Dear Friends,

I had fun this past Sunday morning as we held an Epiphany pageant at our 10:30 service. Thanks to everyone who helped organize this and to those of you who stepped up to take a role in telling the story. Many stories in the Gospels have an element of revelation and recognition. In many of the stories, there are those who do or do not recognize Jesus as the Christ. How do we see Christ in our lives? Where have you seen God present in the world? 

I know that I find Christ revealed in worship. In the sacraments, and also in the community gathered and turned towards worshiping God. We know Christ in friend and stranger. Our community meets Christ as we seek to serve the needs of our neighbors. Our Baptismal Covenant asks if we will "seek and serve Christ in all persons". Part of that is seeking. We move into our daily lives open to the possibility of recognizing Christ among us. 

Again, my life at St. James puts me in this posture of recognition.  Your acts of service and faithfulness call others to that work. I am excited about the work ahead of us. Our space will be changing, new opportunities will arise, and we might need to look at different ways of doing some things. In all of this, we seek and serve Christ in the people we encounter. 

I pray that you will open yourself to seeing Christ among us. Thank you for your gifts of time, talent, and money that support the ministry that supports all of us in our faithful journey. May you recognize Christ revealed in your life. 

Peace,

Fr. John Mark