'm also thinking about picking up the book study of Fr. Samuel Well's book, "Hanging by a Thread: Questions of the Cross." We got off to a good start at the beginning of Lent and can easily continue when all this is over. But as so many schools are shifting to online classes right now, I've begun to wonder if we might do an online adult class each week? Let me know what you think, if you'd be interested.

We also plan to continue to offer a weekly reflection on one of the scripture readings for Sunday. Last week we put the homily on Facebook, YouTube and our own website. My hope is that when this is over we will be able to take what we learn now and apply it to broadcasting our regular Sunday morning Mass, being all the more mindful of those who cannot make it to 1350 Washington Valley Road on any given Sunday.

Thank you for who and how you are. Continue to look out for and to take care of one another, and this Lent may you each find unexpected angels ministering to you now as Jesus did in the wilderness.

Yours in Christ,
Tim+

Praying the Daily Office -
The Mission of St. Clare
is an ecumenical website offering Morning and Evening Prayer using The Book of Common Prayer. The Mission was named for St. Clare because (at the time 20 year ago) no one had designated a patron of the Internet and she was already patron of television. No official body was involved in elevating St. Clare to patron of the Internet because, really, who would you ask?

If you go to www. missionstclare.com, you will find morning and evening prayer in a format that allows you to read as much of the assigned scripture and prayers as you want and also has a variety of styles of music interspersed.
Trinity Wall Street (trinitywallstreet.org)
in lower Manhattan is, like St. Martin's, currently without a permanent rector. Despite that, every Sunday at 11:15 a.m. they have been live-streaming their worship for years. The church has a history of being deeply engaged in caring for the poor and powerless. They have an amazing music program. The clergy on their staff provide a variety of faith perspectives, but are all exceptional preachers. Tune in one Sunday morning and be blessed!
St. Thomas in New York
(saintthomaschurch.org)

OK, I admit I'm biased. We named our first child, in part, after this church because of its music program. When he was an infant, I carried Thomas in my arms up the middle aisle of this church and told him I thought it would be neat if he would go to choir school here some day. He didn't do that, but as an incredible tenor in New York these days he has sung with the choir at Mass. St. Thomas still uses the 1662 Prayer Book for much of their liturgy. They are now broadcasting mid-week Noon services as well as their Sunday morning Mass and evensong several times each week. If you are one of those who connects with God though the beauty and mystery of the art of music, this is one of the gifts to the world.
(episcopal cafe.com). This website offers everything from Episcopal news, to meditations, to artwork, to podcasts, to editorials. For years it has been a virtual gathering place, not unlike the Starbucks for Episcopalians.
Many of you know Jon Meacham as one of the best living historians of our age. You may not have known what a committed Episcopalian he is. Jon has just released this book of Jesus' last words from the cross. I'm using it as a daily devotional these days. You can get it form Amazon. One gift is when he asks when the Christian Church started and suggests it may have been when Jesus asked from the cross that his beloved disciple to take care of his mother. Taking care of one another is the work of the church, then and now.
Hanging by a Thread
Samuel Wells suggests that for too long too many of us have wanted a God who acts" for" us. Wells points out some of the problems with that approach to God. Nowhere has this concept been more problematic than supposing that God would seek a payment for the sins of the world that would necessitate the death of his own son. In place of the various notions of "substitutionary atonement," Wells suggests that God "with" us through anything that can happen to us or this world, is a much different way to consider God's love, power and presence. It turns much of what we have usually assumed we just had to accept on its head. This is a very short book, but if you read it, you may spend the rest of your life thinking about it.
You Can Still Pray at St. Martin's
Even though the building is closed for common worship at the moment, you are still invited and encouraged to walk and pray your way through the beautiful outdoor labyrinth behind the parking lot. It is a peaceful oasis and it beckons you.
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
1350 Washington Valley Road,
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
www.stmartinsnj.org

Call Us: 908-526-1350