July 16, 2020
Dear Grace Church Community,
I hope that this letter finds you well. I hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy the beauty God is making available to us each day. I hope that you have had the time to call, or visit at a safe distance, family and friends. I hope you are finding time to imagine what it is your heart desires in this time and place. No, it is not what any of us expected. Yes, this virus is not going away anytime soon. And it is in moments where surprise and confusion come we are offered the opportunity to imagine something new. To imagine what God intends for God’s always expanding new creation. In this time perhaps we can dust off old hobbies or interests, reconnect with important people from our past, listen carefully to the voices of people we might consider strangers, and open our hearts to undiscovered or re-remembered music, art, poetry, movies, and books that take us to a new place.
Julian of Norwich spent much of her life as an anchoress, living in seclusion in a small dwelling attached to the church of St. Julian in Norwich. At her vows, she was literally walled into a small living space. Her only connection to the outside world was through tiny windows where she could observe worship and hear the prayers and concerns of those who came to her in need. She did have access to a small garden where she could take solitary walks. This life enclosed in a small room might be seen as a tomb or a prison. But for St. Julian it was more like a womb, a place where she was formed into new life. Margery Kempe, the mystic, recalled her visits with Julian. Kempe said, “This anchoress was expert in the knowledge of our Lord and could give good counsel. I spent much time with her talking of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Julian’s writings speak of her experience of God’s eternal and all-embracing love, whose great compassion was offered to every person. Many have found strength in the words God gave her: “I can make all things well; I will make all things well; I shall make all things well; and thou canst see for thyself that all manner of things shall be well.” Our time spent in physical separation can feel like a period of darkness. But like Julian we can also see it as a time of gestation, of growing new life, of uncovering new possibilities. This requires both patience and hope. It asks us to practice watching and waiting for what might be emerging within us.
In worship we come together to be nourished and renewed. This Sunday,
July 19, we will gather for Morning Prayer. In this time of pandemic we are being given the gift of exploring more deeply our ancient prayers and the riches of the liturgy of the Episcopal Church. One of the great gifts of the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, is the beauty and profound meaning of our prayers and our rituals. In this time where we must be physically separate in love for each other, we are exploring and remembering liturgy we have not experienced for a while.
Our Agape Service for July will be on
July 26. On this Sunday you are invited to participate in the meal of thanksgiving and remembrance. You are invited to prepare a place that is sacred in your own home. You are invited before we worship to gather a setting of food and drink that together we will bless and share. This is not what we are accustomed to. For a long time we have adjusted our bodies, minds, and spirits to the Eucharistic Liturgy where we come together every Sunday to celebrate the thanksgiving feast. We are accustomed to participating in the Blessing, coming forward to receive in community the offering in remembrance of Jesus’ love for us all, feeling the weight of the bread pressed into our hands and the wine warming our hearts. Eucharist has always been for us a time of gathering together bodily around the table of thanksgiving. In these extraordinary times, you are invited to share bread and wine within this community if you feel God has placed this on your heart. You are invited to participate if it is holy for you. You are not required to participate or supposed to participate. This is an invitation offered in love. Your participation may be in praying for this community and our world while sharing the bread and wine in your own home or praying for this community alone. Thanks be to God for your presence. Worship at Grace Church can be joined
here or by calling in at +1 646 558 8656 (
Meeting ID: 177 160 858,
Password: 917937)
Another way that this time can be inspired is to continue to learn together. Tonight, July 16 at 6:30 PM you are invited to share in a conversation with Professor Charles Dew, Professor of History at Williams College and author of
The Making of a Racist:
A Southerner Reflects on Family, History, and the Slave Trade, as he shares his life of studying the power of white identity in shaping our beliefs and our actions in the world. Join us
here
or call in at +1 646 558 8656 (
Meeting ID: 833 1910 8059,
Password: 719125) . Begin or restart your inner discovery of how a constricted and divided world has shaped you and continues to block your vision from the vast wideness of God’s creation.
This time, while being one of disorientation and fear, can also be a time of growth, creativity and discovery. This time is not what we planned, but God is present in this place. Julian of Norwich experienced the presence of Christ during a near fatal illness. When she recovered she wanted to learn the meaning of God. She says in her writing, “I was answered in ghostly understanding: ‘Wouldst thou learn the Lord’s meaning? Learn it well. Love was his meaning. Who showed it to thee? Love. What showed he thee? Love. Wherefore showed it he? For love. Hold this within you and thou shalt learn and know more in the same.’ Thus it was I learned that Love was our Lord’s meaning.” Be open to God’s presence in this place. Orient your heart toward the freedom that can come even in pandemic---God’s meaning, God’s being--which leads us in love.
May God’s peace that passes understanding be with you,
Janet
Conversation with Professor Charles Dew:
The Making of a Racist - July 16, 6:30 PM
Meeting ID: 833 1910 8059
Password: 719125
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Grace Church Worship—Sundays at 10:00 AM
Meeting ID: 177 160 858
Password: 917937
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