Message of the Moment


Bonne Journée
 
Bonjour from your grateful rector who has just returned to Wichita from Paris with a bit of a travelogue this week.
 
The first morning I woke up in Paris, I headed off on foot from our accommodations to see the Louvre Museum (Musée de Louvre). On the way, I came across the Saint James Tower (Tour Saint-Jacques), which is the French meeting point for those setting off to follow the Way of Saint James (Camiño de Santiago), a major pilgrim road to Galicia, Spain. The cathedral in Santiago is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus. It is among the few churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle.
 
According to the legend, the apostle Saint James the Great brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. His tomb was rediscovered there in 814 CE and a first church was built in 829 CE.
 
The point of telling you about the Tour Saint-Jacques is to say that I allowed it to be a sign for me that I was undertaking something of a pilgrimage. Though my pilgrimage (this time) was to see Paris for the first time, coming across this memorial helped to set a spiritual tone for my trip. Going from place to place, my eyes were opened anew each day. That’s what pilgrimage does. Going on a pilgrimage sets each person on an individual path of discovery. Not a single pilgrim knows ahead of time what they will learn on their journey, they simply go willing to be open to what they find.
 
We like to think of our journey through life as a pilgrimage, but the day-to-day lives we live are too much a part of routine and our established way of doing things to serve as a pilgrimage. We have expectations for the way our lives in our corner of the world will work. However, when you set out intentionally on pilgrimage, you set your expectations aside and open yourself to whatever may come your way. You do this in a whole and immersive way which we can’t accomplish day-in and day-out at home.
 
On pilgrimage, unique experiences are allowed to suggest new meaning. You step into a place of naivety and are able to see with new eyes and to wonder, as if for the first time, about your place in the world. Unknowing what the day will bring, pilgrims trust themselves and their journey to the care of God. In Paris, beginning from the place where for centuries thousands of others have begun their pilgrimage, I opened my heart to a place of beauty and history. I was given another way of being reminded that we never know where God is leading us next. The important thing for us to do is to consent to the journey.
 
May you have experiences in your life that serve as pilgrimages. You may very well come home changed, but you will be expanded. You will have lost nothing and gained much. You will again know how incomprehensible the vastness of the universe is. Thank God for the gifts of learning we are allowed to have, for the realization that what you used to know wasn’t enough, and that God speaks to us in many ways. Au revoir.
 
Peace,

Mother Dawn+



First Things First

Paxton Blessing Box is in need of donations! Please consider dropping off non-perishable food items, snacks, and/or hygiene products in the box labeled Paxton Blessing Box. The need is great for our neighborhood. Thank you! Read more

The need for water bottles has grown! Last Wednesday, as the
water was delivered, the greeting was: "We really need that water!" In previous years, there have been 6-foot stacks of water bottle bundles at Breakthrough/ESS. This year: no stack. But the hot weather is relentless.
Please drop off a bundle of water bottles—any size—in the front entry.

The Guild Hall Players present: The Light In The Piazza: Performances are Thursday, July 21-Saturday, June 23 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, June 24 at 7:00 pm. This is not a ticketed event but reservations are encouraged. You can sign up at the front desk.

Volunteer at the Front Desk
If you are a member of our congregation and would be willing to contribute your time to the parish as a front desk volunteer this summer, you are invited and needed.
Please contact Mother Dawn for information and about times for volunteering. 



The Readings this Week
Calendar


Parish News and Updates


Adult Forum meets every Sunday this Summer. Join us at 9:45 in the Guild Hall as we discuss the weekly readings in our series "Going off the Lectionary Grid."

It is our pleasure to have Dakota Bennett as our organist this summer. Volunteer musicians will also be included in services this summer. If you are interested in playing, please contact the church office. Those interested in the position(s) of leading music at St. James beginning the first of September are encouraged to request a job description and submit their resume. 


 Children and Youth



Our Nursery is open! Gracie Moore is our new Nursery Care staff for the summer. She will be in the Nursery on Sunday mornings for our services and Adult Forum until August. We are still in need of volunteers, please contact Chelsea if you are interested.
 



Outreach

Suitcase Drive – Our Suitcase Drive was a great success! Thank you St. James for bringing us. more than 50 suitcases (and counting) in excellent condition. We are delivering them to foster children served by several agencies. No doubt the suitcases will ease the children's minds in a time of crisis and confusion.
 
Wichita Minster News
Welcome Home Baskets for the rehoused


Father Dillon is offering Morning Prayer by Zoom at 9:30 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Morning Prayer Zoom Link.

YAW (Young Adults Wichita) is a ministry of the Wichita Minster led by Father Dillon. It includes members from St. James, St. John’s, Good Shepherd, and St. Stephen’s. We meet weekly, currently Mondays at 6 p.m. (time/dates subject to change). If you know anyone interested in participating, please connect them with Dillon at 256-762-5110 or at dillongreen7@gmail.com. If you aren’t a young adult (18-35) and want to be involved, we are always looking for people to provide meals for the group each week. Instructions are to prepare for six to 10 people. If you’re interested in helping out that way, please contact Dillon.

See more information about the Wichita Minster on our website.
Prayers
Parish Prayers for the Week of July 10
For our seminarian: Maddy Bishop;

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Pray for the Church of the Province of Uganda


In the Kansas Cycle of Prayer: Pray for NourishKC and Breakthrough: Episcopal Social Services

Pray for those serving in the military: Will Corkins, J. David Anderson-Lusk and Maureen Tanner;

Pray for those who have died: John Luerding, Keith Johnson, Betty Bonnell, Lou Ann McFerson, Thelma Shannon.

Pray for those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness or any other adversity: Tom T., Deb H., Jayne Pierce, Barbara H., Dana F., Suzy R., Taci F., Sue R., Ashley M., Phil S., Isabella, Cathy W., Helen B., Marcia & Lowell, Bill & Carolyn, Dave W., Carole, Kitty, Laura S., Bob & Sue, Marge R., Pam M., Dal, Gus, Joan J., Martha L., Betty S., Sage J., Joseph B., Sam & Beth, Jerry M., Joy J.


Our Parish Prayer List: All members of our parish community are asked to pray for each person on our prayer list. To share your prayers of thanksgiving (births, weddings, new jobs, anniversaries, etc.), to notify us that someone you love is serving in the military, to share that you or someone you love is suffering, or to tell us of a death, please call 316-683-5686 or email office@stjameswichita.org.

 
If your prayers have been answered,
we would love to rejoice with you.
 Please let us know so your name may be removed
 from our list of people most urgently in need. Thank you.

Helpful Links