Sunday, September 3 at 10am | Bulletin
Friends,
My three months of work on the pastoral team at St. Paull and St. Andrew’s is coming to an end this Sunday, September 3rd. I leave with both sadness and joy in my heart. Sadness, because I’ll miss praising God with you on Sunday mornings. I’ll miss, too, the chance encounters and conversations on the streets of the Upper West Side, in the parks, in the hallways of the church. Joy because I’ve developed a deep love for this church and its people. You know, it’s a quirky place, and I mean that in the most positive sense. Cookouts, hymn sings, picnics, brass bands, Miracle Mondays, and extravagant welcome to strangers and pilgrims alike – all shaped by a vision of the coming of God’s reign of justice, peace, and revolutionary love. I want to especially thank the leadership who’ve invited me to join them in steering the church in Pastor K’s absence. Thank you, Lea, Brent, Ekama, Frank, Andrea, Nancy, and Julia! You’ve inspired me with your creative imagination, spiritual insight, and devotion to putting love into action. I’m in awe of the collaborative spirit y’all embody. And to all the folks, too numerous to name, who show up and show out in unassuming yet critical ways. You are the church!
As I take my leave, we’ll turn once again to St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, one of the biblical books that’s popped up often in our lectionary these last three months. In Sunday’s appointed reading, Paul identifies some of the marks of a faithful assembly: love, hospitality, prayerfulness, joy, empathy, compassion, patience, and perseverance. If those are characteristics of a liberated and liberating church, how are we doing at St. Paul and St. Andrew? More to the point, how are we being?
Join us as we ask those questions and more, and as we gather at the Table for the spiritual food of the Eucharist, our collective thanksgiving to God for the fellowship of saints and sinners gathered in this corner of the world, and for such a time as this.
See you there,
Pastor Terry
If you would like to support the ministry financially, please visit our giving page.