November 22, 2020

Good morning St. John's Community,

Worship this morning will be available to watch "live" at 9:00am on Facebook, or at any time on our YouTube page, or here on our website, where there is also information for classes and much more.

Exile is a central theme for the experience of God's people in the Bible. As we have had to alter our lives during this global pandemic, it is like a time of exile for us as well. (Ironically, we are not banished from our homes, but to our homes.) It is exile in the sense that we have been separated from our way of life, including gathering for worship, with family at holiday times, and much more. It is a time of testing.

And as the year moves deeper into its darkest season, and the need to adhere to safe practices is only growing, we will be wise to seek intentionality to the way that we live. This is where holy practices come in. The people of God were given practices to get them through their wilderness times, and our religious heritage gives us a rich array of practices that we can choose from as well. The important thing will be to intentionally commit to them, to find what is life-giving and sustaining, and to use them to hold on to who we are—children of God each of us. This may even become a time when we grow deeper in a spiritual way.

To be a resource and hopefully an inspiration for our community at this time, we are creating a new program offering on holy habits which we will make available during the Advent and Christmas seasons. We've decided to do this in a Podcast format. I hope you will listen in when the series becomes available.

In the meantime, one life-giving holy practice for today is to join us for one of our outdoor gatherings. They are:

All are welcome with no prior sign-up necessary. Here is a link for maps and more info.

God's peace,

Rob+

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Join us at 11am for our Speaker Series, which will be a discussion led by Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program. He served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President’s deputy domestic policy adviser. He will speak about the concept of American citizenship. Following the discussion, there will be opportunity for Q&A.

Click here to attend.

How to help, or how to get help. During this difficult time, St. John's is looking to connect people in need of assistance with those who are able to help. If you fall into either category, please visit this link or send an e-mail to help@stjohns-dc.org with your name, contact information, and details of the type of support you can give or the support you need. And to get involved in any of our ongoing local outreach ministries, which are in special need curing this time, you may click here.

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