Monthly Archives: September 2015

This Week (September 27, 2015) at St. John’s

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When I am cheerful, I will sing praise.Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. (James 5:13)

We are so good at the first half of James’ advice. When we are suffering or experiencing any trouble, we almost automatically lift our voices in prayers and petitions. However, when things are going well we sometimes fail to lift our voices in praise to God. We can notice this during the prayers of the people in Sunday worship. We have a significant list of petitions and intercessions, but when we come to thanksgivings there is silence. This Sunday, be sure to lift your voice in prayer for those in need, but also take time to examine where you can give thanks and praise for things that are well.

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 will be a service of Morning Prayer.

Pot Luck Sunday:  This Sunday, September 27, is our monthly pot luck.  All are welcome!  Plan to fellowship with each other.  Our pot luck schedule shifts in October. The next pot luck will be October 18 when Bishop Doug Hahn visits.

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.

Bishop’s Visitation and Confirmation – Bishop Doug Hahn will be visiting St. John’s on October 18. If you would like to be confirmed, received into full communion, or make a reaffirmation of your commitment, please see Bruce Cory.

Confirmation Classes: Confirmation classes are taking place on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 pm.

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.

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.

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.

The vestry has voted to keep a supply of 5 $20.00 Kroger gift cards each month available to distribute to people who call for food or fuel assistance. If you would like to contribute toward this outreach, please mark your contribution as “Outreach”.

 

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.

 

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://stjohnscorbin.org/

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

 

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.

“Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” – Sermon (Proper 20B – 20 September 2015)

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Cinderella and her step-sisters

This week’s lesson from James can be a little discomforting. James pulls no punches when he addresses his readers: “Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Our initial read may assume that James is directly addressing someone guilty of adultery, but closer examination reveals that he is using adultery as a metaphor here for those that have a “friendship with the world”. Now before you think I am going to go off a tirade about how evil the world is and how we as Christians must flee from any interaction with the sinful, corrupt world, I want to put your mind at ease. I don’t think James is engaging in some kind of world-denying spirituality that would see the material world as inherently evil. Such a spirituality does not fit with the general direction of the biblical tradition nor with the sacramental spirituality of the church that says creation comes from God and is a means by which God may be known. Additionally, we can’t avoid contact with the world. The gospel of John has Jesus speaking to this relationship to the “world” when he says, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:15-18). So, what does James mean by “friendship with the world”?

James seems more concerned here with values. James is addressing those who have allowed “bitter envy and selfish ambition” to rule. Those who pursue “friendship with the world” are more concerned with building themselves up in the eyes of others. When envy and ambition rule, all sorts of disordered behaviors spring from them: murder, disputes, and conflicts. James wants instead to encourage a “wisdom from above” in contrast to this “friendship with the world.” This wisdom has much different manifestations. Instead of disorder and wickedness, the wisdom from above produces purity, peace, gentleness, a willingness to yield, mercy, and the absence of partiality and hypocrisy.

A classic story that illustrates this difference between a “friendship with the world” and the “wisdom from above” is that of Cinderella. Many of us know the story of Cinderella both from childhood stories and the Disney production. Cinderella is a young girl whose mother has died and her father has remarried to a wicked step-mother who comes into Cinderella’s life bringing cruel step-sisters into the family. Cinderella is mistreated by her new step-family, a family which has an over-inflated sense of their importance. When the prince of the kingdom throws a ball and invites his subjects, the step-mother and step-sisters cannot imagine Cinderella being on the same level as they and manipulate the situation so that Cinderella is left at home while they proceed to their “rightful” places at the ball. They hope that the prince, upon seeing the obviously worthy step-sisters, will select one of these step-sisters as his wife and future queen, raising the family even higher in prominence to the place where they rightly belong. Cinderella is not even worthy of consideration.

To the rescue comes the fairy-godmother who pours out special favors on Cinderella to reveal her beauty and worthiness and to enable her to attend the ball. It is the humble Cinderella, now revealed in all her glory, who catches the eye of the prince. We know that the story does not end there, for Cinderella flees, leaving behind a precious slipper that the prince will now seek to use for the identification of his beloved.

When the prince comes looking for the owner of the slipper the step-sisters go to great lengths to prove their self-perceived worthiness, even to the point of engaging in self-mutilation to try to force their feet into the ill-fitting slipper. Their attempts at deception are uncovered and they are rejected by the prince. It is only when the prince discovers that it is the humble Cinderella whose foot fits the slipper perfectly that we arrive at the resolution of the story that can be labeled “happily ever after.”

The step-sisters are the antithesis of what C. S. Lewis may have meant when in Mere Christianity he defines true humility in the following way: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” The step-sisters are models of envy and ambition, what James means by “friendship with the world”. This envy and ambitions drives the step-sisters to disputes among themselves and to their oppression of Cinderella. They have an inflated sense of their role in the world and are unable, or unwilling, to concede the value and nobility of anyone else. Cinderella’s humility, on the other hand, leaves her open to the gifts, may I dare say the graces, that prepare her for the ball and her eventual elevation as princess. It is Cinderella’s humility that is the key to her greatness. In some version of the story, Cinderella forgives her step-sisters and even arranges marriages for them to courtiers, thus revealing herself as “peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good gifts”, a model of “wisdom from above.”

A similar story of ambition leading to conflicts and disputes is found in our gospel selection today. Jesus’ apostles are debating among themselves about who was the greatest. Jesus’ response to this conflict is fairly familiar, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35b). Selfish ambition seeks only to lift oneself above others and the ambitious person does not care who she or he must step on in order to reach the top. Christian humility seeks to build others up as the servant of all.

So during this next week let’s flee from a “friendship with the world,” not in a way that denies the goodness of creation or God’s self-revelation through the created world. Instead let us flee from the ambitious desire to be seen as great in the eyes of others. In place of earthly, unspiritual, and devilish desires let’s embrace a wisdom from above that is “pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” Let’s seek out ways to build each other up through mutual servant-hood, being humble, not in some self-deprecating way, but in a way that thinks of ourselves less often so that we may think of others more. It is in this humility that we will find ourselves open to the grace that God yearns to pour out on the humble.

This Week (Sept. 20, 2015) at St. John’s

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Draw nearer to God.Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8a)

Sometimes we feel that God has deserted us. We feel loneliness and isolation, wondering where God has gone. It is not, however, God who has distanced himself from us, but rather we who have distanced ourselves from God. James reminds us that if we draw closer to God that distance can be eliminated. What can you do this week to come closer to God?

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 will be a service of Holy Eucharist.

Pot Luck Sunday: Next Sunday, September 27, is our monthly pot luck. Bring a dish or drink to share. And all are welcome! Plan to fellowship with each other. Our pot luck schedule shifts in October. The next pot luck will be October 18 when Bishop Doug Hahn visits.

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.

Bishop’s Visitation and Confirmation – Bishop Doug Hahn will be visiting St. John’s on October 18. If you would like to be confirmed, received into full communion, or make a reaffirmation of your commitment, please see Bruce Cory. The next confirmation class will be Sept. 23 at 6:30 pm after the Wednesday evening prayer service. Topic: “What do Episcopalians believe?”

The vestry has voted to keep a supply of 5 $20.00 Kroger gift cards each month available to distribute to people who call for food or fuel assistance. If you would like to contribute toward this outreach, please mark your contribution as “Outreach”.

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.

God’s Pantry sponsors a senior food program through Corbin Presbyterian Church hat 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 (September 28) of each month about 10:00, and the cases of food are unloaded and stacked in the church fellowship hall. The next night (September 29) at 6:00 we get together and pack the food into 312 boxes. Then, Wednesday (September 30) 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!

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://stjohnscorbin.org/

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

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 Week (Sept. 13) at St. John’s

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Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. (James 3:1-2a)

This passage from scripture is one that challenges me every time I read it, for I am also a teacher. I taught for almost ten years in a private Catholic high school, and I am now in my sixth year as a college professor. Teaching is very much part of my self-identity.

Being a teacher is also a great responsibility. In 1996 contemporary Christian music group DC Talk released the single titled “What if I Stumble?” (I have embedded a link to the video on Youtube above.) Each time I listen to this song I get a chill as I can see the students in my life and I worry about the great responsibility I bear. For some of these students the quote from St. Francis that I might be the only gospel they may ever read is quite true. For me, the question never was “What if I stumble?”, but rather, “What do I do when I stumble? How can I keep from causing any great harm to these young souls when my example fails to live up to the gospel message I profess?” I relate all to well to James’ observation that “all of us make many mistakes.” It is a scary burden, for I know I am judged with great strictness.

This, of course, is not just an issue for those of us who are “teachers” or “preachers.” It is a burden all of us who profess the Christian faith must bear. That song from DC Talk begins with the following powerful quote from Brennan Manning, a American priest and author, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” Our examples as Christians are constantly under intense scrutiny, and we know to some extent that is unfair for we are not perfect, but just how far from that Christian perfection do we allow ourselves to fall during the week?

During this week, let us bear in mind James’ warning that we are under great scrutiny by the world around us. We need to engage in self-scrutiny to insure the example we lead is sufficient to be that only gospel someone may ever read, and when we fail to live up to it, which we will, we need to engage in repentance and strive even harder to live up to that example.

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 will be a service of Morning Prayer.

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 Sept. 25, 6:30 – 8:30pm. Bring your favorite games, snacks, and drinks. Pizza will be provided.

Bishop’s Visitation and Confirmation – Bishop Doug Hahn will be visiting St. John’s on October 18. If you would like to be confirmed, received into full communion, or make a reaffirmation of your commitment, please see Bruce Cory. Confirmation classes will begin Sept. 16 at 5:00 pm.

The vestry has voted to keep a supply of 5 $20.00 Kroger gift cards each month available to distribute to people who call for food or fuel assistance. If you would like to contribute toward this outreach, please mark your contribution as “Outreach”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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://stjohnscorbin.org/

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

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.