Rector – Live Without Fear, St. Clare
Live without fear: Your Creator has made you holy,
had always protected you, and loves you as a mother.
Go in peace to follow the good road
and may God’s blessing be with you always. ~St. Clare
This is our blessing for this first half of the season after Pentecost. It comes to us from the writings of St. Clare and is one of the suggested blessings in Enriching Our Worship 1, one of our authorized liturgical resources.
St. Clare likely knew something of fear – as she chose over and over again to follow her own path rather than the comfortable one set before her. She was born July 16, 1194 in Italy. The eldest daughter of a wealthy family in Assisi, her life was transformed when she encountered St. Francis. After hearing him preach she asked him to help her live in the manner of the Gospel. And so at the age of 18, she left her family and wealth behind to become one of his first followers. Francis helped her and an aunt, and later a sister and her mother, find a place in a Benedictine convent. When her father attempted to force her to leave and come home she resisted – she had found her path of faith and life and could not be dissuaded.
Francis had a small dwelling for Clare and other women built next to the church of San Damiano in Assisi, and there she founded the Order of the Poor Ladies, a monastic order for women within the Franciscan tradition. After her death it became known as the Order of St. Clare (commonly called the Poor Clares). She was the first woman to write a Rule of Life for a monastic community. Clare and Francis were good friends throughout their lives, and she was as well respected in her own day as Francis himself was. She died on August 11, 1253.
She left many writings, including this blessing which includes expansive language for God – imagining our Creator as a loving mother. One of the hot topics at the General Convention this year has been the possibility of beginning the process of Prayer Book revision. Such revision would address issues of translation in other languages, marriage rites, and including expansive language. As always, passions rise when such work is discussed – but it is my hope that we all can learn from St. Clare – answering the call to live without fear, while remembering that when we expand our image of God we are creating space for wholeness.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
To read more about St. Clare, check out these links:
http://prayer.forwardmovement.org/the_calendar_response.php?id=400811
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_of_Assisi
To read more about everything happening at General Convention 79 click here:
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/
Moving the chairs!
Last Sunday I announced that the chairs would be in a new configuration this Sunday. After looking at the calendar and talking with a few worship leaders, this plan has been postponed. I will be away two upcoming Sundays in July and August (for the Appalachia service trip and for vacation), making the timing of such a change difficult. We are instead looking ahead to changing things up for 4-6 weeks either in Advent or Lent next year – two seasons that we set aside for spiritual reflection and renewal. ~Kristin+
Outreach
Pleasant View Nursing home continues to be in need of volunteers to read the Bible to residents, sing with them or just visit with them. The residents love to have company. There is also a need for individuals to help with activity time. Could you possibly spend one hour a week helping the residents? Please contact Donna on 301-829-0800.
Our next meeting is Sunday, July 15 after the 9:30 Service in the church kitchen. We will be discussing our upcoming plans for fall and winter such as: care packages for college kids, thanksgiving dinners for Mt. Airy Net families, gifts for residents of Pleasant View and Christmas gifts for the foster children of Carroll County. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on what we could do to help others, please join us on Sunday. We would love to have you!
In peace,
The Outreach Committee
Finance/Stewardship
Everyone loves summer! No school, vacations, warm weather and long days mean our daily routines can relax a bit and we can all enjoy some well-deserved ‘time off’. Which means….it is time for the St. James’ Annual Summertime Reminder – please remember to keep your Pledge up-to-date! There is no ‘time off’ for those pesky invoices that ALWAYS seem to arrive right on time………….thanks!
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Hours Week of July 15
Monday – Thursday 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
With physical therapy, doctor’s appointments and limited endurance Laura’s office hours have been changing day-to-day. A routine is beginning to set in so we will let you know the anticipated office hours for the following week every Thursday and in the bulletin each Sunday. Everyone’s prayers and willingness to assist is greatly appreciated and heart-warming! Thank you!
Where in the Church is Flat St. James?
Last Sunday everyone had great fun searching for Flat St. James an collecting a stamp for their passport. If you want to join in the fun, pick up your very own passport in the narthex. See Kristin+ to get your passport stamped!
Take Flat St. James with you wherever you go this summer!
Pick up supplies to make your own Flat St. James, and instruction sheets for taking and sharing summer pictures with him. We can’t wait to see what our St. James’ community is up to over the summer! Don’t forget to send in your pictures to office@stjamesmtairy.org.
St. James’ recently celebrated the birthday of Rebecca Herbert at the Melting Pot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!
M.A.D. Camp
We are ramping up to begin M.A.D. Camp this coming Monday, July 16. Join us for a potluck dinner on Friday, July 20 at 6:00 pm followed by our production of PINOCCHIO. You can sign up for dinner in the narthex.
Amazon Prime Day
Be sure to set St. James’ as your Amazon Smile charity to make a donation every time your shop. Click HERE for more information.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Lynn and Donna Carr
Scott and Christine Carstens (Amanda)
John Cerveny (Ricky, Matthew)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
