Outdoor Worship and Pastoral Letter
August 13, 2012
Dear Saint Stephen’s Community,
I write to share that we are going to begin to offer the 7:30 am service, outside on the back patio, beginning on August 23 for those who sign-up in advance. However, before I share those plans, I want to call us to something much more important – a unified plan for spiritual growth in our community and a way to find renewed faith and a sense of grounding in a time when everything is so fragile.
Plan for Spiritual Growth
3-Minute Plan - Since March 15, your clergy have been writing a Daily Reflection six days a week on Holy Scripture. If you have three minutes a day, I encourage you to commit to reading the Daily Reflection that is based on the Episcopal lectionary. If you don’t want another email in your inbox, the Daily reflections are found halfway down the homepage of our website – www.ssechurch.org or by clicking on Stories/DailyReflections.
10-Minute Plan – If you have ten minutes a day, I encourage you to commit to reading the Scripture passages that are a part of the Daily Lectionary. Each day, there is an Old Testament, New Testament, and a Gospel passage as well a few Psalms to read. Over the course of seven weeks, you will read the entire Psalter, and in two years, you will read the majority of the Bible. The tradition of reading Scripture in this way is rooted in the Anglican tradition and is practiced by people of our faith all over the world. Links to the readings are found in the Daily Reflection blog post and email.
30-Minute Plan – Traditionally, the Scriptures are read in context in Morning and Evening Prayer. If you have 30 minutes a day, I invite you to consider the practice of Morning Prayer. We offer Morning and Noonday on Facebook and between the two, it takes about 30-45 minutes. The daily reflection is read at noonday and the Scriptures for the evening are read as well. However, you can also follow this plan by just opening your Book of Common Prayer or using the online BCP. A class will be offered this fall on how to pray the Daily Office. For those that like to listen to an audio version at any time of the day, Mission St. Clare - https://www.missionstclare.com/english/ - has a wonderful tool.
I find it interesting that our collective time in the midst of pandemic has reawakened some of the foundational parts of Anglicanism. If we have a practice of the commitment to reading and reflecting on Scripture daily, we are grounded in our faith. Whether you are willing to commit to three minutes or thirty, I am confident that your life and your faith will be deeply enriched. I continue to hear messages from many in our community that have already committed to this practice and how helpful it has been for their own spiritual lives. Oddly, you may feel more connected to your faith than ever before. While I long to return to the festive Sundays of singing and hugging and celebrating with each other, as I hear the stories in the Old Testament about the Israelites’ longing for the Promise Land that we heard most of this spring and summer, I am reminded that this is only another chapter in God’s constantly unfolding story. This, too, shall pass.
Return to Worship
Beginning on August 23rd, we will resume the 7:30am service, but outside on the back patio. We will begin with a maximum crowd of 34 people, including ushers and clergy, and the service will be spoken Morning Prayer, Rite II. There will be a weekly signup which will include instructions on seating. We will encourage people to walk up the outdoor stairs from the back-parking lot, however the building will be unlocked in case you need to use the elevator. I anticipate us learning much in the coming weeks and being able to have a few more people at 7:30am, but our Task Force wants us to start small and work out the kinks before we expand. At this time, our principal worship service will still be the 10:15am service online. Here is the link to sign up.
Home Communion
In the last two months, roughly 30 people have been trained to be Lay Eucharistic Visitors with special focus on social distancing and sharing communion in a responsible way. I am pleased to share that while not many people have signed up to receive communion, the visits have been very meaningful to those who have chosen to receive. Following the 10:15 service, a Eucharistic Visitor brings your family communion or meets you at place of your choosing. If you are interested, I encourage you to either sign up here for August or reach out to the Rev. Katherine Harper, Associate Rector for Pastoral Care and Liturgy, to learn more.
In my book class, we are exploring an essay by Annie Dillard where she weaves in her experiences at the Eucharist with the history of polar explorers, realizing that everyone is searching for what is inspiring with their actions and balancing it with their humanity. This is the greatest exploration of our lives: to find and know God. My hope is that, even in the midst of crisis, our faith in God in Christ can be deepened and our identity as baptized Christians can be strengthened.
Faithfully,
The Rev. John B. Burruss
Rector