Dear Friends, 

Our 100 year anniversary has me thinking about time, and what it means for a parish to be in one place for a century. This parish ministered through wars, the moon landing, 9/11, and many other memorable historical events. We minister today in the midst of a world torn by violence, hatred, and economic disparity. We neither despair or deny in the face of disheartening headlines. We do carry on faithfully sharing love, showing mercy and doing justice. We do our part in this place to share the reconciling love of Christ. 

As part of the Episcopal Church we have a network that we serve within. There are advocacy groups at the national level as well as educational resources around many important issues. You can find a summary of the Episcopal Church's stand on abortion at this link. A comprehensive archive of the Church's response to gun violence can be found here. I remind myself that we "wrestle not against flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). To me, that means that we name and confront the systems or "powers and principalities" while we show love and compassion to our flesh and blood neighbors. 

As we faithfully minister from this community of St. James, we are looking at the ways we support that ministry. I hope you know that we will be launching our Centennial Capital Campaign on June 19 as part of our 10:30 service. We will share the priorities that have been named for building improvements and how we plan to realize our goals. Yes, we will be asking for your help and sharing ways that you can give to support this campaign. 

I give thanks for the ministry of St. James and the grounding it gives me as I follow Christ. We faithfully continue sharing the love of Christ in a world in need of God's healing. 

Peace, 
Fr. John Mark