This Sunday is Consecration Sunday! We will celebrate our joy in giving, our love of St. Mary’s and our stewardship of all that God has placed in our care. We will have one service at 9 a.m., followed by a catered meal at 10 a.m. Thank you for your participation in the life of the parish. St. Mary’s is a truly joyful and special place, and I hope you find yourself challenged, fed and loved by this wonderful group of people.
Monday is Veterans Day, and so we will pray for our current service members and veterans during church. We have family and friends listed in the bulletin who have served/are serving in the armed forces and I invite you to pray for them, their families, and their comrades throughout the world. Ultimately, we pray for peace.
Next Sunday, November 17, we will have Bible Study following both services.
After the 8 a.m. service we will talk about morality in the book of Ruth. Do you know the story? Ruth is one of the four women listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. She is not a Jew, but her devotion to her mother-in-law causes her to leave her own community and travel to join the tribes of Israel. Eventually, she becomes King David’s great-grandmother. On the way, however, she makes interesting choices that we will dive deep into discussing.
After the 10 a.m. service we will study the Psalms. There are 150 psalms in the Bible, and they cover emotions of praise, thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy as well as feelings of anger, depression, betrayal and deep grief. Many are attributed to King David, but others carry the names of other composers. What can we learn about our own faith as we study these ancient prayers?
I hope you are well and safe this week. I am writing before the election on Tuesday, and my prayer is that we may leave behind the anxiety of the campaign season and give thanks that the ads on tv will finally cease.
Prayers and Blessings,
Mother Pippa