Monthly Archives: July 2015

This Sunday (August 2, 2015) at St. John’s

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Chalice and patenJesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

This is one of the more challenging statements Jesus makes in the gospel of John. A few verses later his listeners complain about this statement. The Johannine author is most likely speaking here about the Eucharist. In the Eucharist Jesus gives us his flesh to eat in the bread and his blood to drink in the wine.

The Outline of the Faith from the Book of Common Prayer has the following about the Eucharist:

Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace given in the
Eucharist?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion
is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and
received by faith.

However it happens, through the Eucharist we truly receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. There are numerous benefits we receive from the Eucharist:

Q. What are the benefits which we receive in the Lord’s
Supper?
A. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins,
the strengthening of our union with Christ and one
another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which
is our nourishment in eternal life.

There are also requirements involved before receiving the Eucharist:

Q. What is required of us when we come to the Eucharist?
A. It is required that we should examine our lives, repent
of our sins, and be in love and charity with all people.

News & Notes
Pastoral Needs: If a pastoral need arises, please call the church office at 606-528-1659 and leave a message. Voicemail messages will automatically be forwarded to a member of the vestry who can arrange pastoral care. You may also contact the senior warden, Bruce W. Cory, by phone at 440-227-0035 or by e-mail at bwcory@gmail.com

This Sunday: We will be having a service of Eucharist presided at by the Rev. Terry Taylor.

Next Sunday: We will be having a service of Morning Prayer. Jeff Davis will preside and Bruce W. Cory will preach.

Adult Forum: Each Sunday through July we continue a summer series on the Gospel of Mark.

Al-Anon Family Group: An Al-Anon Family Group will meet in St. John’s Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.

Wednesday Fellowship: Gather at 6pm on Wednesday evenings for a service and fellowship.

Link your Kroger Rewards Card to St. John’s Church! Re-enrollment occurs August 1-31! St. John’s receives a portion of what you spend at Kroger. The amount is distributed quarterly. Support St. John’s by linking your card to St. John’s. Directions for linking your card are posted on the parish hall bulletin board.

The Vestry has voted to donate $25 each month to Everlasting Arm Homeless Shelter. If you’d like to contribute, put your donations in the collection box by the guest register or mark your donation and put it in the collection plate.

Hymn Selection Group 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. See Billy Hibbitts if you are interested.

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 Bruce know by phone or email bwcory@gmail.com.

United Thank Offering. Remember to get your box for your thank offerings for this ministry of The Episcopal Church. The next collection will be in the fall.

Are you interested in assisting with the Sunday service? Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Crucifers, Altar Guild Members and choir members are all important for each Sunday service. If you’re interested in serving, please let a vestry member know.

Serving Our Neighbors – See baskets in the parlor.

Everlasting Arm, Corbin’s shelter for people who are homeless, is in need of men’s and women’s razors, gloves, deodorant and socks.

The Food Pantry at Corbin Presbyterian Church is always in need of nonperishable food items. Vegetables are especially appreciated.

St. John’s Statement of Inclusion

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY, is a proudly inclusive Christian community. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the life and leadership of the church regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We believe all people are created by God to model the diversity in unity which is the Holy Trinity and we seek to live out that diversity in unity within the faith community.

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Website:  http://stjohnscorbin.org/
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Flood relief efforts

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Flood damage in Johnson County, KY

Flood damage in Johnson County, KY. Photo from WHAS11 TV.

Vestry has voted to donate $100.00 worth of supplies to the flood relief effort in Johnson County, KY. Bruce Cory will purchase the supplies and they will be joined with the supplies donated by Grace on the Hill United Methodist Church and Union College. The local district of the United Methodist Church is renting a 10 foot box truck to transport the supplies to Johnson County to the United Methodist Committee on Relief support center in Paintsville, KY. Bruce and the Rev. David Miller, campus minister at Union College, will be driving the truck to Paintsville Saturday, July 25.

Help loading the truck at Grace on the Hill United Methodist Church will be appreciated. We will be loading the truck at 9:00 am Saturday morning. You can personally purchase supplies and bring them to Grace on the Hill that morning to be loaded on the truck. If you wish to make a monetary donation toward the $100.00 vestry has voted to donate, please make that donation in the offertory this Sunday, July 26, marked for Johnson County flood relief. Any cash donated by parishioners in excess of the $100.00 already designated will be forwarded to UMCOR as a cash donation to help the flood victims.

For some current information on the flood relief effort, this clip from WSAZ in West Virginia may be of interest: http://bit.ly/1DBwJ0a

This Sunday (July 26, 2015) at St. John’s

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The Multiplication of the LoavesThen Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6:11-13)

The multiplication of the loaves is often a very familiar story. Many of us probably remember hearing the story as children or reading it in a children’s story Bible. Many biblical scholar believe there is something else going on in this story beside the miracle of the multiplication of the bread and fish. They look at the specific language the gospel writer uses, “Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them.” This is the same language used for what Jesus does at the Last Supper, “he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them” (Mark 14:22). Interestingly, as the Johannine author does not tell the story of the institution of the Eucharist, but rather tells the story of the foot-washing, the multiplication of the loaves story may function as a Eucharist story in the Johannine tradition. It is in the Eucharist that Christ shares with us the bread that fills to such abundance that we are left with more than we had originally received. What do we choose to do with the abundance we have received? Do we make the mistake of the Israelites who attempted to hoard the holy manna that had fallen from heaven (Exodus 16:13-21), or do we go out into our communities to share it with everyone?

News & Notes

Pastoral Needs: If a pastoral need arises, please call the church office at 606-528-1659 and leave a message. Voicemail messages will automatically be forwarded to a member of the vestry who can arrange pastoral care. You may also contact the senior warden, Bruce W. Cory, by phone at 440-227-0035 or by e-mail at bwcory@gmail.com

This Sunday: We are having a service of Holy Eucharist (communion). The Rev. Terry Taylor will be presiding.

Pot Luck Sunday:  This Sunday is our monthly pot luck. All are welcome!

Next Sunday: We will be having a service of Holy Eucharist. The Rev. Terry Taylor will be presiding.

Adult Forum: Each Sunday through July we continue a summer series on the Gospel of Mark.

Al-Anon Family Group:  An Al-Anon Family Group will meet in St. John’s Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.

Wednesday Fellowship: Gather at 6pm on Wednesday evenings for a service and fellowship.

Link your Kroger Rewards Card to St. John’s Church!  Re-enrollment occurs August 1-31!  St. John’s receives a portion of what you spend at Kroger.  The amount is distributed quarterly.  Support St. John’s by linking your card to St. John’s.

St. John’s Statement of Inclusion

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY, is a proudly inclusive Christian community. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the life and leadership of the church regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We believe all people are created by God to model the diversity in unity which is the Holy Trinity and we seek to live out that diversity in unity within the faith community.

Disaster relief collection for Johnson County

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I (Bruce) am going with David Miller, campus minister from Union College, this Saturday to help deliver some supplies collected at Union and at Grace on the HIll. If anyone wants to collect some supplies and either drop them off at the church by Friday, I can pick them up to put in with this trip, or meet us at Grace on the HIll on Saturday (we are leaving from Union at about 8:00 am to head to Corbin), please let me know.

Disaster relief supply list

This Sunday (July 19, 2015) at St. John’s

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Jesus Kneeling in Prayer and Meditation, by Michael Jarvis Nelson

Jesus Kneeling in Prayer and Meditation, by Michael Jarvis Nelson

After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:46)

Jesus frequently took time to pray. Often he would seek out deserted places to spend time with the Father. How is your prayer life? Do you set aside regular times to pray? When was the last time you spent some time in solitude and prayer? Prayer time can be any time. Some people find their morning or evening commutes to be conducive to prayer. A quiet hike through the woods can be a good way to set aside some time in solitude to speak with God and listen for God’s guidance. Remember that silence is an important component of prayer. When visiting with a friend, we are often silent as we listen to what she or he has to say. I knew some of my friendship were particularly close when we could be together in a companionable silence and didn’t feel we needed to fill that silence with words. Spending time not only speaking with God about what is on our hearts and minds, but also allowing ourselves to be quiet and listen for God to respond can be very fruitful in prayer.

News & Notes

Pastoral Needs: If a pastoral need arises, please call the church office at 606-528-1659 and leave a message. Voicemail messages will automatically be forwarded to a member of the vestry who can arrange pastoral care. You may also contact the senior warden, Bruce W. Cory, by phone at 440-227-0035 or by e-mail at bwcory@gmail.com

This Sunday:  This Sunday the Rev. Dana Lockhart from the joint Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry of St. Augustine’s at the University of Kentucky will be joining us for the Adult Forum and Eucharist.

Next Sunday: We will be having a service of Holy Eucharist. The Rev. Terry Taylor will be presiding.

Pot Luck Sunday: Next Sunday, J, July 26 our monthly pot luck. Bring a dish or drink to share. And all are welcome! Plan to fellowship with each other.

Adult Forum: Each Sunday through July we continue a summer series on the Gospel of Mark.

Al-Anon Family Group: An Al-Anon Family Group will meet in St. John’s Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.

Wednesday Fellowship: Gather at 6pm on Wednesday evenings for a service and fellowship.

Fun, fun, fun. The next Family Game Night is July 24, 6:30 – 8:30pm. Bring your favorite games, snacks, and drinks. Pizza will be provided.

June

2015

(4 Sundays)

Budget

YTD

Actual

YTD

Monthly

Budget

Actual

Monthly

Total Revenue

$25,813

$29,482

$4, 302

$5,600

Total Expense

$25,813

$26,962

$4, 302

$4,165

Difference

$2,520

$1,435

Link your Kroger Rewards Card to St. John’s Church! Re-enrollment occurs August 1-31! St. John’s receives a portion of what you spend at Kroger. The amount is distributed quarterly. Support St. John’s by linking your card to St. John’s.

God’s Pantry sponsors a senior food program through Corbin Presbyterian Church that unloads, packs and distributes food to 312 low income seniors in our area. The truck load of food (about 10,000 pounds) arrives at the church on the 4th Monday of each month (July 27) about 10:00, and the cases of food are unloaded and stacked in the church fellowship hall. The next night (July 28) at 6:00 we get together and pack the food into 312 boxes. Then, Wednesday, July 29, from 9:00 to 12:30 is the great day when the seniors come to the church to pick up their food and we desperately need people who can carry the boxes to their cars. All of this is labor intensive, and requires some lifting on Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday we pack the boxes in an assembly line. We are acutely aware that most people who can do this easily are working on Monday and Wednesday, but we would certainly welcome any help we can get!

St. John’s Statement of Inclusion

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY, is a proudly inclusive Christian community. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the life and leadership of the church regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We believe all people are created by God to model the diversity in unity which is the Holy Trinity and we seek to live out that diversity in unity within the faith community.

This Sunday (July 12, 2015) at St. John’s

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Ephesians 1:3-4 imageBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. (Ephesians 1:3-4)

We have been blessed in Christ with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Maybe this week I need to look around me more intently to see the blessings I have received and give thanks to God for all these good gifts.

News & Notes

Pastoral Needs: If a pastoral need arises, please call the church office at 606-528-1659 and leave a message. Voicemail messages will automatically be forwarded to a member of the vestry who can arrange pastoral care. You may also contact the senior warden, Bruce W. Cory, by phone at 440-227-0035 or by e-mail at bwcory@gmail.com

This Sunday: We will be having a service of Holy Eucharist (Communion). The Rev. Terry Taylor will be officiating.

Next Sunday: We will be having a service of Holy Eucharist. Pastor Dana Larkin from the joint Episcopal/Lutheran campus ministry of St. Augustine will be presiding.

Adult Forum: Each Sunday through July we continue a summer series on the Gospel of Mark.

Al-Anon Family Group:  An Al-Anon Family Group will meet in St. John’s Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.

Wednesday Fellowship: Gather at 6pm on Wednesday evenings for a service and fellowship.

Fun, fun, fun.  The next Family Game Night is July 24,  6:30 – 8:30pm.  Bring your favorite games, snacks, and drinks.  Pizza will be provided.

Link your Kroger Rewards Card to St. John’s Church!  Re-enrollment occurs August 1-31!  St. John’s receives a portion of what you spend at Kroger.  The amount is distributed quarterly.  Support St. John’s by linking your card to St. John’s.

The Vestry has voted to donate $25 each month to Everlasting Arm Homeless Shelter. If you’d like to contribute, put your donations in the collection box by the guest register or mark your donation and put it in the collection plate.

Hymn Selection Group 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.  See Billy Hibbitts if you are interested.

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 Bruce know by phone or e-mail.

Are you interested in assisting with the Sunday service?  Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Crucifers, Altar Guild Members and choir members are all important for each Sunday service.  If you’re interested in serving, please let Bruce know by phone or e-mail.

Serving Our Neighbors – See baskets in the parlor.

  • Everlasting Arms, Corbin’s shelter for people who are homeless, is in need of men’s and women’s razors, gloves, deodorant and socks.
  • The Food Pantry at Corbin Presbyterian Church is always in need of nonperishable food items. Vegetables are especially appreciated.

St. John’s Statement of Inclusion

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY, is a proudly inclusive Christian community. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the life and leadership of the church regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We believe all people are created by God to model the diversity in unity which is the Holy Trinity and we seek to live out that diversity in unity within the faith community.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and subscribe to our Website feed!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsCorbin

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/StJohnsCorbin

Website:  http://www.stjohnscorbin.org/

Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/stjohnscorbin/

“The Authority of Weakness” – Sermon (July 5, 2015 – Proper B9: II Cor 12:2-10)

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St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians is struggling to maintain his authority within the Corinthian community he founded. After his visit and evangelization of Corinth, others had arrived preaching a variation on the gospel Paul had initially preached, probably a variation that placed emphasis on the following of Jewish ritual laws. These “super-apostles,” as Paul calls them later in II Cor. 12:12, point to mystical experiences and great acts of power as evidence for their authority. Paul, in defending his authority in the Corinthian community, does not deny his ability to lay claim to similar mystical experiences and acts of power, but instead places emphasis on the sacrifices he has made on behalf of the gospel as the mark of his authority.

St. Paul’s statement in II Corinthians 12:10 is paradoxical. He states, “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” I am not often content with those things. Weakness I can deal with. I know, to some extent, my limits. Hardships and calamities I can deal with, too, as they seem to be the nature of the human experience. Admittedly, some people have more hardships than others, and sometimes I become irritated with the unfairness of how some seem to suffer more intensely than others. My hardships being, to return to a theme from an earlier reflection, relative “tempests in teacups” compared to those of others also helps me handle them with relative equanimity.

It is the insults and persecutions that get to me the most. There is a malevolent intentionality behind these. On these counts, too, I am relatively fortunate. I do not suffer persecution, and rarely encounter insults. Of course, that is because I am perceived as a member of the preferred group in our society. I am perceived, and therefore treated, as a white, educated, middle class, gender conforming male. As such, I avoid the insults and persecutions that others may suffer.

This week, however, I came face-to-face with just how much my privileged position clouds my impressions, and the way I speak, of the experience of the marginalized other. I was also challenged as to whether I had any right to speak out on behalf of the marginalized other, and I would like to address my responsibility to speak out on behalf of the other first.

There are two forces that compel me to speak out. First, I believe firmly that the gospel compels all followers of Christ to not only seek out and embrace the marginalized other, but we are also instructed to act in their interest. Latin American liberation theology calls this a “preferential option for the poor.” When we are empowered to make decisions and take action we are compelled to consider first and foremost how our decisions and actions will impact the poor. I interpret “the poor” as all who are disenfranchised in society, whether economically, socially, politically or in any manner. This is also what I mean by the “marginalized other,” a person who has been pushed to the edges of society.

Beyond the gospel mandate for a preferential option for the poor, I also believe that those of us who do live within the privileged classes of society have a responsibility to confront the systems that grant us privilege at the expense of the marginalized, using our privileged position on their behalf. I have my privileged position in society through very little merit of my own. Yes, I did work hard for my education, and I do work hard for my current economic position, but I also had access to these opportunities for hard work partially because of the privileged context of my birth. Were I born in a different context, I might not have had the opportunities of which I now take active advantage. I think of all those people born in developing countries who lack access to the many resources we in the United States take so much for granted. What would have been my chances to be where I am today were I born in such a context? Did I “earn” the context of my birth, and therefore did they “deserve” theirs for some reason? I think not.

But I digress too much. This past week while reading about the tragic burning of eight black churches in ten days I became impassioned to join my voice to those crying out with the question of “#WhoIsBurningBlackChurches”. Some answers to the causes of the fires have been discovered. A fire at Fruitland Presbyterian in Gibson County TN, has been attributed to lightening, and another at Greater Miracle Apostolic Church in Tallahassee, FL, has been attributed an electrical fire caused by a fallen tree. The fire that finally broke national news silence at Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, SC, has also been ruled as caused by lightening. At least three of the fires, including the one at nearby College Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church in Knoxville, TN, are being investigated as arsons. That still leaves two fires with undetermined causes.

Social media networks, particularly Twitter, came alive with indignation that the mainstream media had not been reporting on these fires. In joining my voice to the outrage about the media silence, I raised the snarky question about why the media was not reporting on this recent “attack on religion.” I was immediately challenged that this was not an attack on religion but an attack on blacks. I initially defended my statement, wanting to use the rhetoric of the “attack on religion” to shine the light on the problem. However, I also began to reflect on how my position of privilege and my use of language were leading me to appropriate the experience of the black community and universalize it as an attack on religion rather than recognizing the reality that it was not an attack on religion, even though the specific targets in this instance were churches, but was rather an attack on black men and women through the medium of their places of worship. This same difficulty arises when one rephrases the “black lives matter” slogan as “all lives matter.” “All lives matter” ignores that the black community’s experience says that their lives are devalued. The cry “black lives matter” is a cry of pain and anger in the face of systemic discrimination against black lives. When I, as a white man, say, “Oh yes, I know. All lives matter” I am minimizing this cry of pain and anger by subsuming and universalizing the message, even if that is not my intention.

When we hear questions like “#WhoIsBurningBlackChurches” and statements like “black lives matter,” we need to be careful not to try to universalize the statement or discount it. These are profound cries of a community that knows firsthand what St. Paul is saying about the experience of insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. We need to listen like the Corinthian community to the message and allow the other to speak with authority just as St. Paul claimed the authority of apostleship from his experiences. We also need to be wary of allowing our positions of privilege to cloud the message we are hearing or to misrepresent the voice of the marginalized. When we speak from privilege we make the mistake of the “super apostles” in relying on our privilege. When we listen with our whole heart and allow the pain and anger of the experience to touch our deepest being, then we can join hands with those who have experienced marginalization and together experience the promise of the Lord when he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect through weakness.” (II Cor. 2:9).

This Sunday (July 5, 2015) at St. John’s

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II Corinthians 12:9“Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:10)

I can’t think of anyone who is happy about weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, so Paul’s assertion of his being content with them is disturbing. I can tolerate my own weakness. Hardships and calamities tend to just happen. It is the insults and persecutions that upset me the most, whether they happen to me or to another. Insults and persecutions have a definite malevolent intention behind them. In the face of all of these, however, we are confronted with our personal weakness and must rely on the strength that comes from God to deal with them. Maybe it is in that strength that Paul is able to rest content.

News & Notes

Pastoral Needs: If a pastoral need arises, please call the church office at 606-528-1659 and leave a message. Voicemail messages will automatically be forwarded to a member of the vestry who can arrange pastoral care. You may also contact the senior warden, Bruce W. Cory, by phone at 440-227-0035 or by e-mail at bwcory@gmail.com

Next Sunday: We will be having a service of Holy Eucharist. The Rev. Terry Taylor will be presiding.

Adult Forum: Each Sunday through July we continue a summer series on the Gospel of Mark.

Al-Anon Family Group: An Al-Anon Family Group will meet in St. John’s Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 7-8pm.

Wednesday Fellowship: Gather at 6pm on Wednesday evenings for a service and fellowship.

Family Game Night: The next Family Game Night will be a family movie night, possibly outdoors, 6:30-8:30pm, June 26. Bring your favorite snacks and drinks.

St. John’s Statement of Inclusion

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY, is a proudly inclusive Christian community. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the life and leadership of the church regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We believe all people are created by God to model the diversity in unity which is the Holy Trinity and we seek to live out that diversity in unity within the faith community.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and subscribe to our Website feed!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsCorbin

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/StJohnsCorbin

Website:  http://www.stjohnscorbin.org/

Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/stjohnscorbin/

Evening Prayer

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CandleDon’t forget that we have returned to offering Evening Prayer on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm at the church. Come and join us if you are able.

Evening Prayer is a short worship service that marks the end of the day. If you cannot join us in person, there are versions of Evening Prayer that you can pray in the Book of Common Prayer. The Prayer Book has a section titled Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families that begins on page 136, with a service for In the Early Evening on page 139. This is a simple order of prayer that I highly recommend as a starting place if you are not comfortable with the larger Evening Prayer service, which can be found on page 115 for Rite II (contemporary language) or page 61 for Rite I (traditional language).

An Order of Compline, found on page 127, is also a simple evening service, usually prayed before bedtime.

There are also resources for the daily prayer online. One of my favorites (though bit advanced as it offers several options) is St. Bede’s Breviary. The Mission of St. Clare also has some online, preformatted versions of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (including from the New Zealand Prayer Book and in español.) The Book of Common Prayer is also available online.

Or, you could take 10-15 minutes for quiet prayer, scripture reading and thought. Whatever you choose to do, whether it is with us at the church, with the Prayer Book, with an online devotional, or your own private prayer time, a discipline of personal and communal prayer is a valuable practice. One of the promise we make in the Baptismal Covenant is to “continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers”. I encourage you to find the pattern that works best for you to fulfill that promise.