He shall say to the LORD,
“You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
my God in whom I put my trust.” (Psalm 91:2)

All week I have been humming the refrain to the hymn we sang last Sunday – “Trust and Obey:”

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way 
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

I enjoy singing so maybe that’s why each week words to hymns swirl around me.  They are reminders that strengthen my faith.  The words to this hymn are similar to the sentiment of Psalm 91, as well as our lessons for this upcoming Sunday.  We are to be free of fear… we are to be comforted when we trust in God and obey what God is calling us to.

This trust in God, although written on our currency, may be one of the hardest actions of faith we take.  We would rather trust in our own power and efforts.  We would rather trust in another human being or something we can physically see clearly.  Trusting in God requires a different kind of sight and sense.

I also believe that being in a Christian community is important to carrying out this faith of trusting and obeying.  It is good to check out with others in the faith what we sense and see God is calling us to.  Thankfully we at St. John’s have each other and then we have the Diocese of Lexington and the Episcopal Church and even the Anglican Communion… all communities of faith where we can confirm what we are being called to.

These communities are human and sometimes have not been the best guides, but they are places that provide a beginning point of learning to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet 
we will sit at his feet, 
or we’ll walk by his side in the way; 
what he says we will do, 
where he sends we will go; 
never fear, only trust and obey. 

Love, Rebecca

Rebecca’s Schedule

Next week, I will be attending the Clergy Conference.  Please feel free to contact me any time, however, by calling 859-429-1659 or rev.myers2013@gmail.com.

5th Sundays

 This Sunday we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, with bi-lingual service and potluck

September 15-October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, so on September 29, much of our service will be bi-lingual, English/Spanish.  I hope hearing familiar words in a language that may be unfamiliar brings new meaning to us and also reminds us that we are connected to a Worldwide communion.

Check out the bulletin now so you can practice: Bulletin 09-29-2013

This Week’s calendar at St. John’s

• Tuesday, October 1 – Gospel Jamboree and Fish Fry – Barn
• Wednesday, October 2 – Worship
• Friday, October 4 – Hymn Selection Group
• Sunday, October 6 –

10:00am – Adult Forum and Children’s Class
11:00am – worship
12:30-1:30pm – Meeting of Adult Forum Coordinators
3:00-5:00pm – Blessing of the Animals in St. John’s Park

Serving next Sunday, October 6

• Readers: Bruce W. Cory and Gay Nell Conley
• Eucharist Minister:  Jeff Davis

Hymn Selection Group to meet October 4. – If you’d like to choose hymns for services, join this group.  You will choose hymns for an upcoming service and then meet with the entire group to confirm the final selections.

Would you like to write Prayers of the People?  If you are interested in writing these prayers (there are resources that can help with this task), please let Rebecca know by phone or email priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.  

Adult Forum – Radical Welcome:  Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation by The Rev. Stephanie Spellers is the focus of our Adult Forum October 6 through November 17.  Senior Warden Bruce Cory leads the discussion next Sunday defining radical welcome.

Classes are available for children.  If you can assist, please let Anne Day and Dura Anne know. 

Blessing of the Animals, Sunday, October 6, 3:00-5:00pm, St. John’s Park

Bring your furry and feathered friends to the St. John’s Park, College Street on Sunday, October 6, 3-5pm for a special blessing.  Cats, dogs, birds, other domestic pets or farm animals, and all God’s creatures are welcome. Animals must be leashed or caged and under control of a caretaker at all times. Co-sponsored by: St. John’s Episcopal Church, and The Presbyterian Church of Corbin.

Fellowship cookout and games for the kids, Sunday October 13, 6pm at Corbin Presbyterian Church.  First Baptist Church will also be there.  Bring a side dish if you’d like. 

 Daughters of the King meeting, Wednesday, October 16, 4-5pm at the church. 

 Would you like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church?

Bishop Hahn will make his annual visit to St. John’s on Sunday, October 20. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church, please let me know so we can schedule the appropriate classes.

Belk Charity Sale – Saturday November 9, 6am – 10am.  Tickets are on sale now for this special event.  All ticket sales benefit the church.  Tickets are $5.00 each, which provides admittance to this special sale as well as $5.00 off your purchase.  Buy more than one ticket!  They may be used at any Belk store.  Also plan to buy an extra clothing item to donate to the residents of the homeless shelter.  Information is at the kitchen window of the church.  Volunteers are also needed to assist at the store on the day of the event. A sign-up sheet is available at the kitchen window. 

 Let’s plan to attend the Diocesan Ministry Fair, Saturday, November 9, 9:30am – 3:00pm at Emmanuel Church, Winchester

Bishop Hahn is inviting all of us to the First Annual Ministry Fair – Toward a More Excellent Way.

A great gathering of music, fellowship and keynote address will be followed by three workshop sessions and a shared lunch. Workshops topics, include Christian Education in Small Parishes, Leadership For Vestries, Lay Ministry Updates, An Overview of the Gospel of Mark (for Our Liturgical Year A), and What’s New at Reading Camp. There will be six workshop choices for each session – something to help every parish and every participant find a more excellent way of ministry.

The Reverend Barbara Blodgett will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Blodgett teaches Pastoral Leadership at Lexington Theological Seminary. Prior to this she was head of Supervised Ministry for Yale Divinity School. Her fields of expertise are leadership, ethics, and excellence. Dr. Blodgett will offer a workshop in addition to her keynote address.

 ECW Chocolate Fest, Saturday, December 7.  Plan now to attend this annual holiday event.  Planning meetings and chocolate making and craft making will begin soon. 

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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Year C Proper 20 Track I

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.

Please be seated…

I was fortunate for many years to have a wonderful neighbor, who is still my friend.  I met Miss Patery Pennyfeather (we call her Miss Penny) when I was 27 years old and she was just over 50.  She came from a large family in Florida and she had relocated to Pennsylvania as a migrant farmworker.  She had never finished high school.  She worked as a janitor at the Pennsylvania capitol building, bought her home, raised her 5 children as a single parent, sending some to college.  Miss Penny was and still is a fabulous cleaner.  What a pleasure to walk into the house after Miss Penny has been there to clean.

Most importantly Miss Penny was and still is an amazing neighbor.  She looks out for the children in the neighborhood and always asks how they are doing in school.  She cooks like her 5 children are still home and then calls you up to tell you to come over and get a plate of food.  Then yells at you because you haven’t taken enough.

One day, Miss Penny was part of a large family dinner at our house.  My daughter’s piano recital was that evening and 14 of us had gathered for dinner.  Miss Penny said she was tired and did not want to go to the recital with us, so we bid her good-bye and rushed off to the recital, leaving all of the dishes to be washed and a messy kitchen.  We arrived home after the recital to find our kitchen totally cleaned up from the dinner.  Miss Penny had a key to our home and had come in after we left to clean up!

What value would you place on such a neighbor?  A neighbor and friend like Miss Penny is priceless.  But often Miss Penny did not have enough money to support herself.  You see, as a janitor in our society she was never paid what she deserved.

This parable today is very confusing and many commentators truly don’t know what to say.  Most of us think God is the Master and Jesus is telling us to be dishonest with what God has given us, for instance.  But I would like you to consider another way to look at this…

God is the “dishonest” or “shrewd” manager and we are the master.

Think about it.  We are locked into the values of this world.  We constantly judge who is deserving of what.  We tend to measure people’s worth and value based upon what they earn.  If people can’t earn enough to keep even a modest roof over their heads, there is something wrong with them.  There are rules about who is deserving and who is not.  There are rules that say that women who stay home to raise children do not get paid nor recognized economically for what they contribute to their families, communities and our country.  I want to suggest that the Master was tied up in all of these ways of living in the world.

Yet, the manager, “squandered” the Master’s resources.  The Manager lived by different rules.  Doesn’t God do that with us?

Do we really deserve unlimited forgiveness?  Do we really deserve infinite opportunities to repent?  Do we really deserve unconditional love – love with no strings attached?  Isn’t God squandering resources on us?

And in this parable, we hear more about how God loves us with wild abandon.  God is like the manager who says… “How much do you owe?” and then tells us to take our bill and cut it in half!”  We owe God EVERYTHING, don’t we?  But God tells us it is okay to give some! And why??  Because God wants us to welcome God into our homes….  When we receive such extravagance… such love…such forgiveness…our response is to welcome God into our homes.

And when we welcome God into our homes..into our hearts, the rules we live by are different.  We serve God and not money.  Yes, a good steward serves God.  We use our resources in ways that reflect God’s love..God’s extravagance…God’s way of looking at the world.  We use our resources differently.

Some of you know I served as an elected school board member in Harrisburg, PA.  Yes, I am one of those politicians.  One of the most difficult times for me as a member on that board was when we were asked to give a company that made $29 million in profit each year, even more money.  Now Harrisburg School District has some of the poorest children in the nation and a particularly difficult tax base.  Yet, we were asked to give up ½ million dollars each year for 20 years in tax benefits to this multi-million dollar company.

As I was trying to reach some compromise or something I could live with a little better – keeping the company in our community, but not hurting the children as much… I was told the company’s first priority was their fiduciary responsibility to the stockholder to get the best deal.  In other words, the stockholders trumped the education of children.  That corporation ran like many responsible and successful corporations… but it was accountable to money and in the process hurt children.

Thankfully, some companies today are expanding their understanding and looking at the triple bottom line – people, profits, and the planet.  Making a profit is important, but how much is enough of a profit?  For these companies, making a profit is balanced with being fair to the workers and communities, and doing as little harm as possible to the physical environment.  I suggest this is a little closer to serving God and not money.

I don’t always agree with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California.  But I truly admire him.  I heard him teach and preach once and he talked about how he and his wife tithed to the church – 10% of their income.  Yet, when they started having larger and larger incomes, they lived in the same house AND they did a reverse tithe.  They lived on 10% of their income and gave 90% away!

They decided to serve God and not money.  So money in and of itself is not evil.  It is a tool we use to live with each other.  But when we serve money, we get into trouble.  When we serve God, we are guided in how to use the tool of money in that service to God. 

Miss Penny has never gotten what she deserved in the money economy of this country.  She is like so many that we know…vital to the community…visible expressions of God here on earth.  Priceless in God’s economy.

And luckily, we never get what we deserve from God, either.  While the world’s economy may shower us with money and wealth, God’s economy gives us something more.  God asks us “How much do you owe? and then God reduces our debt, showers us with love and forgiveness, and waits at the door to be welcomed into our home.

Amen…

My joy is gone,grief is upon me,my heart is sick.

Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land (Jeremiah 8)

This week I have felt plenty of anger about the way people who live in poverty.  Ever since I knew I was coming to Eastern Kentucky, the question about the persistent poverty in this region has haunted me.  I remember hearing about Appalachia when I was a child.  I am heading towards 60 and as far as I know, the depth of poverty still exists in this region.

This week, I attended Brushy Fork Institute and had a chance to talk to many people who have grown up in Appalachia.  I have asked the question about the persistence of poverty and received many answers.

In addition, at St. Agnes House I understand how important the Episcopal Church’s provision of such a ministry is essential to people with few resources who are trying to receive medical care.  While so many are generous with donations of money and supplies and the wonderful quilts we received this week… there is still and almost overwhelming need for physical repairs and maintenance to the house.  As I research similar ministries, I notice their staffs are two to three times the size of ours and their fundraising efforts greatly overshadow what we have done.  Is it because we serve so many people who are poor and fall through the cracks, I wonder?

Then the United States House of Representatives voted to withdraw millions of dollars from the SNAP program, commonly referred to as Food Stamps.  I know we’ve all heard or maybe seen people at stores buying what we judge as unnecessary or expensive food items with SNAP benefits, but truly the majority of people receiving these benefits are hungry.  Many are children who cannot provide their own food.  There is so much hunger that the backpack programs which send food home with children in a backpack have become popular.  In addition, SNAP benefits are used right in our own communities with the local grocery stores and farmer’s markets.  The “money” received supports the local economy.

We do not question when a person  makes more money than could ever be spent in a lifetime.  We do not ask whether they deserve that amount.  Why aren’t teachers and firefighters and police officers paid the most, for instance?  But it seems like we always question whether people who live in poverty deserve any kind of assistance.    We decry our politicians’ personal lives and judge them immoral, yet never include our own failure to address poverty as immoral.  We do not demand that poverty be addressed.  We rather prefer to believe that people choose to be poor.

So Jeremiah cries out to us this very day.  Jeremiah tells us how heartbroken God is because we stray…because we allow children to go hungry.  Lord, when did we see you sick or hungry or in prison or without clothing or without water and not assist you, we ask.  And we are reminded that when we deny the basics of life to any of God’s creation, we have denied God.

Tell me what you think.  Let’s explore this together.  It’s not an easy topic and maybe my anger is totally displaced.  Look forward to hearing from you….

Love,

Rebecca

Rebecca’s Schedule

Next week, I will be in the office on Tuesday, September 24.  Please feel free to contact me any time, however, by calling 859-429-1659 or rev.myers2013@gmail.com.

Follow St. John’s on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/stjohnscorbin/   Thanks to Mary Swinford for creating the St. John’s Pinterest page.  Pin Away!

Memorial for Ed VanGorder on Sunday, September 22, 2pm

Come to the Barn at 2pm on Sunday, September 22, to celebrate the life of Ed VanGorder.  June says to come with an appetite and ready to tell your favorite stories about Ed.  We will process to the columbarium for the inurnment.

5th SundaysCelebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on Sunday, September 29, with bi-lingual service and potluck

September 15-October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, so on September 29, much of our service will be bi-lingual, English/Spanish.  I hope hearing familiar words in a language that may be unfamiliar brings new meaning to us and also reminds us that we are connected to a Worldwide communion.

Start now to practice The Lord’s Prayer in Spanish:

Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo,
santificado sea tu Nombre,
venga tu reino,
hágase tu voluntad,
en la tierra como en el cielo.
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día.
Perdona nuestras ofensas,
como también nosotros perdonamos
a los que nos ofenden.
No nos dejes caer en tentación
y líbranos del mal.
Porque tuyo es el reino,
tuyo es el poder,
y tuya es la gloria,
ahora y por siempre. Amén.

Would you like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church?

Bishop Hahn will make his annual visit to St. John’s on Sunday, October 20. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church, please let me know so we can schedule the appropriate classes.

Christian Formation for children and adults begins October 6

Children are invited to participate in the Godly Play program. Prayerfully consider assisting with the spiritual formation of the children in our parish.  Anne Day and Dura Anne are asking for additional assistance in this important task.  Let’s show our children how much we value them and how important their spiritual development is to us.  If you can help regularly or occasionally, it would be appreciated.  Please let me know.

Adults are invited to participate in an exploration and discussion of the book, “Radical Welcome” by The Rev. Stephanie Spellers

What does it mean to be a Christian community that is radically welcoming?  And how can we become such a community?  This book provides helpful information and real-life stories.

Bruce Cory, Steve Gilbert, John Harris, and Mary Swinford have agreed to lead this series.  Leaders will provide summaries of the various sections of the book, and lead us in discussion over 6 sessions from October 6 – November 17.  If you’d like to lead or know of someone you’d like to have lead, we could use two more people.

For more information, go to https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=451 and to watch a YouTube video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9JOsRtzUc

Blessing of the Animals, Sunday, October 6, 3:00-5:00pm, St. John’s Park

Bring your furry and feathered friends to the St. John’s Park, College Street on Sunday, October 6, 3-5pm for a special blessing.  Cats, dogs, birds, other domestic pets or farm animals, and all God’s creatures are welcome. Animals must be leashed or caged and under control of a caretaker at all times. Co-sponsored by: St. John’s Episcopal Church, and The Presbyterian Church of Corbin.

Fellowship cookout and games for the kids, Sunday October 13, 6pm at Corbin Presbyterian Church.  First Baptist Church will also be there.  Bring a side dish if you’d like. 

Daughters of the King meeting, Wednesday, October 16, 4-5pm at the church.  

Belk Charity Sale – Saturday November 9, 6am – 10am.  Tickets are on sale now for this special event.  All ticket sales benefit the church.  Tickets are $5.00 each, which provides admittance to this special sale as well as $5.00 off your purchase.  Buy more than one ticket!  They may be used at any Belk store.  Also plan to buy an extra clothing item to donate to the residents of the homeless shelter.  Information is at the kitchen window of the church.  Volunteers are also needed to assist at the store on the day of the event. A sign-up sheet is available at the kitchen window.

 Let’s plan to attend the Diocesan Ministry Fair, Saturday, November 9, 9:30am – 3:00pm at Emmanuel Church, Winchester

Bishop Hahn is inviting all of us to the First Annual Ministry Fair – Toward a More Excellent Way.

A great gathering of music, fellowship and keynote address will be followed by three workshop sessions and a shared lunch. Workshops topics, include Christian Education in Small Parishes, Leadership For Vestries, Lay Ministry Updates, An Overview of the Gospel of Mark (for Our Liturgical Year A), and What’s New at Reading Camp. There will be six workshop choices for each session – something to help every parish and every participant find a more excellent way of ministry.

The Reverend Barbara Blodgett will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Blodgett teaches Pastoral Leadership at Lexington Theological Seminary. Prior to this she was head of Supervised Ministry for Yale Divinity School. Her fields of expertise are leadership, ethics, and excellence. Dr. Blodgett will offer a workshop in addition to her keynote address.

The Rev. Brandt Leonard Montgomery, Curate and Assistant Chaplain, University of Alabama to preach and teach on Sunday, November 10

I went to seminary with Father Montgomery.  He is excited to visit Corbin.  He will teach during the Adult Forum regarding the civil rights movement 50 years later.  Below is information about Father Montgomery.

Brandt currently serves as the Curate at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel & Student Center at the University of Alabama.  After graduating from Talladega High School in Talladega, Alabama in 2003, Brandt enrolled at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama, from which he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance, specializing in Trumpet Studies, in 2007.  On May 16, 2012, Brandt graduated cum laude from The General Theological Seminary of The Episcopal Church in New York, New York, receiving the Master of Divinity degree and being named his class’s recipient of the George Cabot Ward Prize for Biblical Reading and Service to the Church.  In addition to Canterbury Chapel, his ministry, thus far, has included service to 6 Episcopal parishes in Alabama, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York.  Brandt was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church by the Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan, Bishop of Alabama, on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012 and was ordained by the same as a priest on December 2, 2012 at Canterbury Chapel.

ECW Chocolate Fest, Saturday, December 7.  Plan now to attend this annual holiday event.  Planning meetings and chocolate making and craft making will begin soon.  

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Year C Proper 19 September 15, 2013

The Hot Wind of Transformation

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse– a wind too strong for that.

Please be seated.

50 years ago today children all over the country were in Sunday School and church services.  It was 18 days after the historic March on Washington.  Close to 10:30 that morning, twenty-six children at 16^th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, about 5 ½ hours south of here, were going into their basement assembly room to hear a sermon entitled, “The Love that Forgives.” They did not know that Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Herman Frank Cash, and Robert Chambliss, members of United Klans of America, planted a box of dynamite with a time delay under the steps of the church, near the basement.  The bomb went off.  Addie Mae Collins (age 14), Denise McNair (age 11), Carole Robertson (age 14), and Cynthia Wesley (age 14), were killed in the attack, and 22 additional people were injured. The explosion blew a hole in the church’s rear wall, destroyed the back steps and all but one stained-glass window, which showed Christ leading a group of little children. The children were killed and injured because of the color of their skin….

And even 50 years later we ask, at least I do, who kills children in Sunday School?  Who thinks that is moral and right?  While that level of violence was extreme and not condoned by many people, segregation and racial oppression were legal.  Something so many of us now understand as against God’s laws was the norm for much of the country.

Jeremiah prophesies:  A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse– a wind too strong for that.

I don’t know if you’ve ever felt that hot wind?  I’ve lived most of my life in the eastern United States.  When breezes blow, there is a cooling effect.  Often we welcome a breeze.  Mostly I know positive words for a breeze – it feels so good, we say.

Yet, when I lived in Kansas, I knew that hot wind.  The wind blows all of the time on the prairie, with not much to block it.  Keeping the car in the lane of the highway can be a challenge some days.  There were days when certain doors at the University of Kansas could not be used because the wind was so strong, it could catch the door and bring it off its hinges.  Sometimes, you may hear me say “It is a Kansas Day” and you will know I am referring to a particularly strong, windy day. 

But even in the shade of the few trees that exist, the wind is HOT!  The breeze is warm.  The blowing wind does not cool the land, but seems to draw the heat into it, making the place even warmer. 

Yes, the wind can be used to winnow the wheat – separating what is the good part, from what is not needed.  The wind can cool.  But the wind can be fierce, and hot, and withering.

This hot wind that Jeremiah foretells… this strong wind that does not cleanse nor winnow… is what is needed at times for transformation to occur.  This destructive wind is what is called for… this wind representing the judgment of God… a kind of odd invitation to turn around… a kind of warning that we are lost… a destruction of what we believed was right, blowing us in strong fashion to what is right with God.

Yes, being a good steward…  being a careful and responsible manager of something entrusted to one’s care….means repenting…being blown by the hot wind to turn around… to change the direction in which we are living as individuals and as a community.    

 A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse– a wind too strong for that.

Jeremiah was telling the people of Israel that God needed them to change.  The hot wind would bring destruction… destruction of the lives they were living because it was not in accordance with God’s teaching.  A hot wind was required to bring destruction to the segregation and racism of this Country. 

What hot winds do we need 50 years later??  What evil are we skilled at doing today?  Signs all around tell us we are careless with God’s creation.  Signs all around tell us our economic system needs fixing – that some are excessively wealthy, while others live in poverty and like Jesus Christ, have no place to lay their heads.  Racism and all kinds of oppression continue to exist and to harm all of us.  Governments tyrannize their citizens.  God’s people war with each other, with little regard to the people and the children.

A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse– a wind too strong for that.

We are lost…

And therein lies our hope.

In our Gospel today, Jesus proclaims that when we are lost, God relentlessly and persistently searches for us… seeks us out…leaves the majority…lights a lamp…sweeps the floor…and vigorously pursues us until we are found.  AND then picks us up and carries us home, calls all of the neighbors and rejoices!

Jeremiah prophesies:  For thus says the LORD: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

The hot wind comes… the judgment comes… the whole land is a desolation… yet it is not the end… it is the beginning… the beginning of being found… the beginning of repentance…  of turning around… of being carried home.

We can start right here.  What is God calling us to do within our church of St. John’s and within our community of Knox, Laurel and Whitley counties and our city of Corbin?  What is God calling you to do?  Calling us to do?

The hot wind comes, bringing destruction with it.  If we are willing to repent… to turn around…to be transformed, God picks us up, carries us home and “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God.”

Amen

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”   All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good. (Psalm 14, v1)

When we look around at the world, it is often hard to believe that God does exist.  Floods, starvation, war and violence abound.  In addition, what we as Christians do to each other in the name of Christ can make many wonder about the existence of God and the abundant love of Jesus.

Especially in our times, believing in a loving, gracious God is against much of the culture.  Following where God leads and in the footsteps of Jesus, as imperfectly as we do it, can seem crazy.  Yet, we are sustained, because we know God seeks us out when we are lost and strayed.  We know we are precious in God’s sight as we hear in this week’s Gospel lesson about Jesus and the 99 sheep as told in Luke.

Even when we have doubts, there is something in meeting each week, in the praying, in the being together that keeps us coming back.  Something in our lives and the way we live them is different when we believe in God and when we follow Jesus Christ and when we feel the spirit guiding us.

Blessings as you finish this work week.  Look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Love, Rebecca

My Schedule

Next week, I will be at the Brushy Fork Institute at Berea College for most of the week.  Please feel free to contact me any time, however, by calliing 859-429-1659 or rev.myers2013@gmail.com.

Memorial for Ed VanGorder on Sunday, September 22, 2pm

Come to the Barn at 2pm on Sunday, September 22, to celebrate the life of Ed VanGorder.  June says to come with an appetite and ready to tell your favorite stories about Ed.  We will process to the columbarium for interment.

Would you like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church?

Bishop Hahn will make his annual visit to St. John’s on Sunday, October 20. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church, please let me know so we can schedule the appropriate classes.

Christian Formation for children and adults begins October 6

Children are invited to participate in the Godly Play program. Prayerfully consider assisting with the spiritual formation of the children in our parish.  Anne Day and Dura Anne are asking for additional assistance in this important task.  Let’s show our children how much we value them and how important their spiritual development is to us.  If you can help regularly or occasionally, it would be appreciated.  Please let me know.

Adults are invited to participate in an exploration and discussion of the book, “Radical Welcome” by The Rev. Stephanie Spellers

What does it mean to be a Christian community that is radically welcoming?  And how can we become such a community?  This book provides helpful information and real-life stories.

We need 3-4 people who will lead us in this exploration.  Leaders will provide summaries of the various sections of the book, and lead us in discussion over 8 weeks.  Let me know if you would like to lead OR if there is someone in the Parish you would recommend to lead.

For more information, go to https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=451 and to watch a YouTube video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9JOsRtzUc

5th Sundays

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on Sunday, September 29, with bi-lingual service and potluck

There are 4 months each year with 5 Sundays and I’m proposing we do something different liturgically on those Sundays.  September 15-October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, so on September 29, much of our service will be bi-lingual, English/Spanish.  I hope hearing familiar words in a language that may be unfamiliar brings new meaning to us and also reminds us that we are connected to a Worldwide communion.

Start now to practice The Lord’s Prayer in Spanish:

Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo,
santificado sea tu Nombre,
venga tu reino,
hágase tu voluntad,
en la tierra como en el cielo.
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día.
Perdona nuestras ofensas,
como también nosotros perdonamos
a los que nos ofenden.
No nos dejes caer en tentación
y líbranos del mal.
Porque tuyo es el reino,
tuyo es el poder,
y tuya es la gloria,
ahora y por siempre. Amén.

A copy of the El Libro de Oracion Comun is available at: http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/documents/HM_Libro_de_Oracion_Comun.pdf  Holy Eucharist Rite II begins on page 277.  

Litany of Welcome Photos posted

Dr. Kay Collier-McLaughlin, Bishop’s Deputy for Communications and Leadership Development, posted some wonderful photos from last Sunday when the parish welcomed me to St. John’s.  You can view them at http://diolex.org/blog/front-page/photos-from-the-network-retreat-and-welcome-to-st-johns-corbin/

Let’s plan to attend the Diocesan Ministry Fair, Saturday, November 9, 9:30am – 3:00pm at Emmanuel Church, Winchester

Bishop Hahn is inviting all of us to the First Annual Ministry Fair – Toward a More Excellent Way.

A great gathering of music, fellowship and keynote address will be followed by three workshop sessions and a shared lunch. Workshops topics, include Christian Education in Small Parishes, Leadership For Vestries, Lay Ministry Updates, An Overview of the Gospel of Mark (for Our Liturgical Year A), and What’s New at Reading Camp. There will be six workshop choices for each session – something to help every parish and every participant find a more excellent way of ministry.

The Reverend Barbara Blodgett will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Blodgett teaches Pastoral Leadership at Lexington Theological Seminary. Prior to this she was head of Supervised Ministry for Yale Divinity School. Her fields of expertise are leadership, ethics, and excellence. Dr. Blodgett will offer a workshop in addition to her keynote address.

For a copy of this Sunday’s worship bulletin, please click here: Bulletin 09-15-2013.

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Year C Proper 18, Psalm, Philemon, and Luke, September 8, 2013

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers

LORD, you have searched me out and known me;

you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

One of the many times I was part of a self-reflection exercise, I was asked about my early family life.  Yes, we had our issues as a family.  My mother had bi-polar disorder, which provided challenges to her and to all of us.  And of course, we had all of the regular things families go through – times of plenty and times of lean.  Times of worry.  Yet, overall and in sum, what I knew and know deeply is that I was wanted and I was loved.

A favorite remembrance that demonstrates this deep love of my family was my mother’s pep talk to me as I prepared to move 1100 miles away from she and my father to Kansas.  It was the furthest away I’d ever lived from them and my mother told me she’d miss me and I was to go and have a great time.  Now, what you have to understand is that she had had a spinal chord injury and was only out of surgery a few days.  She had this contraption on her head with rods sticking out (it’s called a halo).  There she was in the hospital cheering me on, even though it meant I would not be near her.

Yes, Honor your mother and your father made sense to me.  So Jesus’ words are  confusing today, aren’t they?  “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

Hating our family?  What a provocative statement, especially in Jesus’ time.  Without family, you could die.  Remember Ruth and Orpah – the men in the family had died and they were widows.  They were left to glean in the fields and get whatever they could after most of the crop was harvested.  You had to have your family to survive.  And here Jesus is telling the people that if they follow him, they must be prepared to lose what at the time was their very lifeline.

Yet, Jesus is saying that following him is costly….  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German martyr, wrote about the difference between cheap grace and costly grace in 1937 as the Nazis were gaining control of his country.  “cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline.  Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

Bonhoeffer says that costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Yet, it is costly because it compels us to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ”

In other words, costly grace requires us to “go to any lengths” as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, to follow Jesus.

In this passage of Luke, Jesus is warning us that when we follow him, there will be a cost to us and we must be willing to bear that cost.

Last week, I spoke to you about stewardship…about being stewards of our Christian faith.  You may remember that to be a good steward means being a careful and responsible manager of something entrusted to one’s care….  Being a good steward of the faith, Jesus says to us today, is costly.

In the Letter of Paul to Philemon, there is an example of costly grace.  Onesimus was enslaved by Philemon.  Onesimus was Philemon’s property, in essence.  Onesimus had run away from Philemon.  We are told he was trying to escape punishment for a robbery; however, if any of you have really looked at the lives of enslaved people, we can only imagine what was truly happening.  Onesimus finds his way to Paul and ends up converting to Christianity and being of great service to Paul, most likely while Paul was in prison in Rome.

Now, Paul could have written Philemon to ask permission for Onesimus to remain with Paul, but Paul sent Onesimus back and asks Philemon to buck the trend of society of the time.  Paul asks Philemon to submit to costly grace… to part with his property…to part with the rules of the time… to freely release Onesimus and not only that, but to consider Onesimus as an equal… as a brother.  How preposterous that Paul should ask Philemon to welcome Onesimus as his beloved brother… Philemon is asked to welcome Onesimus as Philemon would welcome Paul.

So, I don’t believe Jesus is saying we should hate our families.  Jesus is saying that we should follow him first and that in the Kingdom of God, the rules of society and family are turned upside down, so in the process of following him, we must be prepared to lose our families.  We must be prepared to lose all of our possessions.  We must be prepared to be transformed and changed.  We follow new rules of living.  We do not live as much of the world lives.  We love, even our enemies.  We turn the other cheek. 

I imagine being Episcopalian in Corbin, KY, feels costly sometimes.  I have heard from so many of you that people do not understand that Episcopalians are Christians.  I have been told that when I walk into the local Minister’s meetings, a few others may walk out just because I am a woman and a priest.  And I am sure that the fact we openly embrace our brothers and sisters who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning is against much of the culture in this town.  Yes, many of you know what costly grace is.  You know what Jesus is talking about.  You know that good stewardship of our faith is costly.

Yes, we become complacent in our faith.  We feel at ease just the way things are.  This may mean we are living in cheap grace.  When we feel discomfort in living out our faith, Jesus is telling us this week that he understands.  Following me is expensive, he says.  Consider the cost.  You will not always feel comfortable.

While following is costly, we also gain an amazing life.  We receive a word of forgiveness.  In the midst of the burden, we receive grace and a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light.  Jesus is telling us that God demands great things of us.  And in today’s Psalm, we hear the proclamation of the benefits of this faith.  God knows us deeply… has known us even before we were born.

Therefore, be open to the cost of following Jesus.  Midst the challenges of costly discipleship, you will be able to sing to God with the Psalmist,

I will thank you because I am marvelously made;

your works are wonderful,

and I know it well.

Amen

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 Page 794, BCP

Domine, probasti

1

LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2

You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

4

You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

5

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

12

For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13

I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14

My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.

15

Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.

16

How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is the sum of them!

17

If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

 Philemon 1-21

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love– and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother– especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

 Luke 14:25-33

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. (Jeremiah 18)

On Wednesday I was able to spend some time in Berea enjoying the wonderful crafts, including beautiful pottery.  I have never “thrown” a pot or used a pottery wheel, but marvel at the skill of the potter in doing so. Watching the fingers mold the soft clay and watching the shape change and change while the wheel is spinning.  It is not set until it is fired in the kiln.

This Sunday, we hear Jeremiah’s words to the people of Israel.  God is the potter and shapes and molds in ways that support us and in ways that challenge us.  Ultimately, we need to be flexible like the clay…able to let God mold us into the shape we need to be to do God’s work.

Blessings as you finish this work week.  Look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Rebecca

Litany of Welcome This Sunday

Dr. Kay Collier-McLaughlin, Bishop’s Deputy for Communications and Leadership Development, joins us once again this Sunday to lead us in a Litany of Welcome.

Sunday’s Bulletin is online… Check it out at http://stjohnscorbin.org/?p=356

Memorial for Ed VanGorder on Sunday, September 22, 2pm

Come to the Barn at 2pm on Sunday, September 22, to celebrate the life of Ed VanGorder.  June says to come with an appetite and ready to tell your favorite stories about Ed.  We will process to the columbarium for interment.

Would you like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church?

Bishop Hahn will make his annual visit to St. John’s on Sunday, October 20. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed or received into the Episcopal church, please let me know so we can schedule the appropriate classes.

Christian Formation for children and adults begins October 6

Children are invited to participate in the Godly Play program. Prayerfully consider assisting with the spiritual formation of the children in our parish.  Their spirit was wonderfully evident this past Sunday when they led us in singing “This Little Light of Mine.”  Thanks to Anne Day and Audrey for their assistance.  Anne Day and Dura Anne are asking for additional assistance in this important task.

Adults are invited to participate in an exploration and discussion of the book, “Radical Welcome” by The Rev. Stephanie Spellers

What does it mean to be a Christian community that is radically welcoming?  And how can we become such a community?  This book provides helpful information and real-life stories.

We need 3-4 people who will lead us in this exploration.  Leaders will provide summaries of the various sections of the book, and lead us in discussion over 8 weeks.  Let me know if you would like to lead OR if there is someone in the Parish you would recommend to lead.

For more information, go to https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=451 and to watch a YouTube video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9JOsRtzUc

5th Sundays

There are 4 months each year with 5 Sundays and I’m proposing we do something different liturgically on those Sundays.  September 15-October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, so on September 29, much of our service will be bi-lingual, English/Spanish.  I hope hearing familiar words in a language that may be unfamiliar brings new meaning to us and also reminds us that we are connected to a Worldwide communion.

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Love, Rebecca

Proper 17 Year C September 1, 2013

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,

 “The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?”

 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 “The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?”

 First of all, I want to say thank you to all of you for your warm welcome.  I know so many have given of your time, your prayers, your resources to make my being here possible.  The Rectory is beautiful and I want you to know how much I appreciate all of the work.  I’m sure there were disagreements, as well as plenty of fun in making everything happen.

 I also know this community has been through so much…so much change in such a short time and you know we Episcopalians aren’t very good at change. 

I know Kentuckians love stories, so I’d like to start off with one.  Rector Don Waring of my field parish emphasized the importance of storytelling in sermons, so you can blame him if this style isn’t for you….

 Over 100 years ago, a small group of people came to this small town in the Eastern Kentucky mountains.  The town they found would not be incorporated and named for six more years.  The people who came brought the promise of a new kind of economy, one of railroads.  They also brought their faith, one of worship and actively living out their faith in the community.  They met wherever they could find space, and often shared a priest.  They started a school and bought that building before building a church building. 

 This group would be a mission church for nearly 100 years.  It would experience ups and downs as the economy changed.  It would buy property, offer services, and then need to sell that property in lean times.  The group did whatever was necessary to worship God AND be God’s hands and heart in their town. 

 They did their best to follow what we heard today in this letter to the Hebrews:

•  Show hospitality to strangers
• Remember those who are in prison
• Remember those who are being tortured
• Hold marriage in honor
• Keep their lives free of the love of money
• Be content with what they had
• Remember their leaders and imitate their leaders’ faith
• Do good and share what they had…

 As you probably have guessed, they were the community of faith in Corbin, KY, known as St. John’s Episcopal Church. 

 They were Stewards of the faith…of the Christian faith…of the faith that was handed down nearly two thousand years before them. 

 Now, stewardship gets a bad name sometimes.  We usually associate stewardship with money exclusively and talking about money feels uncomfortable.  But the definition of being a steward is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care….

For those who started St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Christian faith had been entrusted to their care.  They were careful and responsible in managing this immense gift handed down.  We today, stand on their shoulders.  This is the legacy… this is the charge we have today.  To be good stewards in this place of Corbin, Kentucky…in this time of 2013. 

So what is the writer of Hebrews telling us about how to be those good stewards of the faith?  There are a couple of things I’d like you to consider…

  Being a Steward means caring for the stranger, being hospitable.  Now I know we all find it easier to serve people who are more like us.  Yet, God has created all of us and when we reach out to those who seem “strange” to us, we open ourselves to all of God’s creation.   

And I don’t know about you, but I love thinking I could be entertaining angels… a reference to Abraham and Sarah and the three guests at the Oaks of Mamre as we read in Genesis 18.  The hospitality of Abraham and Sarah meant pleading with three strangers to rest awhile…to have their feet washed and to be fed with fresh bread and choice meat.  Abraham and Sarah were entertaining angels that day and provide an example for us.  Freely giving the best we have to those we do not know…

Being a steward means keeping our lives free from the love of money.  It means being content with what we have.  Boy is that a tough one in our society.  Some people have no choice.  Some people do not have enough.  For those of us who do, we are charged with examining our relationship with money.  Do we love money more than we love Jesus?  Does our being in love with money keep us from a faithful relationship with God?  Are we content with what we have or caught up in the “never having enough” addiction?  Yes, there is a line between being responsible with our financial resources and being irresponsible with our financial resources.  Remember, we are to be careful and responsible managers. 

The reason we must raise this issue and we must explore this issue, however, is that the research and statistics show us that the income gap between rich and poor in this country and in our world is growing.  The disparity is growing.  Clearly some are in love with money, just like in Jesus’ time and most likely in every age…  The writer reminds us of Jesus’ teaching that money will not save us… will not provide the good life.  We know the panic of economic insecurity.  The writer is emphasizing Jesus’ teaching that our money…our riches are not our own.  They have come from God.  In prayer and in our Christian community, we can lessen our panic of economic insecurity and say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. 

 We must ask, are we clinging as fiercely to Jesus as we do to our money and our possessions?

So let us examine our lives, personally and as the community of St. John’s.  How are we doing as stewards of the faith passed down to us?  Where are we excelling in our hospitality to the person who is a stranger to us?  What can we do more of to entertain the angels in our midst?  Are we in love with money?  Where have we been content with what we have and what could we do differently?  And in the end, as good stewards, let mutual love continue and let us remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us. 

 Amen

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, Priest-in-Charge