Habits of Grace: An invitation for you,
from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
Hello. This past week I came across two passages, one from the Bible, one a poem. The one in the Bible, I was just reading through parts of Matthew’s gospel and was reading through the Sermon on the Mount and got to chapter seven where Jesus says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
In this time when we are all called to physically distance from each other, physical, not social, but physical isolation for the good of each other. I’m mindful of the words of Jesus when he said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Maybe that’s a frame for having to live in a time of physical isolation.
The other thing that I came across was a poem. It was in an email from Thistle Farms, a ministry that many of us know, led by Becca Stevens. It was a poem called Pandemic*. It’s by a poet named Lynn Ungar, who’s also an ordained minister, and in the poem she says:
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has become clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
Have a blessed week. God love you and keep the faith.
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All Sunday Worship Services are suspended
Gospel reading is John 11:1-45
We will be including our weekly bulletin in this newsletter weekly.
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Wednesday Evening Prayer is suspended
The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin
Gospel reading is Luke 1:26-38
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Contemplative Circle
May the long time sun shine upon you. What a blessing. We bless everybody. And all love surround you. Not of God only, but all. What an affirmation. And the pure light within you. Not your “light”, pure light is the radiant body, the soul. Soul is the direct descendant of the radiant body. Radiant body is the direct shield of the soul. Pure light within you.
And we don’t say follow me. We say guide your way on. Keep going. And we sing it. It gives us a feeling of our self. But sometime we should sing it within our self. Understand that you know all. When your adversity, you can laugh at and when your tragedy, you can bring into a humor and when you can excel, God is already sitting in you; there is no place else to find it.
The contemplative circle is entering the newness of the shared compassionate retreat (social isolation) that we all embrace and gathering via zoom. I will make a few inviting changes given the new format, and we each and all invite anyone who would like to ‘come and see’ to join us via the zoom invitation for 7pm April 2nd.
Zoom dial in or
Meeting ID: 569 536 548
or
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Adult Forum is suspended until further notice.
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LEARNING, SHARING & SERVICE for OUR CHILDREN & YOUTH
continues, even when we are not together in a classroom or church!
Look for our new newsletter,
Online Sunday School
, which debuted last Saturday.
Each week, Linda Davis Siess offers lectionary-based learning and activities.
Our first edition
, emailed on Saturday, March 21, focused on the Psalm appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 22: the beloved Psalm 23.
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These sweet sheep were created by parishioners Teddy and Finn Quinn
(photo by their mom, Lydia Quinn).
Do you have photos of activities from our Online Sunday school?
Look for our next Online Sunday School edition, arriving in email boxes this Saturday!
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Do you have questions, ideas, or comments to share? Is there anything our St Paul's family can do for you?
You are warmly invited to reach out to Linda Davis Siess,
Children & Youth Program Coordinator, any time:
click here.
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A Word from Jo …
Who is Jo? The Rev. Johanna Barrett is the Bridge Priest serving with you at St. Paul’s until your new Rector arrives. Jo retired after 25 years of ordained ministry, 14 of those years at Trinity Church in Topsfield. If you need to reach her, do not hesitate to call her at 978-979-6543. She is only part-time at St. Paul’s but is available when needed.
When we hear the word ‘church,’ we usually think of a building – and St. Paul’s has a beautiful one! It is our sacred space. A place where we gather for worship, learning, fellowship, ministry, and deepening our relationship with God. For the sake of our own health and that of others, during this pandemic, we are not using our building. Does that mean that we are not a church?
NO
! ‘Church’ really isn’t the building! ‘Church’ is people – people who love God, who care for each other, and who strive to do God’s work in the world. How can we continue to be a church when we cannot gather? Churches all over the world are struggling with this question. Here are several opportunities that may help us support and even build our community of faith in this difficult time:
Virtual Worship
There is a group of dedicated St. Paul’s parishioners who are working on how we might be able to share worship ‘virtually’ from our own sanctuary. Watch for more information as this develops! In the meantime, there are many virtual worship services available. You can find a list on the Diocese of Massachusetts website,
www.diomass.org
, under ‘Virtual Worship Opportunities’ on the home page. This includes services at the Washington National Cathedral, our Cathedral, as well as a number of parishes in the diocese.
Prayer in Our Homes
Another for us to be community is to pray in our homes or at our work at particular times of the day. When we pray, we will know that we are joining with our brothers and sisters of St. Paul’s. How about 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.? If you have a Book of Common Prayer at home, Daily Devotions in the Morning are on page 137 and In the Early Evening on page 139. If you do not have a Prayer Book at home, you can access it on-line at
www.bcponline.org
. Or perhaps you might simply offer your own prayers, silently or aloud, and the Lord’s Prayer. Consider praying for all those on the parish prayer list, too.
Prayer Partners
Would you like to be holding a particular member of the parish in your prayers? And be held in their prayers? Prayer Partners contact each other by e-mail or with a note and commit to praying for each other every day. We will be working on this opportunity to connect spiritually with each other!
Prayerful Parent Circle
The Rev. Kit Lonergan from St. James in Groveland, is offering to host a weekly Parenting Prayer Circle on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. She says, “This is a chance to check in at the end of a long day/week (there really are no weekdays/weekends any longer!) and receive not advice nor resources, but a chance to set your cares down among friends, and receive grace. Bring a mug of tea, a bowl of ice cream, a hunk of dark chocolate or a glass of an adult beverage as we wind down. We end the time together with Compline.” The Zoom link is:
https://zoom.us/j/577101480
Opportunities to Serve Those In Need
We are in touch with local service organizations to identify opportunities to help those who cannot or should not be out in public. Perhaps to deliver a meal, to drop off groceries, to pick up a prescription…We will let you know when we hear more.
Please know that you are in my prayers and that I pray every day that we may gather again soon in worship, learning, and fellowship! Blessings, JO
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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
A Message from the Treasurer
While the coronavirus situation has caused significant disruption, St. Paul’s Church will still need to meet its financial obligations as well as expand services to the community as best we can. We recognize that there will be parishioners whose income has been adversely affected and may need to reduce or suspend giving. Therefore, it’s critical that we continue to receive ongoing financial support from all who can provide it. Our goal is to emerge from this crisis to the best of our ability for the benefit of our parishioners, employees and all others who count on support from us. Thank you.
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Pastoral Care Update
The Pastoral Care team has been unable to make communion, home and hospital visits because of the COVID 19 preventative restrictions. However the team is reaching out with phone calls and notes to those we normally are visiting. If you know of someone who might like an occasional phone call, please call St. Paul’s office and let us know. We look forward to being able to get out again and visit as soon as the restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, we are keeping everyone in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you!
The Pastoral Care Ministry Team
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Prayers for all people suffering from and recovering from addictions
One of the many regrettable consequences of this pandemic is the necessity to close our buildings to community groups. Chief among these groups are 12-steps meetings, a strong ministry of our church. St. Paul's opens space to over ten 12-step groups including AA, AL-ANON, SLAA, ACA and OA plus many supporting groups like Big Book Meetings. Now these groups are happening by teleconference or not at all. We should hold all the people who are struggling to find recovery in their lives from this other "epidemic" in our prayers. BCP 56
O blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: Look
with compassion upon all who through addiction have lost
their health and freedom. Restore to them the assurance of
your unfailing mercy; remove from them the fears that beset
them; strengthen them in the work of their recovery; and to
those who care for them, give patient understanding and
persevering love. Amen
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Prayer List
If you have someone you would like to be on our prayer list, please email the office a
stpauls@stpauls-nbpt.org
or call 978-465-5351.
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You may not know...
St. Paul's helps people in the Greater Newburyport community through the Rector's Discretionary Fund, a combination of restricted funds (many historic though modest) and parishioner's gifts. This past week three people were helped by Market Basket gift cards to buy food for their families. People may be parishioners but are most often people in need in our community. We assist people with food, gas cards and in some cases temporary housing. This important, yet quiet part, of our many missions is administered by our ever capable administrator Deb Hay.
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Skylark's Sub Rosa: Secrets Revealed scheduled for
Friday, April 24 at 7:00 PM has been cancelled
Skylark is already making plans to bring this exciting program to you next season.
If you are a season subscriber, or have already purchased tickets to this concert, we ask you to please donate your ticket to Skylark — this will help us cover costs already incurred for this concert. However, we do understand if you would like a refund. Please
click here
to request a donation receipt or a refund.
Skylark's artists are full-time musicians, and many rely exclusively on groups like Skylark for their livelihood. As many professional music performances are being cancelled for the next few months, many artists are facing an uncertain amount of time of severely reduced (or even zero) income. Skylark has secured matching donations of $7,000. They ask that you consider a donation to their
Artist Fund
.
100% of all donations through
this link will go directly to our artists, and will be matched 100% up to $7,000. Read Matthew Guard's blog entitled
How a highly successful and fiscally responsible professional musician can face financial disaster from COVID-19
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Cantemus' "Bach Again: New Body, Old Soul"
Sunday, April 26 at 4:00 PM has been cancelled
They are currently working to reschedule this exciting program for a fall presentation. Come back to their website at
cantemus.org
for updates on our efforts and, we hope, new concert dates. Thank you for your understanding, and your support!
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Edie Ellen Knitters
is canceled
The meeting is canceled but the knitting continues. We need those prayer shawls now more than ever.
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The Community Book Club
is canceled
We encourage participants to continue reading
A History of Christian Theology
by William C. Placher.
A modern classic,
A History of Christian Theology
offers a concise yet complete chronicle of the whole of Christian theology, from its background in the history of Israel to the liberation and post-liberal theologies of recent years.
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While the stages at Symphony Hall in Boston and the Linde Center at Tanglewood are temporarily silent, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to continue sharing music during these unprecedented times through
BSO at Home. Tune in to our social media and radio channels to receive daily offerings of great performances from the BSO archives, behind the scenes content, and videos from our musicians as they stay at home.
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We hope you enjoy reading our weekly newsletter which covers the current news of our parish life. If you have questions or news you would like us to include, contact Administrator Deb Hay at
978-465-5351
or
stpauls@stpauls-nbpt.org
.
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church | 166 High Street
Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 | 978-465-5351
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