Dear Friends,

I was glad when they said unto me "Let us gather for a potluck." (John Mark 2:15)

We had a great potluck in the nave Monday night as we gathered for another Friendship Circle. It is good to be together. We will gather again for a potluck after our 10:30 worship time on Sunday, June 4. This time we will be in our renovated parish hall. I say we spend all summer looking for ways to come together. 

Many things are moving around over the next few weeks. Our last Eucharist in the nave will be May 14. After that, we will worship in the parish hall throughout the summer. We will also continue to feed and tend God's sheep through all the changes. I look forward to making use of the new spaces and finding creative ways to use our resources tho share the love of Christ. Thank you for sharing your resources to support the work we do together. As summer approaches I remind us all to keep up with our pledges to the general budget and the capital campaign. (We will also watch the utility bills now that the new HVAC and windows are in.) 

At our Friendship Circle this past Monday, I felt and shared the reality that St. James has long been a welcoming place. We continue to learn what it means to welcome. All around us, we see efforts to draw hard boundaries to exclude, harm, and diminish others. St. James has been a community where people have found welcome and healing. we speak and act from a place of seeking to share the love of Christ. We do justice and mercy while we also celebrate being together. 

Peace, 

Fr. John Mark