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Reflections From Our Co-Pastor
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
As we enter Fall and Winter, the seasons of being dormant, our plants and trees slow down their growth, and all sorts of creatures prepare to hunker down or to migrate to warmer climate. The daylight fades, and we enter into a time of darkness.
For us humans, this can be an ideal time for introspection and self-reflection. Perhaps we could spend some time thinking about who God is for us, when has God shown up in our lives, and how alive is our relationship with God?
Here's a reflection from Sister of Loretto, Elaine M. Prevallet, on her own personal “knowing” of God.
“I used to be able to speak of “knowing” God or at least to imagine that there was some definable content to the word. Now, because it speaks of Mystery so vast and so deep that I cannot dare even to try to imagine it, that word GOD reduces me to silence. God beyond all names, God who seems to be everything at once, and yet, paradoxically, closer to nothing (no-thing) then to any thing.
I used to wonder how I could “love” this God who so far surpasses anything I can imagine or name. Now I sense that when I respond to the cues that move me to expand my awareness and my love, it is that God who is the Source of Life in this creation who is doing the prodding. I sense that it is when I love the creation in as selfless and caring and compassionate away as I can, when I am most reflecting in my human being the Self-giving of God's own nature, that is when I am loving God. Or perhaps I could say that then God is loving God's Self through me.”
Amen
Image by euichul hwang from Pixabay
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Midweek Mass, Wednesday - 11:00 am
in the Fireside Room
(no Zoom available for Wednesday Mass)
Hope to see you there!
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This Week at Mary of Magdala | |
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Our Hospitality Ministry is hosting a new program called a....
Table for 4
Yesterday an invitation was sent via email to community members to reserve your "Table for 4".
The program is social in nature and promotes getting to know other parish members.
Read about the program here and reserve your table now.
We hope to receive your 'Reservation' soon. (By October 5th)
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Help us welcome our neighbors for a different Oktoberfest of food and fun - and enjoy the evening, too! | |
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Join us this Friday, September 23, 6-8pm for a Neighborhood Oktoberfest - A 301 Faith Partners Hosted Event
Come and enjoy burgers, dogs & dessert from FoCo food trucks, live bluegrass music by Jerusalem Road, a bounce-house & other lawn games. Bring your own lawn chairs, cooler with beverages & enjoy a fun Friday evening
with friends and neighbors!
For those who can volunteer, please let us know.
We are looking for about 10 volunteers for set-up, event support and take down. No one will need to spend more than an hour volunteering so they can enjoy the event!
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Housing Choices for Older Adults
September 22, 7-8:30 pm via Zoom
Affordable Housing Team hosts a community forum about housing choices available to older adults.
These might include aging in place, choosing a home health care agency, moving to a senior community, or looking into an assisted living arrangement.
To read more about this forum, click here
To register, click here.
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Praying for peace, health and well-being through challenging times
+Susan Wagner-White, sister of Co-Pastor Jane
+Father of Gray La Fond -member
+Uriah - grandson of Mother Rosean
+Luca Jerome Epton - great grandson of Jim and Colleen DeMuth,members
+Jeff Akkerman -for discernment and guidance in finding a new job
+ Jeralyn Logan requested by Rev. Jane Reina
+ Sarah Reveron and her daughter, Aliana - niece and grandniece of Rev. Jane Reina
+ Jane Tavener, sister of member Susan Tavener-Berry
+ Cory Breslin - friend of member Kerrie Anderson
+ Jim, husband of Dori Carroll member
+ Joanne Gallagher - member
+ Edward for healing and Marge for hope, relatives of Ruth Conley, member
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+ Yvonne Keefe - member
+ Rosemary - Fr Michael's mother
+ Suzanne King - member-
+ Harry, 11 year canine companion to Gray La Fond.
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A blessed and peaceful repose of souls for those who've passed and comfort for the friends and families.
+Steve Muzikar, cousin of Co Pastor Jane
+ Wendell Schwarz, brother of Sr. Mary Colleen, OSB
+ Kevin Ricke -nephew of Father Jim DeMuth
+ John Hynes - father of Rev. Jane's children
+ Mother of Bishop Kae Madden
+ Dennis Snyder. brother-in-law of Ruth Alexander, member
+ John Crowfoot, friend of Jean Christen, member
+ Lauren Roob - friend of Rosanna Bateman, member
+ Dona Bosse - member
+ Verna Bodig, member
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Please send prayer requests to marymagdalafc@gmail.com. Prayers will be listed for one month unless requested for longer. Prayers for the repose of souls will be listed for six months unless requested for a longer time. | |
Service Recordings and More | |
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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, September 18, 2022
A video recording of readings and the homily by Father Michael Nicosia is available here. The full Sunday Mass worship aid is available to assist with prayer and meditation.
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Sunday Social Justice Reflection
On May 5 1993, Alford Goodwin and Kenneth Reams, both Black, set out to rob a drive-through ATM. The robbery went bad and Alford shot a white man, Gary Turner. Both boys were offered a plea of life imprisonment without parole. Alford took the deal, Kenneth did not. At his trial, Reams was represented by a part time public defender who did not properly investigate the case, did not retain the necessary experts, and did not even solicit Alford’ testimony that he, not Reams, shot the victim. The jury found Kenneth guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death and Reams, at age 18, became the youngest inmate on death row in Arkansas. Between 1993 and 2017, his case was appealed and reviewed at various levels up to the Arkansas Supreme Court, where his appeal is still pending.
In the past 25 years, his human contact has been largely cut off. Most of his sentence has been spent in solitary confinement in a concrete cell little larger than a parking space. In his own words:
“Many of my early days in prison were spent crying. I was sitting alone in my cell, nights and days... crying from anger, regret, injustice, self pity. Looking back, I now realize that those were moments of my spiritual cleaning and growth. Moments of resilience that gave me the willpower to push back. For many years my mind was locked in the cell along with my body. I didn't know what a sense of peace felt like in life. Eventually, I learned how to unlock my mind and spirit ... and now I am a true testament of the human will to fight.”
While Kenneth has been working to rehabilitate himself, he has found an outlet for his psychological trauma in poetry, painting and advocacy. The images shown here, especially “Sorrow of the Soul” and “The Boy” reveal the mental and emotional stress of 25 years spent in solitary confinement, awaiting death. I find the image of the grief-stricken, shackled boy particularly poignant. His art has been exhibited in London as well as various venues around the US. Kenneth also founded a non-profit, Who Decides, Inc., which educates the public about the practice and history of capital punishment in the United States.
In 2018, director Anne-Frédérique Widmann created the documentary, Free Men, which tells his story: a story of hope, love and survival. Recently, the court overturned the death penalty due to ineffective defense counsel but he remains in solitary confinement where he continues to advocate for redemption, equality, and the humane treatment of the incarcerated.
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Our Vision – ‘Our guiding Light’
Weaving a tapestry of love, hope and justice for the world.
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The 301 Faith Partners--Mary of Magdala, Trinity Lutheran, St Paul's Episcopal --have a Vision, Mission and Values statement that guides our relationships, interactions, and shared projects and ministries.
Read about our Mission, Core Values and Covenant here.
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Newsletters of Trinity Lutheran Church and the St. Paul's Episcopal
What are our partners in ministry up to? Click here for the Trinity Lutheran Church monthly newsletter, "Tidings". And here is St Paul's weekly bulletin.
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