In last Sunday's gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to come away and rest. They've been working relentlessly, overwhelmed by people and needs, and they are no doubt tired. What a welcome invitation Jesus gives, to them and to us - to come away and rest. This invitation is nothing new. God created, modeled and mandated rest at the start of creation. God stopped to savor what God had made, setting up the rhythm of work and rest, outpouring and replenishment. Sabbath rest is a blessing of our tradition.

What is rest to you? When was the last time you truly rested? The pandemic was not restful for most of us. Anxiety and uncertainty are still part of our landscape. Jesus invites us to rest, to take time apart, and let God nourish our souls. Come away, God says. I'll keep the world spinning. I'll carry your load for awhile. Let me calm and comfort you. Let me remind you of your goodness, and the goodness around you. Let me fill you up and renew you with purpose and hope.  

Jesus is waiting for you, wanting to give you this gift. Blessings as you rest in him.

Blessings,

Mary Kay+

Pray for those who suffer in body, mind or spirit: Colgate, Mary, John, Abby, Ken, Annie, Janet, Ginny, Maximo, Stacey, Zakary, Madeline, Bob and all those being prayed for by our prayer teams.

We pray for those who have died: Richard, Pat, Gene, Jerry, David, Margaret and Kelly; and those who have lost a loved one through death: the Whitlock family and the Nutwell family. 

We pray for our clergy, vestry, ministries, church staff, school staff, parents, and children. 

Loving God, we pray for all those who continue to be affected by the pandemic. 

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The monthly July Vestry Meeting will be held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday the 21st at 7pm. All are welcome to attend! Please find the posted agenda (along with the Zoom link) here (insert updated agenda link). Particular items for discussion this month include: monthly financials update, appointment of audit committee members, an overview of the Youth Ministry program planning, discuss a St. David's REACH account transfer of previously allocated general church funds - for youth mission work - to continue use for broader youth ministry mission work, and preliminary results from the Welcome Back parish survey. If you have questions or comments before the meeting, please contact vestry@sdlife.org.

Join the St. David Men’s Fellowship on Sunday, July 25th from 3-6 pm for:

• Food

• Fun

• Fellowship

• Freedom (from the house, zoom meetings, social distancing, and Covid!)

This event is sponsored and paid for by The St. David Men’s Fellowship. There is no charge to attend, and catered food will be provided. Please feel free to bring the beverage of your choice (cold water will be available). Members and men of St. David’s welcome. Kindly reply by July 23rd to ensure we have enough food!

Link to signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944AAA729A0F94-f4mens

Restoring Eden Contemplative Garden needs volunteers to weed and water the garden. Please contact mcarey@sdlife.org.

Grace to Go is one of St. David's' longest-running local outreach commitments. Working in partnership with St. James Episcopal in Leesburg and other local volunteer organizations, St. Davids funds, cooks and distributes over 100 fully cooked (and then refrigerated) meals on the second Sunday/Monday of every month. It's a service opportunity that directly sustains our food insecure Loudoun neighbors. This is a highly rewarding ministry to participate in and, for one St. Davids member/family, perhaps to lead. Please consider volunteering at http://sdlife.org or even leading the ministry for St. Davids in 2022, following a few months of on-the-job training working in partnership with our current ministry leaders. Please contact Jeff or Lori Grimm directly at jeffg_34@yahoo.com or lorimgrimm@yahoo.com for more information!

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