You may not feel rich, but . . .

This link is a way to find out how rich you are compared to all the people in the world, not just the people in CT. What an eye opener!!!

How rich are you? >> I'm loaded. It's official. I'm the 51,263,593 richest person on earth!

A Good Resolution

The Diocese of Eau Claire in Wisconsin had its convention recently and passed what seems to me to be one of the most sane resolutions passed or rejected in the last three years. Here are the details.

The resolution said that the diocese, "as a Christian family," affirms that:

• "God has not abandoned his Church. The Holy Spirit continues to guide and be present in abundance with the Episcopal Church."
• "A time of crisis can become a moment of grace-filled opportunity and we desire to work towards that end with God's help."
• "The heat of the moment must be tempered with a larger historical perspective over ongoing moral and ethical debates. We urge patience and unity during the protracted discussion and caution against hasty actions by any which would further split the Body of Christ."
• "We desire to affirm the classical 'middle way' of Anglicanism in order to avoid extreme positions or actions of any kind which would limit or foreclose rational debate and deliberation, always respecting the dignity of every human being."
• "We pledge our allegiance to the ongoing process of determining what is God's will for his Church and affirm that we shall do so together in faith and good will."
• "We adopt the words of St. Augustine of Hippo as the traditional guiding beacon to avoid less than holy behavior and consequences: 'In fundamentals of faith there must be unity. In disputable matters there must be freedom for debate. But in everything else there must be love.'"

St. John's is also a "Christian family" which needs to put love and respect before issues.

Here's something new

Parish Breakfast

Well, the pictures aren't too new. They were taken in September. But the ability to let you see them as an album on the blog is new. I just keep fooling around.

And there shall be music

It's beginning to look something like Christmas. Before the 10 am service (and on Tuesday night) the adult choir practices. After the service the children are getting ready to sing at 5 pm on Christmas Eve and at the Epiphany Pageant at 10 am on Sunday, January 7. They will certainly make a joyful noise -- as well as joy for the rest of us!!

Happy All Hallows Eve

Thanks to Susan Read Stanton for the pumpkin shot! All those faces make me think of the saints -- how they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and looking both ordinary and special -- and most importantly just like themselves.

Have a good, safe, and warm evening!!

Trick or Treat?

Don't let this guy eat anything bigger than his head!!


Who could resist Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma?

A Funny Look at Faith

This cartoon is from What’s the Funny Look on Your Faith? by Cuyler Black, who is a volunteer youth minister at St. Stephen's in Ridgefield. His work is meant to appeal to young people, but the rest of us can enjoy it, too.

Faith and Theology: New poll: the worst liturgical invention

Faith and Theology: New poll: the worst liturgical invention

Follow this link for a good chuckle about how bad church could be and evidently is in some places!

We are guilty of some, like uncomfortable pews, but since we are not terribly innovative, we avoid some of these things!!

And the Gill Garden, too

This wonderful shot of the Gill Garden was taken by Pat Ward, the parish administrator. It is also included in the Lions Club card set. We are luck to have the garden, to have someone who, among her many other talents, takes great pictures, and to be able to help the Lions fight macular degeneration, which has taken the sight of several of our parishioners and probably millions of senior citizens!

Help them out.

It's nice to be an icon

The New Hartford Lions Club has put out a set of cards showing sights around town at different times of the year. It's fun to have this shot of the church in January as part of the set. And the Lions Club project of seeking a cure for age-related macular degneration is surely a worthy project.

Check the next posting to see another St. John's picture in the set!!

Two reasons to buy some of the cards!!

Wait Until Next Year or Request a House Call

In case you're a bit confused, this picture was taken in 2005! This year's scheduled blessing was a complete washout. However, there are rumors that a few pets need blessing before October 7, 2007. So if you and your animal friend feel that need, house calls are available. That is, the calls are at your house not mine.

Salin

Audrey Blesses the Parish Pet

Audrey was fascinated with the parish dog and blessed it with a kiss. We'll be blessing dogs, cats, fish, and iguanas on Sunday (Oct1) at 2 pm on the green. Join us with your pet, your friend's pet, or just a smile on your face!

It was a great breakfast!

Louie and his crew did it again!! They served us a wonderful breakfast and made it look pretty easy! It's always a great time to be able to eat, chat, and marvel at the way people at St. John's pitch in to make things happen.

Kudos also to Brad Bremer, who gave a terrific sermon on stewardship. It gave us food for our souls as breakfast fed our bodies.

Who's an old dog?

I'm the one who wasn't 13 when this picture was taken. And I'm the one who keeps trying to do new things. This may be a bridge too far.

My kind of priest

Read a story from Christianity Today -- http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/003/4.25.htm --

about a black minister in Tulsa, OK who lost his congregation because he was too inclusive in his theology. And the kicker is that he is now being given a place for his church by the Episcopal priest at the "flagship" parish in Tulsa. Yours truly was a member of that parish for 7 years before seminary and learned a great deal about inclusivity there. The lessons are still being taught -- and learned.

Salin

It's a New Year

This was taken about 3 years ago, but now we have snow once again. It's harder because two days ago it was 61 degrees. Yesterday was an annual meeting like many others -- with a larger crowd because it hadn't snowed yet. Ours is not a parish with a lot of controversy, usually.

Now the Vestry and I will try to guide the parish through the next year. There is work to be done to keep our building so beautiful. And there is even more work to do to keep us looking beyond our building.