Join us this Sunday at 10:15AM in person or online
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Dear friends in Christ,
This Sunday, we hear St. John’s telling of Jesus’ famous parting commandment to his disciples.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)
That, as we know, is easier said than done. We know what it looks like, or at least we think we do, to have love for one another as Christians. But what about when the rubber hits the road?
When I was a child, I had a book on my shelf (and on audio cassette) entitled Grover Goes to School (if you’re really curious, someone has digitized that cassette tape here). The brief synopsis of the book is that at the beginning of a new school year, Grover decides that he will be nice to everyone in order to make new friends. Grover, as he says, “Wants to be friends with everybody,” so every time someone at school offers to trade him something of theirs for something of his, he dutifully obliges, even though he usually doesn’t want what they have to trade him.
This works, but only up until a point. When, at the climax of the story, one of his classmates offers to trade their bologna sandwich for his jelly sandwich, Grover blows his top: “But I don’t like baloney,” he loudly protests. The pre-bologna sandwich portion of Grover Goes to School gives us the thumbnail sketch of what masquerades as Christian moral thinking. “Be nice to everybody,” goes the theory.
Grover’s example, however, reminds us that the motivations for our deeds matter, and they matter even more than the deeds themselves.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes Christian charity as concerned always with the good of another person. That means that “loving” one another in the way our Lord commands has everything to do with whether our actions are motivated by the good. But how do we know whether we’re acting out of our own need to be useful and important or liked or out of genuine concern for the welfare of our neighbors?
For any Christian, the guiding question must always be: whom are we doing this for? Is our “loving” behavior, even when it seems to have good outcomes, really designed to satisfy our own needs? In Grover’s case, what appeared to be unselfish and generous was really his understandable but ultimately selfish need to be liked. If Grover had been motivated by love, by the good of his classmates, he might have handed over that jelly sandwich, and he might have done so even if he didn’t like baloney, but he would not have resented the trade. If our motivations are wrong, we too will resent the trade, every time.
Christian virtue ethics dictates that inputs are more important than outcomes. This is why the second commandment, that we love our neighbors as ourselves, is subsidiary to the first (and great) commandment that we love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and strength. Our love and devotion to God, which is our spiritual worship, is a school of character by which the Holy Spirit implants in our hearts the wisdom to discern our own motivations, and to grow by God’s grace into persons motivated by the love that our Lord commands this coming Sunday.
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Yours faithfully in Christ,
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If you have taken a UTO Blue Box or giving envelope, we hope that you are embracing and deepening a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude, giving thanks to God for daily blessings and making an offering of spare change or cash each day. We will plan to collect all Blue Boxes by the Sunday after Ascension Day, May 29. 100% of what is collected supports innovative mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.
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The Bishop Transition Committee has announced the Final Slate of Nominees, which includes a Petition Nominee, for XVI Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Click here for the BTC's Announcement.
-The Bishop Transition Committee
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Save the date: A Garden Party, Saturday, July 23 ~ 3-6 pm
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The St. John’s Women’s Group will be hosting a Garden Party on the great lawn this year, in lieu of their annual High Tea. Please mark your calendars, and don’t miss this fantastic event. Tickets are $30 general admission and $20 for seniors. Please see Olive Grant on Sunday morning, or contact the Parish Office during the week to purchase.
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Prayers and Financial Support for Ukraine
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The crisis in Ukraine continues, and our prayers are with not only those on the front lines and in the peace talks, but also if not especially with the millions who have been displaced. Episcopal Relief & Development will provide cash, blankets, hygiene supplies, and other needed assistance to Ukrainian refugees. If you feel moved to contribute to these humanitarian relief efforts, please do give via ERD’s website: https://support.episcopalrelief.org/ukraineresponse.
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A funeral liturgy for the late Dianne Bedingfield Saunders will take place Friday, June 17, at 11:00 a.m., in the church. Your prayers and presence are requested.
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Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study
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Open Thursdays and Saturdays: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Community Thrift Shop welcomes new, almost new, and gently used clothing, home goods, and jewelry donations. All proceeds from the Thrift Shop are donated to nonprofit charities serving those in need. Please note: Starting in June, the Thrift Shop will be open every Thursday 10:00-3:00 and the first and third Saturday of each month from 10:00-3:00.
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Recent Prayer Requests for Healing of Body, Mind and Spirit.
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Please keep these persons in your daily prayers:
Ben, Carol, Daniel, Ed, Kedley, Lloyd, Marc, Terrence, Jon, Ann, Henri, Sharon, Erin, Dante, Anthony, Marie-Anne, Martha, Nessa, Angela, Gweneth, Toni, Jordan, Gabriella, Cindi, Barbara, Andrew, Jeffrey, Theadeen, Latoya, Christine, Murdena, Aidee, Anthony, Mitch, Jacob, Roslyn, Collin, McKenna, Andy, Errol, Emman, Bill and Verna. Please send all prayer list requests for the bulletin to the Parish Administrator, Kathy McBride, at kmcbride@stjohns-stamford.org.
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To give to St. John's Episcopal Church, you can make your donations electronically or you can simply mail in your check to the church office if you would rather not use the online giving tool. Our Parish Administrator, Kathy McBride, is receiving the mail and doing the banking as usual.
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Forward Day By Day is the Episcopal Church's own discipleship publication! As disciples, followers of Christ, daily prayer and reflection grounds us in God's love and gives us strength and clarity to confront our weaknesses, put our trust in God and listen to where God is calling us to serve. Available online for-free!
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