7 from Kevin - Mar 2023
Kevin Jeske-Polyak • March 9, 2023
- In addition to composing and publishing our church bulletins and monthly newsletter, Linda Goins welcomes and appropriately refers visitors and parishioners to our rector and other ministry group leaders. Linda also lovingly maintains our member database, ministry task assignment schedule, and church events calendar.
- Daffodils are blooming all around St. James. Said to symbolize friendship and new beginnings, they are one of the first signs of Spring and are also strongly associated with Easter for that reason. The Romans believed that the daffodil sap would heal wounds, but the opposite is true. Daffodil sap contains sharp crystals to deter animals from eating the flower. So, it actually irritates the skin rather than healing it.
- As he tends to his housekeeping and maintenance responsibilities, Rick Brown engages with some of our most destitute, vulnerable, and mentally challenged neighbors on a daily basis. He must balance appropriate compassion and patience with reasonable firmness to protect our church property and the safety of everyone.
- During the first 2 weeks of February, Valentine Cards were hand delivered or emailed to nearly 750 local businesses to encourage their participation in our 2023 Neighbor Day fundraising event. As a result, we have already received a dozen donations of merchandise and gift cards. The next phase will take place in the Spring. Watch for details.
- Frank Laszlo Jr. loves searching for stuff in “nooks, crooks, and books." That is why he has served so long and so well as our St. James Historian. Having completed his stained-glass window database project, he is now planning to create a booklet and related displays describing our history, beginning around 1866 when our predecessor - Church of the Epiphany - was formed.
- Bob Wadley quietly and conscientiously regularly prepares operating budgets for the church, records and deposits tithes and gifts, and processes timely payments to satisfy our church expenses. Bob also provides monthly financial reports comparing actual and budgeted expenses and other reports as needed.
- Theresa Russell provides parents with a much appreciated reprieve and an opportunity to focus on Sunday’s sermon, knowing that their infant or toddler will receive the best care from someone they trust. Theresa and her team combine their skills and natural love of children to bring life-changing value to the “little ones” and their families.
Friends and Neighbors, This Sunday is Mother's Day and also Good Shepherd Sunday. Both celebrations have been shaped and changed over the years. Good Shepherd Sunday got the name as we do read the passage from John 10 about Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Mother's Day has roots going back to Mothering Sunday in England. The establishment of Mother's Day in the United States was motivated by the recognition of the work of Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Anna M. Jarvis. These women worked for sanitary health care for soldiers and were advocates for peace during the Civil War. They imagined a union of mothers who would call for peace because mothers knew so deeply the loss of their children to war. Mothering and shepherding call for similar qualities of protection and care.
We continue celebrating Easter as we move into a month full of celebrations and transitions. I am looking forward to just hanging out with folks this Saturday night at our spaghetti dinner. You can find details about that in this email. Please mark your calendars for the annual Justice Knox Celebration on May 19 from 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church. We will have dinner and share stories about the next steps. You will also be asked to consider making an investment in the work of Justice Knox. I hope that you will consider giving to this important ministry.
Alleluia. Christ is risen. We celebrated the resurrection with so much joy this past Sunday. The Easter feast continues for 50 days. Thank you to everyone who made Holy Week and Easter Sunday so special. You helped people feel welcomed to this place where we proclaim the welcoming love of Christ in word, deed, song, Easter egg hunts, and something good to eat. We welcome others because we have known the love of Christ and want to share it.
Friends and Neighbors, As we journey through Holy Week, I encourage you to pause and consider those events that lead us to the joyful celebration of Easter. May that also be reflected in our lives. We walk through hard things and know that God is with us. We hold to the hope that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Friends and Neighbors, As the weather teases us with warm days followed by chilly ones, we enter Holy Week. You have probably heard me encouraging folks to experience the journey to the cross and the grave so we might celebrate the resurrection with that insight. God has shared this human experience and is with us in the darkness and the light. Our liturgies of Holy Week take us on that journey with Jesus and remind us that God is indeed with us on our own journeys.