We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts, that we who have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, Collect for The Annunciation, 25 March, pg 188)

I hope that this monthly Missive finds you well. I've been spending quite a bit of time listening, discerning, and reflecting with your NE Region Leadership Team. You will notice that in this month's Missive there are two new "try-ons" happening that we would like to invite you to participate in: a new social media activity and an opportunity to make a new friend via pen-pal.

I've also spent some time reflecting on my own life during this past year. I find myself reviewing what new practices I have tried on over the course of the year, which ones have worked and which ones it's time to let go of. A lot has happened in a year! I've discovered painting, assigned a higher value to silence, dedicated time each morning for dwelling in God's word (except sometimes the new puppy makes that hard!), and cooked what feels like a million meals for my small family.

I think we have all made some interesting adjustments in the past year! Are there adjustments that you've made that you are enjoying? Are there ones that just aren't working and need to be reimagined or let go of? Have your values changed any in this past year? As we move deeper into Lent, I've been thinking about values - what am I investing my energy in and what no longer requires my energy? Lent is a good time to take stock of our time - how we spend it, and how we FEEL spending it.

I recently told my Spiritual Director that Lent is like a desert place. It's uncomfortable but not unfamiliar to me. This is a place of reflection - a pause in the frenzy of to-do's and deadlines. I would invite you, during Lent this year, to embrace a feeling of reflection and rest. Walk with Jesus in this dry place, engage in some conversation, and let yourself rest here trusting that God will do what God needs to do, so that we might come back refreshed and ready at Easter. Amen.

Did you know that 1/3 of Medicare patients are prescribed opiates? How about an opiate for that chronic cough after coronavirus? Narcotics are used to treat a myriad of illnesses and are widely used throughout our society. We will discuss what opiates are, the effects on the body, what an overdose looks like and how to help during an overdose, including using naloxone.

Naloxone (Narcan, brand name) can help during an overdose. It is easy to access and easy to administer. As more and more people are dependent upon narcotics, having naloxone on hand has become imperative in making a difference in the lives of those at risk of an overdose. 

Participation is limited and will include a hands on portion. The class begins before we Zoom. Students will need to go to their local pharmacy and pick up a naloxone rescue kit or order Narcan before we meet. Please note that naloxone is available for free or discounted prices.

Please go here to register: EVENTBRITE - please save your confiramtion email as the zoom link and homework links are at the bottom of that email.

St. Peter's in Hebron hosts socially distant outdoor cabin fever gathering

In years past, it has been our tradition to host two events during the winter for our parishioners: The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner and a cabin fever party to raise funds for heating the church. With the pandemic this year, we had to think "outside the box" to come up with something that would be safe and still allow us to gather together.

We had originally planned to have an outdoor celebration on Shrove Tuesday, combining Mardi Gras and Cabin Fever, in the evening. Mother Nature decided that an ice storm would be more appropriate that day, so we postponed our event until the next Sunday in the afternoon.

What a blessing that we had to move the Cabin Fever celebration to Sunday afternoon. The mild weather and having bright sun made the event more safe for everyone! We had 8 fire pits in the parking lot, and invited people to bring chairs and sit around the fires. Mask wearing and social distance were required, which did not pose any problems.

Our event planning crew went all out, having hamburgers, hot dogs, hot chocolate, coffee, and delicious, freshly made Polish Paczckis. Servers handed out food safely, while other workers tended to the fires in the firepits.

It was a great way to safely gather together as a parish, which we had not done since the late summer. The bright sun, children running around outside, excellent food and conversation were exactly what our parish needed at this time. Over 60 people stopped by, and we raised a few hundred dollars, all of which is going to a charity in need in our community.

The Holy Spirit is alive and well at St. Peter's, even amidst the pandemic and all that we have endured this past year.

The Holy Family (5” x 7” wood panel) was one of my first icons. We all know that Joseph was a carpenter, but what else?

You will notice that in this icon he looks like a passionate young man. In others he is shown as quite old. Then, there’s the question of children. Mark 6:3 says “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? (NRSV)”. At first glance this looks like Joseph ‘begat’ the siblings. But many in the ancient church believed that Mary lived as a virgin throughout her life. Her perpetual virginity represented her full and everlasting commitment to being the mother of Christ. You can see she has a gold ornament on her veil and on her shoulder, a third is on her other shoulder, but is hidden by the young Jesus. The three are supposed to indicate that she was a virgin (1) before, (2) during, and (3) after her pregnancy. So, whence the children?

One suggestion was the 2^nd century Greek document titled the “Protoevangelium of James”, a book that never quite made it into the Biblical canon. It seems that, in a manner quite similar to Samuel, Mary was brought up in the temple from a very young age. This led her to declare that she intended to remain a life-long virgin. She was still expected to get married, so the priests had a problem on their hands. Their solution was to hold a lottery of old widowers who no longer had any interest in begetting children. Joseph, the father of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and several daughters, was the winner. This is the old man scenario.

Another theory might be similar to the following. In my pre-school years, my house was located right next to my aunt’s house. Outside of that, we were quite isolated. My aunt had a son and a daughter who were within two years of me. We dd everything together. One house was an extension of the others far as we were concerned. We could easily be considered siblings. Something like this, where cousins are considered siblings, could be the case for a younger Joseph. The Bible, itself, offers no evidence that Joseph was older than Mary. What do you think?

BTW, the “Protoevangelium of James” makes for an interesting read. It can be obtained quit cheaply on Amazon.

St Joseph is celebrated on March 19^th by the Western Church.

Do you like getting snail mail? Do you have a stash of pretty notecards just waiting to be sealed in their envelopes and garnished with a stamp? Are you feeling a little bit lonely these days?

The NE Region Leadership Team wants to connect you with a pen-pal! We are hoping that folks from across ECCT would volunteer to be a pen-pal and send notes to a new friendly stranger.

Maggie Breen, your NE Region Missionary, will randomly select pen-pal matches and introduce you to each other by email. Then, you can share your mailing addresses with each other. That way your address is only shared with your pen-pal.

If you are interested in being in the Pen-Pal Pool (alliteration for the win!), please email Maggie at mbreen@episcopalct.org and once there are enough people to match, the postal service will be back in business! So grab your fancy pens, your pretty paper, and your stamps.

If you are looking to get involved with Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation and/or Anti-Racism work but aren't sure where to start, below are a few good resources for you to check out that have been curated by either myself or the good folks involved in the Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation Ministry Network:

You can find the most recent COVID-19 update from our Bishops HERE (lots of info here, with access to archived things, too)

Need a zoom tutorial? HERE IS A GREAT ONE! Also, if you look under the Livestream Resources section THIS PAGE there are other helpful links!

PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154

EMAIL: mbreen@episcopalct.org