The Week of July 10, 2022 |
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Join us this Sunday at 9:00AM in person or online
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Dear friends in Christ,
In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” (Romans 1:16-17)
This is a very short excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Romans, but it is also the one that, for me, says it all. Not about Christ or the church, but about what it is to be a Christian in an unbelieving age. I am not ashamed of the gospel.
Why would Paul, the great missionary and apostle, be ashamed of the gospel?
It’s difficult to overstate how shameful crucifixion was in the Roman world. It was a death reserved for the lowest of the low, and it was designed to be as disgraceful and dehumanizing as possible. To say that the Cross was the sign and symbol of Christ’s victory over sin and death would have been laughable to those to whom the “righteousness of God” had not been “revealed through faith for faith.” To some, the Christian gospel would have been ridiculous, and those who held fast to it would have seemed embarrassing and feeble minded.
In our day, the cross is a commonplace. Crosses adorn church steeples, they make for occasionally fashionable or ironic tattoos, and devout individuals wear them around their necks. But the domestication implied by ordinariness can often yield the same fruit as disgrace. How ridiculous a thing it is to believe that the whole course of human history was changed by a man hanging on a cross in a provincial city of a long-dead empire, that in that singular event the whole human race was reconciled to God.
It would be embarrassing to believe something like that, wouldn’t it? It would bring a person in for ridicule, wouldn’t it, certainly among the right thinking, the realists, the operators?
I am not ashamed of the gospel.
Yours faithfully in Christ,
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Our Sunday service will begin at 9:00 am on summer Sundays until Homecoming Sunday, September 11, when the 8:00 am and 10:15 am services will resume. |
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Flower Cross Project Update |
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Volunteers from St. John’s and the Over 60 Club have been working diligently on the flower cross, attaching crocheted, knit, and sewn flowers and leaves to the body of the cross. When finished, it is hoped that the cross will spread healing, peace, love, and hope in our parish and the Stamford community. Please contact Nicky Mehan for more details or to help.
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Save the date: A Garden Party, Saturday, July 23 ~ 3-6 pm |
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The St. John’s Women’s Group will be hosting a Garden Party on the great lawn this year, in lieu of their annual High Tea. Please mark your calendars, and don’t miss this fantastic event. Tickets are $30 general admission and $20 for seniors. Please see Olive Grant on Sunday morning, or contact the Parish Office during the week to purchase. Tickets are also available via Eventbrite - click here to purchase.
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Inspirica Women's Shelter Monthly Meals |
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On the last Friday of each month, various teams or families from St. John's provide a meal to a small group of women at an Inspirica women's shelter. Parishioners provide a healthy meal to approximately 10-15 Inspirica clients at their 8 Woodland Place location. The volunteers choose the menu, which should consist of a protein, starch, salad and/or vegetable, bread, water and a light dessert. Volunteers can either drop off the meal or can stay and serve the meal; clients do the clean up.
Would you please consider helping with this important ministry? Our next available date is June July 29. If you do not have a “team” to prepare the meal, but would like to do part of the meal, that's great; we can coordinate! Please contact Caroline Smit at csmit@optonline.net or 203-912-6661 to sign up now or in the future.
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St. John’s Community Foundation Press Release |
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St. John’s Community Foundation has granted more than a quarter of a million dollars to more than forty organizations serving the Stamford community which provide for educational and economic opportunities, as well for those in crisis and those requiring basic needs. Click here to read the Foundation’s most recent press releases.
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Prayers and Financial Support for Ukraine |
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The crisis in Ukraine continues, and our prayers are with not only those on the front lines and in the peace talks, but also with the millions who have been displaced. If you feel moved to contribute to humanitarian relief efforts via Episcopal Relief & Development, please visit their website: https://support.episcopalrelief.org/ukraineresponse.
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Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study |
During the summer months, Tuesday Bible study will take place on the last Tuesday of every month. The regular weekly schedule will resume on the first Tuesday after Labor Day. Click here to join the Zoom meeting.
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Open Thursdays and Saturdays: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Community Thrift Shop welcomes new, almost new, and gently used clothing, home goods, and jewelry donations. All proceeds from the Thrift Shop are donated to nonprofit charities serving those in need. Please note: Starting in June, the Thrift Shop will be open every Thursday 10:00-3:00 and the first and third Saturday of each month from 10:00-3:00.
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Recent Prayer Requests for Healing of Body, Mind and Spirit. |
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Please keep these persons in your daily prayers:
Ben, Carol, Daniel, Ed, Kedley, Lloyd, Marc, Terrence, Jon, Ann, Henri, Sharon, Erin, Dante, Anthony, Marie-Anne, Martha, Nessa, Angela, Gweneth, Toni, Jordan, Gabriella, Cindi, Barbara, Andrew, Jeffrey, Theadeen, Latoya, Christine, Murdena, Aidee, Anthony, Mitch, Jacob, Roslyn, Collin, McKenna, Andy, Errol, Emman, Bill and Verna.
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer: the Church of the Province of Uganda.
In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut: St. James’, Poquetanuck; Christ Church, Redding; St. Stephen’s, Ridgefield.
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To give to St. John's Episcopal Church, you can make your donations electronically or you can simply mail in your check to the church office if you would rather not use the online giving tool. Our Parish Administrator, Kathy McBride, is receiving doing the banking.
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Forward Day By Day is the Episcopal Church's own discipleship publication! As disciples, followers of Christ, daily prayer and reflection grounds us in God's love and gives us strength and clarity to confront our weaknesses, put our trust in God and listen to where God is calling us to serve. Available online for-free!
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