THIS WEEK AT ST. LUKE’S In-person and Live-streaming/zoom gatherings from St. Luke’s.
On Saturday, May 22 we resumed in-person worship. We will continue to stream in-person services at St. Luke’s, as well as the Daily Office, as scheduled. Please join gnus on our Facebook page for streamed services.
**(Note: if you are NOT a Facebook member, when you click on the link it will ask you to sign in or create an account, which you can ignore and just scroll down the page a bit till you see the service.)
Click here for a copy of the Book of Common Prayer! Click here for a copy of Enriching Our Worship 1. This contains supplemental liturgical materials (i.e. Canticles) we occasionally use for Morning and Evening Prayer.
Daily Office: Morning and Evening Prayer – Morning Prayer at 9 AM; Evening Prayer at 5PM are live-streamed on Sunday; Tuesday through Saturday morning.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 – FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION – HOLY DAY
5:30PM – Centering Prayer – Our ongoing group meets each Thursday at 5:30 BOTH IN THE CHAPEL AT ST. LUKE’S AND ON ZOOM. All are welcome to join in. To access the “zoom chapel” click here. Click here for a brochure on The Method of Centering Prayer.
10AM – Memorial Garden Committee – Monthly Gardening
7:30PM – Voce Angeli Concert
In a Pastoral Emergency, please contact—The Reverend Rebecca A. Barnes, Rector at 646-533-1836/e-mail at mthrbarnes@gmail.com. If you, or a family member, are in the hospital, a health care facility, or are home bound and would like to have a visit from Mother Barnes or a member of our Pastoral Care Committee, please contact the parish office. Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA, hospitals no longer automatically provide churches with names of admitted parishioners. If you or a family member are hospitalized or in a health care facility someone acting on your behalf will need to notify the church to assure that proper pastoral care may be offered. St. Luke’s church complies with all HIPAA requirements and cannot provide personal information for sick or injured members without permission of the member or his or her close family member. Additionally, if you or a loved one are hospitalized or homebound and desire regular Eucharistic visitation, please notify the parish office. Eucharistic Visitations are customarily made once per month; weekly visits may be scheduled upon request.
Our latest edition of the St. Luke’s Newsletter is hot off the press. Click here to see the AUGUST 2022 edition or go to the newsletter tab on our parish website.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Provide relief and help communities recover from flooding and fires
Deadly flooding and fires in southern and western parts of the US are displacing thousands and creating a financial burden on the most vulnerable. Episcopal Relief & Development is working with church and local partners to provide help where it’s needed the most. Your swift response and compassionate gift to the Episcopal Relief & Development Disaster Fund will provide supplies to help communities in Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, California and other places make a full and sustained recovery. Visit episcopalrelief.org to make a contribution today.
►Are you Safe Church compliant? Maintaining your required trainings and clearances is vital because it helps us to keep all of the people in our congregations safe. Episcopal Church canons require all people who have contact with children in an Episcopal Church to take online trainings in order to learn best practices, appropriate boundaries, and who to contact if they need help or suspect child abuse. Both Episcopal Church canons and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania laws require everyone who has contact with children and those with any sort of leadership position in the church to obtain background checks. If you are a clergy person, lay employee, vestry member, volunteer who works with children, or a keyholder in your church, there are steps you need to take in order to be in compliance with Pennsylvania law and the Episcopal Church Canons.
The learning modules and Safe Church Training site have been recently updated. Learn more about what you need to do in order to be compliant and to keep your church safe. Contact Mother Barnes or Sharon Sollami if you have any questions or concerns about Safe Church compliancy.
Holy Hikes Northeast Pennsylvania is a chapter of a nationwide Episcopal organization and an official ministry of St. Luke’s, Scranton. We meet on the third Saturday of each month through October. The contemplative hike is structured to celebrate Eucharist as we walk and find ways of being in prayer, reflection, and communion with God’s Creation. On August 27th* at 10AM, we will hike in Montrose at Salt Springs State Park and be joined by friends from St. Paul’s, Montrose(*Please note the date change!) For more information contact David at drwegner@epix.net or check the parish Facebook page for updates.
Safety Net Grocery Bags and Volunteers: Once again the “pew bags” have found their way back to St. Luke’s Church for the scheduled summer collection for the months of June, July and August. Safety Net’s Director, Siemong Wang, provided us with a list of items to help fill the empty shelves for our neighbors in needs— non-perishables for Safety Net:
Canned fruit or meat—soups, tuna Boxed pasta/Spaghetti Baby wipes
Peanut Butter/Jelly Rice Shampoo and Deodorant
Juices (100% juice) orange, apple Boxed Cereal Diapers—3, 4, 5
Canned Chef Boyardee Pasta sauces Razors (Men’s & Women)
Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
Please fill a bag and return it to St. Luke’s. We will deliver collected items to Safety Net. Thank you!
►Grocery Giveaway – Tuesday August 16, 2022 from 1-3PM.
St. Luke’s monthly Grocery Give in partnership with Friends of the Poor, will be this coming Tuesday. The program is open to all who may be experiencing food insecurity. If you would like information about receiving food, or about volunteering, please contact Sharon Sollami at sharonsollami@gmail.com
Throughout the month of August, we are seeking donations of pet food and treats, etc. for our monthly grocery giveaway. Donations can be dropped off in the designated box in Israel Lounge.
►Lay ministers needed in worship and hospitality: Readers, intercessors (prayers of the people), ushers, and coffee hour hosts are needed on a regular basis. Sign-up sheets are located in Israel lounge. Should you have any questions or concerns, please speak with Mother Barnes.
►Catch Up With the Congregation: Coffee Hour is a wonderful time for us to gather together as a parish community. If you would like to host the hour with a light snack or homemade goodie, please sign up on the board in Israel Lounge. If you have a favorite coffee mug you’d like to contribute for use during coffee hour, please bring it in; St. Luke’s is trying to minimize the use of paper products!
We are currently preparing to offer Confirmation class for youth. If your teenager is baptized and desiring confirmation, please contact Mother Barnes for more information. On Sunday, August 21 at 1PM we will be holding a youth gathering. The event will include a cookout, games, a walk on the Trolley Trail and conclude with Eucharist. It will be a fun gathering with church outdoors!
We are hoping that it will also be an opportunity for youth from both parishes (and perhaps others from our convocation) to get to know one another, build friendships, and begin working together towards the goal of participating on an Appalachian Service Project ( https://asphome.org/ ) next year as conjunction with their confirmation.
Classes at St. Luke’s will begin in September. We will be using a special youth focused curriculum J2A – Journey to Adulthood. Bishop Kevin will be with us for Confirmation on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 2023. More detailed information about confirmation classes and registration will be sent out soon.
Sunday School, 9:30 AM –Sunday School will resume on Sunday, September 19! Rick Ammenhauser, Senior Sunday school teacher, announces that children’s Sunday school classes will commence on Sunday, September 19 at 9:30am. St. Luke’s uses Godly Play, a Montessori-based curriculum with our younger children, ages five to ten years old.
In the fall, we plan to launch another program for our older youth. That ministry program will include focused lesson plans with goals, activities, and talking points on topics including racism and creation care. For more information, to enroll your child, or to learn more about serving in the Sunday school program, please see Mother Barnes or email her at mthrbarnes@gmail.com or Rick Ammenhauser at imgold67@aol.com
See our Children and Youth page for more offerings including resources for talking with kids about the challenging issues of our time.
Resources for Children: We have new welcome bags for our youngest attendees to enjoy during Mass. The bags are filled with sensory engaging toys and books and are available from an usher. Weekly lectionary materials are also available for our youngest members and visitors.
Voce Angeli Concert: Each year, Voce Angeli, a premier women’s choral ensemble in Northeastern Pennsylvania presents a summer concert with proceeds benefiting a local charity. This year’s concert is set for Saturday, August 13, 2022 at 7:30PM at St. Luke’s and the benefactor is the Catherine McAuley Center, an agency that provides temporary shelter for women with children in crisis. Mark your calendars for this wonderful summer event. There will be a free will offering for this concert; suggested donation is $10.00.
Nine Greek Definitions of Love – Sunday, July 10 at 3PM
Madison Zahorsky, Soprano, with David Macbeth, Piano.
The Nine Greek Definitions of Love provide insight on the varied shadings of love that have been experienced throughout humanity for millennia. The ancient Greeks subscribed to the philosophy that love needed to be balanced and come from many sources in order to be fulfilling. The theme of Love is no stranger to the vocal musical canon. This program illuminates the many possibilities of love in art and in our lives. Program will feature works of Jonathan Dove, Amédée-Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Fauré, Samuel Barber, Richard Wagner, Franz Schubert, Jason Robert-Brown and more.
March for Our Lives is marching in multiple locations throughout NEPA! Born out of a tragic school shooting, March For Our Lives is a courageous youth-led movement dedicated to promoting civic engagement, education, and direct action by youth to eliminate the epidemic of gun violence.
Action Together NEPA will rally on June 11th, to help put a stop to gun violence and March For Our Lives! The Scranton March will begin at the Steamtown Mall across from the State Building. Anyone from St. Luke’s that wishes to join in and go together may meet at the church at 10:30.
► A Christian Ed Offering with St. Ignatius of Antioch, NYC
From St. Ignatius – “As we continue to mark our Sesquicentennial, starting this coming Tuesday, June 7 our former assistant rector, the Rev’d Rebecca A. Barnes will begin a two part (four class) series on the history of Anglo-Catholicism, the Ritual Movement, and the early years of the Church of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, through the mid-1920s. The first two classes in June will discuss the ritual movement and the September classes will cover the rectorships of our founder, Fr Ewer, and his successor Fr Ritchie. Mother Barnes received her Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from the General Theological Seminary, writing her M.Div. thesis on this very subject. She is presently Rector of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton, PA. The class will be held on Zoom immediately following Evening Prayer and in the same Zoom meeting: https://www.saintignatiusnyc.org/DailyOffice All are invited to join!”
MARY MAGDALENE “APOSTLE TO THE APOSTLES” – AN EASTERTIDE RETREAT DAY with DEIRDRE GOOD.
On Saturday, April 23, 2022 St. Luke’s held a retreat day on Apostle to the Apostles -An Eastertide Retreat Day on Mary Magdalene with Dr. Deirdre Good.
To view the video of the retreat click here (Passcode is John20:1-18 )
Deirdre Good, (Th.D. Harvard Divinity School), is a renowned Biblical scholar and professor of New Testament specializing in the synoptic Gospels. Born in Kenya, she grew up in the U.K., taught as Assistant Professor at Valparaiso University, as Associate Professor at Agnes Scott College, as Professor and Academic Dean at The General Seminary for 28 years, and now lives in Maine. She is a licensed lay preacher in the Diocese of Maine and a faculty member of the Stevenson School of Ministry in the Diocese of Central PA.
Fridays in Lent:
On Friday, March 4, at 7:00 PM (and continuing at this time on Friday evenings throughout Lent) we will pray the Stations of the Cross followed by Compline.
Lenten Loaves and Lessons: Join fellow parishioners at 6PM for a light Lenten supper of soup and bread with reflection on select themes from Episcopal Relief and Development’s Lenten meditations. Stations and Compline follow at 7PM.
Lenten Retreat Day – Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop – An Introductory workshop will be offered throughout the season of Lent beginning with a workshop on Saturday, March 5, 2022 from 10 am-3:30 pm. A light lunch will be served (Free-will donations are requested to defray the cost of the meal), or a brown bag lunch may be brought. Follow-up sessions designed for ongoing learning and group spiritual support will be held at the regularly scheduled Thursday evening Centering Prayer group gatherings on March 10, 17, 24, 31 and April 7. The workshop will be presented by The Rev’d Rebecca Barnes who is a commissioned presenter with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. For more information, please contact Mother Barnes at mthrbarnes@gmail.com or call the parish office.
Centering Prayer Group: Each week an ongoing weekly Centering Prayer group meets at St. Luke’s. Centering prayer meets on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm. Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Christ. Weekly sessions will include prayer, a contemplative walk, and study writings from the Christian Contemplative tradition. During Lent, the Six Follow-up Sessions to the Introductory Workshop will be offered. No prior experience is necessary. For more information, please contact Mother Barnes at mthrbarnes@gmail.com or call the parish office. (Centering Prayer group meets each Thursday at 5:30 BOTH IN THE CHAPEL AT ST. LUKE’S AND ON ZOOM. To access the “zoom chapel” click here. Click here for a brochure on The Method of Centering Prayer. )
Christian Education and Formation
Ten Commandments Class
Rabbi Daniel Swartz of Temple Hesed, Scranton and Mother Barnes are partnering to teach a class on The Ten Commandments. They will take an in-depth look at the commandments that are central to Judaism and Christianity.
The ten-week program will be held at noon on Sundays beginning on Sunday, February 6, 2022 and continuing through April 10, 2022. The first five commandments will be taught at Temple Hesed and the last five at St. Luke’s. The class will also be a hybrid offering on Zoom. The planned text for the classes are Inscribed Encounters with the Ten Commandments, Rabbi Oren J. Hayon, editor and The Ten Commandments for Jews, Christians, and Others, Roger E. Van Harn, editor and can be purchased through your favorite bookseller.
If you have any questions, or to obtain the password for the Zoom meeting, please contact Mother Barnes at St. Luke’s (570)342-7654 or Rabbi Swartz at Temple Hesed, 1 Knox Road, Scranton, 570.344.7201.
PYZANKY AND PRAYER -Ukrainian Easter egg making and prayers for Ukraine.
On Tuesday, March 29th from 6 to 8 PM, we will have the unique opportunity of gathering for a time of learning the art of Pyzanky – Ukrainian Easter egg making – and joining in prayers for Ukraine.
“Pysanky are made using a wax-resist dye method, which requires the eggs to be dipped in different-colored dyes from lightest to darkest with melted beeswax applied between layers with a design tool called a kistka. The beeswax preserves the color underneath when dipping the eggs in new colors. Once the designs are complete, the wax is melted and scraped off, revealing the final designs.”
Our instructor will be Tammy Budnovitch, who is a member S.S. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Church in Olyphant who has been teaching this art for several years. The cost is $25 and includes all supplies. Attendance is limited to 12 people and will be on a first come first serve basis. Please email mthrbarnes@gmail.com to register.
Celebrate Beethoven’s belated 250th birthday with his soul stirring G Major String trio along with some surprise party guests! Featuring NEPP violinist Sasha Margolis, violist David Creswell, and cellist Alberto Parrini, this concert celebrates the 150th Anniversary of St. Luke’s current church on Wyoming Avenue. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022 | 7:00PM.
Kick off Black History Month by joining us next door at the Ritz Theatre on February 1 at 6pm for a showing of the riveting documentary “My Name is Pauli Murray.”
The film is free, a free will offering will be taken,
Released last fall, this film captures her personal path and tireless advocacy that foreshadowed some of the most politically consequential issues of our time. The New York Times (Sept 15, 2021), said of the documentary, “When the lawyer, activist, author and educator Pauli Murray died in 1985 at the age of 75, no obituary or commemoration could contain all of her path breaking accomplishments. A radical and brilliant legal strategist, Murray was named a deputy attorney general in California — the first Black person in that office — in 1946, just a year after passing the bar there. Murray was an organizer of sit-ins and participated in bus protests as far back as the 1940s, and co-founded the National Organization for Women. Murray was also the first Black woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. In 2012, she was sainted. “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” aims to introduce Murray to the masses. Made by the same Academy Award-nominated filmmakers behind the surprise hit “RBG,” it uses Murray’s own voice and words as narration, drawn from interviews, oral histories and the prolific writing — books, poems and a collection of argumentative, impassioned and romantic letters.”
Presented by EDS at Union
Join us on Thursday, February 10th from 6:30 – 7:30 PM ET, as we celebrate Black History Month and honor the life of Absalom Jones, whose feast day is February 13th. Dean Kelly Brown Douglas will host a panel discussion with Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown, Episcopal Diocese of Vermont; Bishop Kevin Nichols, The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem; and Bishop Robert Wright, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. RSVP for this virtual event here (https://ssl.charityweb.net/eds/event/absalom.htm). As the Episcopal Church’s first African American priest, the Rev. Absalom Jones’ story is one of resilience, struggle, and powerful witness. Our panel will reflect on the life of Rev. Absalom Jones and the significance of his witness for our Church and nation today.
Presented by Diocesan Racial Justice and Reconciliation Task Force
Mission: Joy – How to Find Happiness in Troubled Times.
Join St. Luke’s on Monday at 6:30PM in Kreitler Hall as we wrap up Black History Month with a presentation of “Mission: Joy.” “Mission: Joy” is an enlightening, peek-behind-the-curtain, 90 minute documentary built around an historic 5-day meeting between two of the world’s most consequential spiritual leaders – His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Born a world apart, both Nobel Laureates, the two men, one a Buddhist the other Christian, met here to celebrate their improbable friendship and share their hard-won wisdom about a wide range of issues from love, karma, guilt and forgiveness to joy, faith, meditation and reincarnation.
On Saturday, October 16th we concluded this year’s hikes by walking The Leigh Gorge Trail (Rockport trailhead) which was an easy walk adjacent the Leigh River with stunning views that should be in peak fall color. We invite everyone to join us again next May when we commence our second season. Have any ideas for a walking/hiking locations of want more information on the St. Luke’s Holy Hikers? Please contact David Wegner at drwegner@epix.net or Mother Barnes at mthrbarnes@gmail.com
►Episcopal Migration Ministries
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), the refugee and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church, needs your support to welcome our Afghan allies to communities across the country. EMM is one of nine national refugee resettlement agencies tasked with the challenging and life-saving work of supporting Afghans who arrive with parolee status. The Afghan Parolee Services program provides very limited support only for parolees first 30-90 days; your donations can ensure they have a safe place to live and access to basic needs during and beyond that period. EMM will need to provide at least $3,000 worth of housing and cash assistance for each person arriving on parolee status.
Financial support is critical at this time. Donations to the Neighbors Welcome: Afghan Allies Fund will provide the housing assistance, medical services, and financial support for basic necessities.
Connect with an EMM local affiliate. Visit affiliate websites, sign up for their emails, and stay tuned for ways you can volunteer to support their work. If you are not near an EMM affiliate, please visit rcusa.orgto find opportunities closer to you.
Take action in support of our Afghan allies by completing the action alert from The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations.
►Episcopal Relief & Development Aid for Haiti: On Saturday, August 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the southwest portion of Haiti. This devastating earthquake was followed by Tropical Storm Grace on Monday night and much of Tuesday. More than 1 million people, including more than half a million children, have been impacted by the back-to-back disasters, and the death toll is close to 2000. Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners are responding immediately with direct assistance to vulnerable households in the region, as partners plan long-term recovery. Your generous gift can provide assistance to help people in the wake of these disasters. To assist in these efforts, visit episcopalrelief.org/haiti-relief.
►Have a green thumb? The Warren Memorial Garden Committee welcomes volunteers to help out with their monthly care of the garden. Have questions? Please speak to Mickey Baccoli, Senior Warden or email David Wegner at drwegner@epix.net
►Cypress House at St. Luke’s Awarded Becoming Beloved Community Grant
Cypress House at St. Luke’s was notified this week that we have been awarded a 2021 Becoming Beloved Community grant by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. The $9,000 award will support the ongoing development of our Cypress House Bakery Prison Re-Entry Program.
The entire system of mass incarceration is one of the most egregious examples of racial injustice in our country today. The parole and probation programs continue that injustice even upon release from prison. The rate of minority incarceration in Lackawanna County is the highest of any county in the Northeastern quadrant of the U.S. Cypress House aims to repair the breach in our society by assisting men and women post-incarceration with a return to life on the outside. In addition the presence of Cypress House in the community of Scranton will help bring awareness to the issues surrounding mass incarceration.
The grant that we have been awarded is a seed grant to help us grow into the work of Becoming Beloved Community.
150 YEARS ON WYOMING AVENUE
On Friday, July 2, 2021, St. Luke’s celebrated the 150th Anniversary of our current church building. Celebration include an Anniversary Eucharist at 6PM, and an open house with tours and exhibits. Outdoor festivities included refreshments, games and activities for children and families and a jazz band. Photos of the evening’s celebration will be posted soon. Sincere thanks to all who made this evening’s celebration possible!
Click here to view the Anniversary Eucharist.
Click here to view Bp. Kevin’s greeting and blessing.
The Scranton Area Ministerium in collaboration with the Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission is holding a multi-session workshop entitled “Working Together for Change: How to Advocate for Racial Justice.”
This series will take place on October 14, 21, 28, and November 4 by Zoom and on November 11, 2021 in person 7:30-8:45. This series will feature speakers and facilitators Itzel Hayward and Kathy Simon from Attuned Living to discuss how to be an effective ally, learn non-violent communication, and advocate for racial justice. The final session will be held at the Jewish Community Center, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA and will be led by Rabbi Miriam Spitzer of Temple Israel and Mother Rebecca Barnes of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
This is a unique opportunity to come together across religious traditions, cultures and experiences to:
Step out of our comfortable silos, come together as Scranton faith communities
Challenge everyday biases in ways that encourage conversation
Talk about deeply charged topics with openness and clarity
Step into your power to create a more just world
Registration and donations will offset the cost of the program.
Here’s a free video by our facilitators to introduce you to the kind of work this program will cover.
► Every Stitch Counts: Works from the Social Justice Sewing Academy and Bold Independence: African American Quilts from the Collection of David Whaley – October 23, 2021at 1PM
St. Luke’s will offer a special intergenerational outing to the Everhart Museum onSaturday, October 23 at 1PM. We will be given a special group tour led by the new Executive Director, Kathy Johnson Bowles. Special focus will be on two current exhibits: Every Stitch Counts, developed by the Everhart Museum in conjunction with the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA), a national youth education program that bridges artistic expression with activism to advocate for social justice, this exhibition features textiles created by either individual artists or collectives highlighting social justice issues that have affected the artists, their families, and their communities. The powerful images create unique narratives addressing issues such as racism, gun violence, education, immigration, and poverty. The second and related exhibit, Bold Independence features quilts made during the second half of the 20th century by eleven African American women from Mississippi and Alabama. A number of the works are by the famous Gee’s Bend quilters and a majority were produced in the Black Belt region of Central Alabama. Please call the St. Luke’s parish office at 570-342-7654 to register to attend. This will help us and the staff at the museum prepare for our visit.
►Lift Every Voice and Sing Churchwide Revival
The Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) invites all to join a virtual churchwide revival July 27-30 that will feature stirring music, testimonies, learning, and messages from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and others.
For four nights, Black Episcopalians will lead The Episcopal Church in worship and preaching. All services will be livestreamed.
The UBE revival also includes daytime sessions featuring panel and group discussions, prayer, and fellowship opportunities.
Juneteenth (“June” plus “nineteenth”) is a day that marked the beginning of the journey towards justice, accountability, and reconciliation in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas. That day he informed enslaved African-Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. This announcement gave voice to the written words of the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two and a half years earlier in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln.
Juneteenth is a day for followers of Jesus to be reminded of their Baptismal Covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” It is a day for churches and faith communities to gather together to learn, pray, and continue the work of justice and reconciliation. A day such as this one provides an excellent opportunity for transformation. We must take advantage of the moment we are in to actively listen through honest and transparent dialogues that strengthen our faith and our connections to one another.
LENTEN ADULT BOOK STUDY:Jesus and the Disinherited – On Tuesday evenings in Lent at 7PM, our seminary intern, James Smurl will lead us in a discussion of Howard Thurman’s classic theological treatise. “Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower–it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God’s justice prevail.” This book study will be held on Zoom. Click here to join the discussion!
LECTIO DIVINA LENTEN VIRTUAL RETREAT DAY: On Saturday, March 13 from 10am-2pm, Mother Barnes will lead a virtual retreat on the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina, literally meaning “divine reading,” is an ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. During Lectio Divina, the practitioner listens to the text of the Bible with the “ear of the heart,” as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. Join us to learn more about this traditional way of cultivating a relationship with Christ through reflection on His word that leads beyond mere acquaintanceship to an attitude of friendship, trust, and love. To register, please email Mother Barnes at mthrbarnes@gmail.com
Diocese of Bethlehem Black History Month Series.
From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference
Starting January 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), The Episcopal Church launches “From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference,” a campaign urging Episcopalians and our neighbors to engage in the spiritual practice of listening and honest conversation across the many differences that separate us, starting with four simple questions:
What do you love?
What have you lost?
Where does it hurt?
What do you dream?
Inspired by the Latin phrase on the U.S. seal – E Pluribus (“from many”) Unum (“one”) – the campaign is designed to offer a faithful perspective and time-tested practice for knitting deeply divided communities into a diverse, more perfect union. In a cultural moment shadowed by pandemic, fractious politics, and deep division within families, communities, and nations, Episcopalians can partner in simple ways to celebrate difference, listen with deep curiosity, and promote healing.
“I have never been more profoundly aware of the need for passionate and practical commitment to the way of unselfish, sacrificial love that Jesus taught,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said. “Conversations with others across difference is not just a nice thing to do. It is a spiritual practice of love in action. It’s how we reknit the fabric of our democracy and the human family of God.”
Listening, adapting, and leading in tense cultural times is deep in the Church’s DNA.
“From Many, One” is designed to be simple and transformative. It is geared toward individual people talking to other individuals, although congregations may join, too. Participants are encouraged to follow these steps:
Learn about The Four Questions and related wisdom at www.episcopalchurch.org/from-many-one
Watch videos of people modeling The Four Questions
Sign up and set a conversations goal
Have the conversation(s)
Pray for your partner
Contribute to the “From Many, One” story space with insights, video/audio highlights, a poem, prayer or image inspired by your conversation(s)
Check out partner efforts like Braver Angels: With Malice Toward None, Civil Discourse Course, Sacred Ground, and The People’s Inauguration
Join the Easter campaign celebration with a special online worship and sharing time
“We hope people understand this is only scratching the surface of the practice and learning that we’re called toward,” said Rev. Melanie Mullen, the church’s director of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care, one of the departments that collaborated to shape the campaign. “Our goal is to point people toward partner efforts that meet you where you are: for more simple conversation, further learning, deeper reckoning and/or action. More than that, we hope people see this as part of a life-long commitment to creating beloved community.”
For more information on the “From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference” campaign, contact the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers, canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care, sspellers@episcopalchurch.org or 212-716-6086, or Sarah Alphin, associate for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care, salphin@episcopalchurch.org or 212-716-6102.
This service is designed especially for those who have experienced loss, especially in this pandemic year, or find the holidays difficult. This years’ service will be an interfaith service offered by the Scranton Area Ministerium and will be live-streamed.
Prayers and Litaniesand Devotional Resources Prayers for Self, Church, Community, and World Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic (The Episcopal Church) Prayers : For Use During the Coronavirus Outbreak (Church of England) A Pandemic Prayer Litany for Health Care Workers (St. John’s, Boulder) A Pandemic Prayer Litany for Police Officers and First Responders (St. John’s, Boulder) A Prayer for Peace in Our Streets (from dailyoffice.org)
Holding on to Hope
A National Service for Healing and Wholeness – Live from Washington National Cathedral – Sunday, November 1, 2020, 4-5:30PM
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry led a live-streamed prayer service from Washington National Cathedral, Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness, on All Saints Sunday, November 1, at 4:00-5:30 p.m. EST. In the midst of a pandemic, racial reckoning, and a historic election, the live-streamed service gathered Americans for prayer, song, lament, hope, and a call to love God and neighbor. The event was simulcast in English and Spanish.
Resources on Race and Racism
“Can you yearn enough for Church; can you yearn enough for Jesus.”
Bishop Kevin expresses his support of Kelly Brown Douglas, Stephanie Spellers, and Winnie Varghese, and encourages everyone in the diocese to read their message, “Speaking of Freedom,” and reflect upon this moment.
Here is their written statement. https://dfms-my.sharepoint.com/…/EWobhXqaQGVPogF-T-ysGXkBoN…
In this video they read the statement and discuss.
Please, I urge you to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest. This is a call to the Church, to us Episcopalians, to BE CHURCH.
White Fragility In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’” (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.”
Here is another good book on racism that is free right now – Me and White Supremacy And here’s a workbook to accompany it.
And a good article from Psychology Today – The Psychology of Rioting: The Language of the Unheard. ___________________________________________________________________________ For those who still wish to view our Holy Week at Home booklet – Click here to access a full service booklet of resources which were used for observing Holy Week at Home. These may be used in the home by individuals and families. St. Luke’s supplemented these with the streamed services which are still available on our parish Facebook page.
If you haven’t used Zoom before, we encourage you to watch this video in advance. Want to know more about how to find a live stream on Facebook? Click here.
