St. Paul's Episcopal Church Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
MESSENGER
"Making friends while serving God"
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The Week of June 1-7, 2021 |
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SERMON: The Eternal Optimist,
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 June 10, 2012
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--- Don't expect too much of human beings. We were created at the end of the week when God was tired and looking forward to a day off.--Mark Twain
---Fred Astaire once said: Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.
There’s no way around it; our days are numbered. Almost imperceptibly, they pass by, and our years increase incrementally. We look into the mirror and see that our "outer nature is wasting away" (v. 16). And as our own mortality becomes an ever-present reality, moment by moment thoughts of decay can begin to dominate our view of the future in such a way that hope grows faint. Yet in the face of that harsh certainty, the apostle Paul offers an exhortation that refuses to surrender to that bleak outlook "because we look not to what can be seen but at what cannot be seen" (v. 18).
"So we do not lose heart," the apostle Paul famously wrote to the Corinthians. This came at the conclusion of a passage in which he summarized the troubles he and his coworkers had faced: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed..." (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
In a study published in the October 2011 issue of Nature Neuroscience, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London present evidence that people who are naturally optimistic learn only from information that reinforces that rosy outlook.
That would seem to apply to Paul. He clumped all those troubles into the category of a "slight momentary affliction" that "is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure" (v. 17). That "eternal weight of glory" outcome was so bright that Paul could disregard his present troubles as indicative of anything about the future.
The study actually suggests that many of us are hardwired for optimism as well. "Our findings suggest that this human propensity toward optimism is facilitated by the brain's failure to code errors in estimation when those call for pessimistic updates," the study authors wrote. Paul was clearly the eternal optimist!
Optimism seems necessary for personal progress. We have to be able to imagine better realities. “Without vision, the people perish.”
Optimism, particularly when it's tied to ultimate outcomes, is often a synonym for hope. Biblically speaking, hope is one of the "big three" of Christianity along with faith and love. They are the things that the apostle Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 13, remain when all else fails. "And now faith, hope, and love abide," is how he put it, and he meant that when we look for the qualities that are distilled from the experience of the believing life together, these three things are the solid footing on which we stand -- even if seen now only darkly as through a distorting glass.
Christianity itself presents us with a view of life as seen from the end. While we can't see that ourselves, we trust that God can, and thus we base our hope on that "eternal perspective" (God's)." That view directs us to the fully-come kingdom of God and says to us, "This is how you will understand it when it is all over."
This end-view is of supreme importance to a life of faith because without it, we have nothing to look forward to beyond whatever we ourselves can make of this life. Theologian Emil Brunner said, "the fate of humanity is dependent on its supply of hope."
So is Christianity mere optimism?
Is Paul engaging in wishful thinking when he says, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"?
Interestingly, Paul himself considered this question. Responding to some who said Christ had not been raised from the dead, the apostle wrote in 1st Corinthians that if such were the case, then their faith was "futile." He then added, "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19).
Christianity is realistic about the difficulties of life, but balances them with Christian hope based on God’s Word. It insists that these current difficulties are not what define us. This is can be illustrated by the following church sign:
EVENINGS AT 7 IN THE PARISH HALL
Mon: Alcoholics Anonymous
Tues: Abused Spouses
Wed: Eating Disorders
Thurs: Say No To Drugs
Fri: Teen Suicide Watch
Sat: Soup Kitchen
SUNDAY SERMON 9 A.M.
"Our Joyous Future in Christ"
What can we say about hope? First, we can take a look at the Ground of our Hope. We can remind ourselves that the hope to which Christianity clings is not based on a mere bright outlook but on promises of God found in Scripture. Old Testament Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann writes that it "voices the oldest, deepest, most resilient grounding of hope in all of human history, a hope that has been claimed by both Jews and Christians ...
The hope articulated in ancient Israel is not a vague optimism or a generic good idea about the future but a precise and concrete confidence in and expectation for the future that is rooted explicitly in [God's] promises to Israel."
In addition, the New Testament clearly articulates the same confidence in and expectation for the future, rooted explicitly in God's promises to all who follow Jesus.
The Ground of our Hope is God as presented to all humanity in the pages of this book; our Bible.
Can we increase our Hope?
There is much we can do to build up our hope. Spending time with one another, as we share our lives and stories, joys and griefs, hopes and disappointments. We stand stronger when we stand together.
We can also recognize that every time we recite affirmations from the Christian tradition, such as the Apostles' Creed, we're hearing the testimony of those who staked their lives on hope. When we repeat those words, we declare our belief that the One who sits at the right hand of the Father will come "to judge the living and the dead." We declare our belief in the "forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Memorizing the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles Creed, Scripture passages and the like serves to give us hope during the dark days of doubt or confusion. Part of the human condition is that we all have our ups and downs but hope springs eternal.
Even the pessimists among our congregation speak the creed, and in doing so, they join the optimists and the realists among us in affirming that God isn't done with us and that when human history moves to its final stage, we can stand with Christ.
In addition, powerful personal testimonies from people who have walked through the valley of the shadow of death inspire and encourage us. We know of people in our own congregation that lived in joyful hope and expectation, no matter how bleak their earthly existence became. They’re ‘eternal optimism’ as it were, restores our own hope.
The late Henri Nouwen, wrote in Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith, that “Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things -- the weather, human relationships, the economy, the political situation, and so on -- will get better.
Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God's promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.”
All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like.”
Christian Hope is based on God's promises, the historic creeds and the testimony of those who have died believing that "what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal." The Bible and the experience of generations of the Faithful declare it is real. Like the Apostle Paul in his life and writings we can develop Christian hope; eternal optimism. Amen.
From: First Presbeterian Church of Bastrop
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To be redirected to the Lectionary Page and get a digital copy of the readings
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1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15); Psalm 138;
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35;
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The Sunday Sermon
Trinity Sunday
We witness to our faith in any number of ways; some of us in ways quite unusual. Take for example the guy who used to show up at every major sporting event with a made for television sign that read John 3:16. I used to wonder how he could afford such expensive tickets, because he always seemed to be close to the playing field in a seat that enabled him to be caught on camera. At football games, he always sat just behind the end zone. And when the camera would focus on the team trying for the extra point, there he would be in the lower right-hand corner of the screen holding up his sign.
While it is one thing to display a verse of Scripture on national television, it’s an entirely different thing to understand what that portion of Scripture means. To do that, we have to put down our signs, pick up our Bibles, our commentaries and prayerfully, thoughtfully, and perhaps in concert with others, study that verse.
Now this particular verse in Scripture, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” is part of a dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus. Why did he come to see Jesus? Evidently, Nicodemus had heard about Jesus and what he heard stirred up some questions in his mind. Important questions like “Who is this guy? Why do I get the sense that he is from God? Why is he doing the things he is doing?” None of his fellow Jewish leaders would be happy knowing of his plans to talk with this controversial, this thought to be rogue rabbi. So he came to see him under the cloak of darkness. But at least he dared to come and dared to bring his questions to Jesus. I point this out because in some church circles to ask questions is like speaking a four-letter word. About twenty years ago I bumped into a high school friend whom I hadn’t seen in many decades. Well after we stopped hugging and lying to each other about how good we looked after all those years, and after he learned that I had become an Episcopal priest, he told me that he had left his church years ago. I asked him why, and he explained that he had questions about his faith and his pastor told him to stop questioning and simply learn to believe. That made no sense to him; so, he walked away from the Church.
Feeling free to ask questions is very important to one’s faith. And I have to tell you questions of faith do not have quick and easy answers. I mean, there are questions for which there are one-word answers. For example, what is the square root of 144? And the answer is 12. But when it comes to questions of faith, or questions regarding Church doctrine or dogma, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, if someone is eager to give you a one-word answer or wants to answer by simply plucking a verse from Scripture and shoving it in your face, I would suggest that you politely thank him or her and look for your answer elsewhere. Follow the example of Nicodemus who learned in this morning’s gospel that God-sized questions call for God-sized answers, and God-sized answers require wrestling with thoughts and concepts that are bigger, broader, deeper, and wider than what you or I may be able to wrap our minds around immediately. I will never forget my first day of classes in the seminary. Our systematic theology professor told us immediately that we would be discussing as best we can, things from a God’s eye view as opposed to from a human perspective. He further explained that upon graduation we just might leave those sacred halls of learning with many unanswered questions. Those words humbled most of us greatly.
I don’t know about you, but when I run up against things I don’t understand, things that may shake my faith, what I hold onto are five words from this morning’s gospel, “God so loved the world...” Those words make sense to my finite mind. Now some may say, “Whoopee, what’s the big deal about believing that? Everybody knows that God loves what God has created. But I say, not so fast. I remember a funeral in San Francisco at which I officiated. After the funeral was over, an older gentleman took me aside and said, “Son, my daddy used to say that a preacher hasn’t preached a sermon until he looks the congregation right in the eye and tells them what terrible sinners they are.”
He was obviously disappointed with my little homily at which I talked about God’s love for us. And as I drove home, I found myself dwelling on his comments, and realized that even if I wanted to talk about sin, a funeral is the very last setting in which I would want to bring up that topic. But I was aware of his recipe for preaching. It begins with two cups of guilt, add two heaping tablespoons of God’s wrath, sprinkle in several juicy references from the Bible regarding the fires of hell and the torment awaiting the sinful and the wicked, and mix it all up with a few pounds of the fist on the pulpit. And let everybody through their imaginations feel the burning of the fires of hell for about 25 minutes. The purpose is to lead people through life, by scaring them to death. Fear can be a potent motivating source in our lives. And it is my belief that a prolonged exposure to that kind of depiction of God can have some awful side effects. I tell you, that kind of understanding of God just might leave a huge scar on a person’s soul and leave a black and blue bruise on his or her spirit.
Karl Barth, a brilliant theologian, when asked when he was nearing the end of his life, what was the essence of his learning regarding the Christian faith; this brilliant, celebrated man thought for a moment and said, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Can you imagine, this man who had pondered and discussed with his learned colleagues the deepest questions of faith for decades. Can you imagine, at the end of that man’s life, there was one thing he could definitely say, that through that same Jesus, he felt absolutely loved by God!
Whenever I see somebody who is in the midst of deep questioning, and yet is able to find strength beyond his or her grasp to believe that no matter what they have done or where they have been, there is a God that loves them more than they can possibly imagine, I know that they are on to something very special. We must not be afraid to question; it is how we grow in our faith.
--Fr. C. Allan Ford
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EPISCOPAL CHARITIES DONATION
Episcopal Charities Sunday was actually Mothers’ Day. Since we weren’t in church that day, we collected a small donation the following Sunday. Since that date wasn’t publicized we’d like to take a special collection this coming Sunday for Episcopal Charities. Please make checks payable to Episcopal Charities. We will send all checks forward to them along with a check for any cash received. Please remember they are most generous with grants for our Food Pantry.
--Bobbie Gordon
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MOVING TO MORE IN PERSON SERVICE
As more and more people are getting vaccinated against COVID 19 the Bishop has eased some of the restrictions that have affected our worship. Given this the Vestry has decided that starting with the month of June all services (at 10:00am), except for the second Sunday of the month, will be in person and will include singing. We also hope to be able to broadcast the in person service live on our YouTube channel.
Our mask rule remains that anytime you are moving from your pew that you have your mask on. When you are seated you may take off your mask if you choose to do so. If you are singing please put on your mask. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.
The second Sunday of the month will be on Zoom (see below for Zoom link). This allows us to have the coffee hour discussions and to retain those parishioners who are able to only be with us remotely. This Sunday, May 30 will be a Zoom service.
We hope to see you on Zoom on Sunday and in person whenever you can make it in.
--Shawn Prater-Lee
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ZOOM CHURCH LINK FOR ALL SERVICES
We're going to again follow the in church services at 10:00am on the first and third Sundays, all other Sundays on Zoom format for now.
Our Zoom connections remain the same and are
Meeting ID: 823 3911 5280
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,82339115280# US (New York)
+13017158592,,82339115280# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We now have a YouTube channel.
To get there PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
or search on YouTube for St. Paul's Poughkeepsie.
We hope to put copies of all of our online services there.
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SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS AT FIRST LUTHERAN WHO ARE SPONSORING A TAKE-OUT SPAGHETTI DINNER
Here are the details:
When: This coming Saturday - June 5th
Pick up time: 5PM to 6:30 PM
Where to pick-up: Catharine St. Entrance
How: Call Kurt on 845-559-9472 and someone will bring the dinners to your car.
Price: $10/dinner
Dinner: 2 meatballs with Spaghetti and sauce, garlic bread, salad with dressing on the side.
Call Kurt to order - give him your name, phone number and number of dinners requested
Thanks in advance for getting the word out! - Kurt-
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Don’t forget to let either Bobbie or Janet know when and where you’d like to volunteer June 19. If you are able to - we could also use help sorting Friday, June 18 between 10 & 2. Please speak to either of us to volunteer. We will also need help from men early and late that day to set up and break down tables and chairs. Early- between 8-10 a.m. ; late - between 3 - 4 p.m. Many thanks for any help you can give. |
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A NOTE FROM THE TREASURY TEAM
Total deposits for the past week - $1980 ($895 for the Food Pantry). Many thanks to all who have been generously supporting the Food Pantry. We're looking forward to seeing you on Zoom until further notice.
A reminder - Please remember to either mail in your pledge or drop it off through the mail slot any day during the week. The correct address is: 161 Mansion St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
ST. PAUL’S THANKS YOU!!!
--Bobbie Gordon
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This event will be interpreted into American Sign Language (ASL).
Other Webinars in This Series
All starting at 7 p.m.
Reaching For a Better Tomorrow: The Work and Mission of Hudson Link Working For Higher Education in Prison
Tuesday, June 22
Register in advance for this webinar:
The Awakening of Unwoke People: Church, Religion and State
Tuesday, July 6
Register in advance for this webinar:
Rectors of Color: Examining the Missed Opportunities of Deployment
Tuesday, July 20
Register in advance for this webinar:
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Click here or on the image above to view the recording of the
"Equal Education Denied: The Legacy of Segregated Housing"
webinar from May 25.
Questions?
--Shawn Prater-Lee
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PENTECOST PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAL DIVISIONS, PRESIDING BISHOP SAYS DURING WEEKEND REVIVAL |
“Love is ecumenical. Love is interfaith. Love is bipartisan. Love is multiethnic. Love embraces and includes us all.”
Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry celebrated Pentecost Sunday with us yesterday, reminding us that Pentecost is an extension of the incarnation, and a revolution of the Spirit and love.
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AT GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL SERVICE, EPISCOPALIANS REMEMBER LIVES LOST AND RECOMMIT TO ‘STAND AGAINST THE TIDE’
By Egan Millard
Posted May 26, 2021
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“When America saw that video taken by that dear 17-year-old child, when the world saw George Floyd murdered by those charged to protect and serve, something moved,” Curry said in his sermon. “Something changed. And while we do not know how it will unfold, people began to pray with their lips and with their legs.”
The liturgy, designed by Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson, opened with statements from several other bishops, putting Floyd’s death in context and affirming the church’s ongoing commitment to racial justice.
“Together we stand against the tide,” said Colorado Bishop Kym Lucas. “Because no matter what may come, no matter what the tide may bring, we are here, and we are far stronger united as one, caring for our neighbors in Christ.”
“Events like this ongoing viral pandemic and the pandemic of racism and violence which took the life of George Floyd and many others offer us more questions than answers,” said Michigan Bishop Bonnie Perry, “but we gather to be close to each other, to be in community, to remember. We stand with each other and with our siblings who tragically continue to lose their lives in our communities, our nation, and around the world.”
After a Scripture reading, Minnesota Bishop Craig Loya and the Rev. Robert Two Bulls, missioner for the Department of Indian Work and Multicultural Ministries in the Diocese of Minnesota, prayed a psalm of lament written by the Missouri bishop at the site of Floyd’s murder.
The Rev. Robert Two Bulls and the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya pray during the memorial service. Photo: Diocese of Indianapolis
“How lonely sits our neighborhood, O God!” they prayed. “How we weep bitterly in the night! Silent tears have become our song. ‘Gone too soon’ has become our lament.”
The service was then silent for 9 minutes and 29 seconds – the amount of time that Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. During the silence, a slideshow played that showed Floyd’s place in a long line of African American victims of racist violence and police brutality. Dozens of faces – from recognizable names like Emmett Till, Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Brown and Breonna Taylor to lesser-known victims like Eleanor Bumpurs and Alonzo Ashley passed across the screen, punctuated by bells. The montage showed the sobering toll on African Americans that had been mounting long before Floyd’s murder. Curry, drawing from Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass in his sermon, commended Episcopalians for “praying with your lips and with your feet” by marching for change. He encouraged the church not to give up, even when the struggle seems fruitless or forgotten.
“There will come a time when the world’s attention will go elsewhere,” he said. “There will come a time when there will be pushback and resistance. That is often the case. There will come a time when we will grow weak, and sometimes weary. Death after death. Shooting after shooting. Violence after violence. Nightmare after nightmare.”
The job of Christians, he said, is “changing this world from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God has intended, changing and transforming human lives and social institutions.”
The abolition and civil rights movements took decades of work that often seemed hopeless, he recounted, sharing the story of how his grandfather marched with other sleeping car porters in the 1940s for fair wages, equal rights and an end to lynching. But the lynchings did not end; Emmett Till’s murder in 1955 galvanized the public in a way similar to Floyd’s, he said. Till’s murder inspired Rosa Parks to stand her ground on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. “It is sometimes easy to despair and give up,” Curry said. “And while this is a normal and natural human emotion. It is not an option for us.”
Standing at a memorial to Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager killed by police in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, Johnson ended the service with a gesture of hope. The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson speaks during the memorial service. Photo: Diocese of Indianapolis
“A single light has the power to dispel even the longest shadow,” he said, lighting a candle and sharing the flame with others gathered there. Standing in front of St. John’s Church in Washington, Bishop Mariann Budde did the same. Then other groups from dioceses and seminaries across the U.S. and Canada held up their candles on Zoom, showing the progression of the flame into the world.
“As we share the light from these many flames, may these candles be symbols of our burning hope and our shining light, that we may act out of hope and compassion to mourn with those who grieve,” Johnson said.
– Egan Millard is an assistant editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at emillard@episcopalchurch.org.
--The Rev. Dcn. Julett Butler
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VACCINE INFO AND SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS
Please use the link below to look up and schedule appointments for vaccines, at all available sites in the area.
--Aleen Josephs Clarke
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_2 Donna Taylor
_ _Kevin James Kelly
_7 Molly Jones
__ Serena Mazzuto
10 Hyacinth Curtis
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11 Ira wethington
12 Garrett Martin Bell
13 Kimberli Williams
15 Roberta J. Gordon
16 Benjamin Charles Rosborough
__ Jordan William Rosborough
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21 Shirley Mary Richardson
22 Michael Babb
25 Donna Hosier
30 Luke Goodwin
__ Amanda Rose Bell
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Please keep those on our parish prayer list in your minds and in your prayers, especially at this time of separation and isolation.
Intercessions
JUNE 2021
Our prayers are asked for:
Tommy; Carol; Chris; Sandra; George, Norm; Fr. Tyler & Molly; Janett; Kay, Katherine, Renate; Frank Burnett, Food Pantry Volunteers, victims of Human/Sex Trafficking; Burton family; Lillian, Matthew, Sasha; Joe, G.J., Aleta, Plain family, Melius family; Ibadan Diocese, All Saints' Church, Oni family; Gary, Legend; Rhonda, Joe, Ann, all Teachers, Parents, Students, Theodore, John, Paul, Kathy; Sharon Greene, Owen, Agnes, Norma; McLauren family; Graham family; Wood family; Braxton family; Lori, Steven, Jim, Seth; Phil; All essential workers; Beryl & Glen, Vincent family; George; Daniel Mizell and family; Liz, Martha; Eileen; the Butler, Richards and Barrett families; Fr. Allan and family; St. Paul's Vestry; Darien family; Richardson family; Sherow family; Edna Clarke, Michelle, Kathy B.; Carola and Violet; Whitman, Medical Reserve Corp. of Dutchess County, The Laken family; All Parishioners; Kairos International, Catherine, Michelle, Yamily; Matthew, Lillian; Lynita, Perry, Melius family, Sasha; Stacey, Linda, Phil, Jody; Tucker family, Branch family, Atkinson family; Alison, McGhan, Sterling, Unah, Avonel, Kim, Santos family, Madeline, Bramble, Charlie, Cynthia, Gencia, Val, Joanne, Janet, Corkey, Pelaez, Josephs-Clarke family, Dixon family, Paulette, Jarah, Mertlyn; Adam, Paul, Andrew & family, Douglas family, Ron, Dave, Liz; Jill, Lana, Andrew, Susan; Schneider family, all in need; Susie; Sherry, Claudia
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Please "Like" our page to stay up to date with all services and events.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Poughkeepsie
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'In Service to God & You' |
Our food pantry volunteers are in active service at St. Paul's these days. We give thanks to them and thanks to God for their willingness to help us by helping others. |
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THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR
JUNE 1-7, 2021
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TUE____ 1
WED ___ 2
THU____ 3
SAT ___ 5
SUN ___ 6
MON ___ 7
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10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
11:00am
_3:30pm
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Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Building & grounds
Zoom - Rite II, Ante Communion;
Rummage Collection
Stewardship Meeting
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YOUR NEWS BELONGS IN ST. PAUL'S MESSENGER
Help us get the word out by submitting news of parish activities. Send submittals to stpaulpk@verizon.net or call 845 452 8440
Give us a call today!
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church 161 Mansion Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
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