From the Rector – A Brief Theology of St. Patrick’s Day
I found this reflection on St. Patrick from The Salt Project quite lovely. As I prepare corned beef and cabbage and potatoes this weekend I’ll offer a tip of the glass to Patrick and pray the prayer at the bottom!
The lives of the saints are full of stories passed down for generations, stories so polished that the lines between history and legend are blessedly impossible to find. And so in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this year, three ancient, delightful stories – but first, a little background.
St. Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He died just over fifteen hundred years ago, reportedly on March 17, and he is closely associated with the growth of Christianity throughout the Emerald Isle, the rise of Celtic styles of Christianity, and of course that famous shamrock (more on that in a bit).
He first encountered Ireland as a slave. Patrick was born in the Roman imperial province of Britannia (today known as Great Britain), and as a youth he was captured by Irish raiders and forced to serve as a sheep herder. After six years of captivity, he escaped and made his way home – only to return to Ireland years later as a bishop and missionary.
St. Patrick’s Walking Stick
Patrick was an itinerant preacher, and it is said that he carried a walking stick made of ash wood. In his travels between Britannia and Ireland, whenever he would stop to preach, he would plant the stick beside him, upright in the ground. At the English site now called Aspatria (“ash of Patrick”), he preached so patiently, the story goes, that when at last he finished, he couldn’t remove the stick. It had sprouted roots, you see. It was already on its way to becoming a tree.
St. Patrick’s Bell
In his life as an enslaved sheep herder, St. Patrick was quite familiar with the sheep bell: a simple bell of hammered iron with a small handle on top. As a bishop, that bell continued to have great meaning for him, perhaps because it reminded him of his youth, or of the ringing good news of the gospel, or of his ongoing role as a pastor (from the Latin pastorem, “shepherd”). Whatever the reason, he was laid to rest with a simple iron bell resting on his breast: the dead shepherd, buried with his bell.
Sometime later, the bell was removed from the tomb as a precious relic. And in the eleventh century, artists intricately covered the bell in bronze, gems, and Celtic designs of crosses and birds – not to make the bell appear more holy, it is said, but rather to shield the eyes of onlookers from the brilliant holiness of the iron original. Now on display in Dublin’s National Museum, St. Patrick’s Bell is considered one of Ireland’s signature treasures.
St. Patrick’s Shamrock
The Christian idea of the divine Trinity – God’s simultaneous threeness and oneness as Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit – has always been a great challenge for preachers to grasp and explain. St. Patrick did it this way: he looked around, and then plucked a shamrock from the ground at his feet. Three leaves, he said, and yet one stem, one life. Add to that the shamrock’s vibrant shade of green, the color of growth – and while it’s easy to imagine a more technical, lengthy explanation of the Trinity, it’s hard to imagine a better one.
A Prayer for St. Patrick
God of walking sticks and bells, little shamrocks and big ideas, thank you for Patrick. Let us remember him not only for his sake, but most of all for your sake, and for the sake of your good and brilliant green creation. Grant us the patience to trust the work you have given us, so that it might take root, grow, and bloom. Grant us the dignity and clarity of a simple, iron bell. Grant us new eyes to see your creation afresh, out on the horizon but also down around our feet, where great mysteries dwell nearby, hidden in the grass. For we are all your sheep, and you, our good shepherd. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Outreach
The Lenten calendars and grocery list are in the Narthex especially for you! Pick one or two up – it’s not too late! All the food will go to Mt. Airy Net.
The Outreach Committee wanted to acknowledge our college students again by sending them handmade cards for Easter. Karen Larrimore did a wonderful job making them! The cards will be in the Narthex waiting for you to write messages to our young adults. They will be mailed by April 15.
The summer months are very hard for Mt. Airy Net to keep food on the shelves for those in need. This is the time that children who usually receive free breakfast and lunch at school are not in school to receive this benefit. It is very possible many of these children may not have enough food to eat. In mid-April the Outreach Committee will be requesting from the congregation food supplies to stock the shelves at Mt. Airy net. We will be asking for hot and cold cereal, breakfast bars, pop tarts, juice boxes, containers of juice, any other breakfast item, canned fruit along with all the usual items. We plan to take this food to the Net by July 1. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the committee.
Blessings,
The Outreach Committee
Finance/Stewardship
Just a year ago, St. James’ introduced the Replenish & Establish Project to our parishioners. All were asked to pledge their financial support to a 3-year effort to replenish the Operating Reserve Money Market account (used to pay operating and payroll expenses when cash flow is tight) and to establish a Capital Improvements Money Market account (to make funds available for capital expenses that arise in the future). With a goal of $185,000, our St. James’ community pledged $182,365 for this worthwhile effort – just a ‘smidge’ away from our goal! As of February 28, 2019, $107,841.00 has been received – with $52,681.51 deposited in the Operating Reserve and $55,159.49 deposited in the Capital Improvements account. All monthly, quarterly and semi-annual pledges are current, and the yearly pledges should be received between now and May 1, 2019. Thanks to all parishioners for helping with this strategic planning effort to keep St. James’ financially stable in the future – you are the BEST!
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Schedule for the week of March 17.
Monday – Thursday 10-4.
Have you heard?
The Thrift Shop is NOT closing! A post on Facebook with a play on words – the hope of which was to garner attention for the 50% off store wide sale today as we shift from winter to spring/summer inventory – got folks in the community talking. It worked! Stop by the Shop today or soon and thrift with purpose!
Walk for El Hogar
Good morning, friends,
If any are interested in service hours or simply in volunteering or participating in a great event, please consider participating or volunteering on Sunday afternoon, March 24 at the Walk for El Hogar.
The walk begins at 1 pm, volunteers can come before then to get ready. It’s a 5 mile walk to support children ages 5-18 in Honduras who attend on of El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, which serves poor and abandoned children. The goal of the education at El Hogar is raising up an educated and productive middle class within Honduras, a country that suffers from cycles of government corruption and poverty.
Many members of the larger diocesan community (and St. Andrew’s, Glenwood) have traveled to Tegucigalpa to witness El Hogar’s solidarity with children in deep need. These youth and adult service team participants have learned firsthand about poverty, government policies, education, and a faithful response to systemic injustice.
(If you know someone interested in traveling to Honduras this summer (July 13-20, $1500-1700) – please put them in touch with the St. Andrew’s, Glenwood parish office for a complete trip packet: 410-489-4035 – must be a high school freshman or older, or a parent/guardian must accompany a younger youth.)
Let me know if you have any questions.
Peace/Paz,
The Rev. Dina van Klaveren
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:
Robert and Carol Buckley
Jim and Patty Bullington
Rebecca Carbis (Will)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Readings for the 2 Lent, March 17, 2019 :
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35
| This week’s Commemorations (A Great Cloud of Witnesses, 2019, Church Publishing Group)
March 17 Patrick, Bishop and Missionary of Ireland, 461 March 18 Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, 386 March 19 Saint Joseph March 20 Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1711 March 21 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr, 1556 March 22 James De Koven, Priest, 1879 March 23 Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop and Missionary of Armenia, c.332
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