http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor Pastoral Musings Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:19:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It’s the Saturday before the third Sunday after Epiphany. My liturgy professor always said it’s good to know what time it is, and where we are. Preparations for our annual meeting are underway. We’re holding it tomorrow after church, and there will be food! In Fellowship Hall, and the ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=161 This week, our Sunday worship was graced by the Sunday School Christmas Pageant! The children were the preachers and the Word was heard. Three prophets, numerous angels, animals, Mary and Joseph, Gabriel, a Star, and the manger heralded the birth of Jesus, whose part was played, as always, ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=160 The lessons: Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2,8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8 The written text of the sermon–it always changes in the giving, though, but this is pretty close. Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem! If we could sum up the Gospel, in one word, rolling every mighty act of ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=159 Advent Greetings! A few days ago, around sunset, November’s warm Indian summer departed quietly. The temperature outside dropped quickly, and by early evening, the first deep silence of early winter rose up from the earth. Even the ocean was quiet, and the waves stilled. Such silence, for me, at least, ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=158 Dear Readers, I sent this out as an FYI to the congregational mailing list, but thought I would post it here as well. ………………………….. Dear Friends, The glorious autumn days with warm temperatures seem like late summer. November, though, is here, and we are heading towards the end of the church year, and ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=157 The following quotation comes from a paraphrase of the Bible, called The Message, written by Eugene Peterson. I’ve been pondering prayer this morning, in preparation for Reformation Sunday. In this passage, Peterson works with Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and speaks of waiting for God in a beautiful ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=156 In these last days of September, crows fly over early in the morning, leaves turn, sunflowers give their last seeds to the goldfinches, whose bright summer plumage has begun to fade. Summer was particularly beautiful this year, and letting go of it is as hard as it was sending my children ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=155 Earlier last week, one of the many commentators on 9/11 suggested that perhaps the best way to honor the tenth anniversary of 9/11 is silence. No words, she said, would do justice to the sorrow of that memory, nor the deeply complicated history that follows. I am sympathetic to her view. It’s not just one day ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=154 It’s another glorious day here in Lanesville on Cape Ann. The sun has been shining with regularity, for which I’m grateful. We’re getting ready for a big extravaganza–the 40th Annual Yard Sale on Saturday morning. The church is full of all manner of interesting objects, formerly ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=153 It’s another warmish sunny day on Cape Ann, with all the attendant beauty of a summer’s morning. The sun is coming up around 5:00 a.m., and I watched it rise over Good Harbor with a cup of coffee. There were some early walkers and photographers out for the spectacle, ... http://www.stpaulcapeann.org/Pastor/?p=148