Monthly Archives: July 2015

Reverend Sheelagh’s Thought for the Week: July 29, 2015

We have some interesting themes developing in the scriptures over the next few weeks.  The Gospel is focused on nurturing the soul and spirit through “bread” in a variety of ways; the letter to the Ephesians, begins the “body” of Christ imagery that forms the early Christian identity, and we are still held in the throws of David’s horrible story in the Hebrew Scriptures. They all point to the love and mercy of God. Interestingly it is David, (yes this same David), who is reputed to have composed many of the psalms. The psalms are an interesting counterpoint to the events of David’s story, and one can imagine that he writes them as a reflection to what is happening to him. This coming Sunday offers us psalm 51.  Perhaps it reflects David’s journey to remorse and repentance.  I like to hear it that way, for it brings some redemption to the terrible happenings of life, not just in our Biblical tales, but in our own real stories. We all have moments when we also cry out,  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” And through the witness of these stories, we know that we are held and loved through these moments. + Continue reading →

Reverend Sheelagh’s Thought for the Week: July 22, 2015 

“I pray that…he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” Ephesians 3:15

As we kick back a little, and slow down the pace some, we are invited in a number of ways to root and ground ourselves.  Maybe we need to review our work lives, and reset the balance on career and family time?  Maybe we need to take a hard look at the scales and adjust our eating and exercise habits to lose that weight and improve our health?  Maybe we need to sleep more, or worry less?  All of these things help us to be more fully the human person we are intended to be; but more importantly, practical as these things sound, they are in fact profoundly spiritual too.  Being in better balance, taking more time with family, becoming healthier are all ways that we are rooted in God’s love.  That love, incarnate in us, then spreads to bring more love into our relationships, with ourselves and with others. When Christ dwells in our heart, everything we are and can potentially become is grounded in our faith. In Christ’s love, we are invited to become the fullest, most abundant, most whole person we can be – for that is the love of God for each one of us. Continue reading →

Dear friends,

These are the observations from Tuesday and Wednesday of General Convention.

On Tuesday the Presiding Bishop Addressed the House of Deputies on the subject of Mission. She explained each of the “marks of mission to the house, then for each one she played a video which summarized what the Episcopal church as a whole thinks of each mark, and finally she called for small group discussions on each mark. I recorded the marks, news of the church, and questions, so that our congregation can, hopefully, discuss them together.

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Dear Friends,

What a Fantastic morning!  The Episcopal Church approves gay marriage in the church! I get the feeling that in years to come, people will ask me where I was when it happened, and I’ll have to tell them that I was in a dark corner of The Cheesecake Factory hunched over my phone watching the live feed from the floor and hastily scribbling shorthand notes on a napkin.  This post will be all about the debate, and I will post my notes from the regular Tuesday and Wednesday meetings tonight, and a more personal record tomorrow morning, which will be mostly about the atmosphere and experience of General Convention as well as the numerous daily worship services we attended this week.

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