This Sunday (January 18, 2015) at St. John’s

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LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’m thrilled that God knows all of my thoughts!  And yet, at the same time, it’s a comfort that God knows all about us.  What a loving God who takes such care that even the most common actions of our lives are known to God.  In other words, God is always with us.

And God is with us when we gather together as the community of St. John’s….

Love, Rebecca+

Rebecca’s Schedule: Rev. Rebecca will at St. John’s Corbin Wednesday, January 21 through Friday, January 23. Her Sabbath day will be Monday, January 19 and Tuesday, January 20. You can get a message to her by calling the church office at 606-528-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org

Adult Forum: In January through mid-February (Christmas and Epiphany), we will discuss the blessing of same gender relationships.  Next week, Rebecca will be reviewing Theology and the Bible:  How the Episcopal Church develops its theology.

Godly Play offered for children.  All children are invited to participate in this special program of spiritual development.

Youth Group Bowling.  The youth ages 13-18 will go bowling Sunday afternoon, January 18, 1-3pm at Forest Bowling Lanes, Corbin.  Please see Rev. Rebecca if you’d like to go.

The Diocesan Stewardship Commission is offering an update on their work prior to Diocesan Convention.  Join Rebecca on Tuesday, January 20, at 7pm at St. Mary’s in Middlesboro to hear this update.  We can ride together and leave about 5 so we can eat dinner together.  The Bishop is also offering scholarships for teams from parishes to attend The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (www.tens.org) conference in Texas in May.  Please let Rebecca know if you’re interested in either of these events, as well as assisting with stewardship at St. John’s.

Pot Luck Sunday:  Next Sunday, January 25th, after the 11:00 service is our monthly pot luck meal.  Bring a dish or drink to share.  And all are welcome!  Plan on a time of fellowship with each other.

Weekday Morning Eucharist will be available Wednesday, January 21, 9am, in the Sanctuary.

Daughters of the King meets the third Wednesday of each month at 4:30pm.  The next meeting is January 21st.  If you have special prayer requests or would like to join this prayer ministry, please contact Shelia Phillips.

Ordination: Your prayers and presence are requested at the ordination to the Priesthood of Kate Byrd, Saturday, January 24, 2pm at Christ Church Cathedral.

Reading Camp Meeting, January 21, 10am.  This meeting will be with people in Corbin interested in helping children read.  We will look into recruiting children from Corbin for the Pine Mountain Camp, as well as connecting them to the local programs supporting reading during the school year.  We will also discuss raising money to support the children and the camp.  If you’d like to be part of this, please let Rebecca know.

Grow Appalachia Committee, January 21, 6:30pm.  The Grow Appalachia Committee will meet Wednesday after the evening service to talk about plans for the garden this summer.

Worship Committee will meet Friday, January 23, 4:30pm to plan Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.  All are welcome!

Game Night, Friday, January 30, 6:30-9:00pm.  Everyone is invited to Game night on Friday, January 30, hosted by the Young Adults of the parish.  Pizza will be provided.  Bring snacks and your own drinks.

The annual Acolyte Festival will be held Saturday, January 31, 10am – 3:30pm at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington

Provide Flowers for the altar in honor or in memory of a loved one: Donations for flowers for the altar are accepted for any Sunday of the year. Please place your donation in the envelope, marking whether they are in honor of or in memory of someone.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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Born Saying God’s Name (Sermon) January 11, 2015

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Sermon – January 11, 2015

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The First Sunday After Epiphany:  The Baptism of the Lord

Year B

And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.11And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Mark 1:10-11

Please Be Seated

Yesterday, my son, Scot, turned 40!  Where did the time go?  Naturally, at this time, I recall the day he was born and many other memories over the years.  His son, Logan, is so much like him that I often call him Scot instead of Logan!  It’s like I’m seeing my son grow up all over again, sort of.

But even in remembering, there’s so much we forget.  I don’t think too many, if any, of us remember the day we were born.  As adults, we talk about how traumatic it must be for a child to be born after nine months in a comfortable place with all of their needs met.  We make jokes about how a baby cries when it’s born.  Of course it’s important for a baby to cry at birth as a sign their lungs are cleared out and working well, but it seems to resonate with the trauma of being born into the world.  But none of us remembers that trauma, at least not overtly.

Sinead O’Connor in her recording from 1995, had a song that suggested babies are also born in spiritual trauma.  The words are:

 

All babies are born saying God’s name
Over and over,
All born singing God’s name
All babies are flown from the Universe
From there they’re lifted by the hands of angels
God gives them the stars to use as ladders
She hears their calls
She is mother and father
All babies are born out of great pain
Over and over
All born into great pain
All babies are crying
For no-one remembers God’s name

 

All Babies, Sinead O’Connor

 

“All babies are crying for no one remembers God’s name.”  It’s like when we’re born, a process of forgetting God ensues.  We’re born into a world that values what we can see with our eyes and touch with our hands or physical selves over what we can see with our hearts and touch with our spirits.  A world that discounts intuition and a sixth sense.  A world that in many places and in many ways is uncomfortable with, even afraid of, mystery and of unknowing.

 

We are born into this world with strong connections to God and our own spirits.  We don’t have a way to communicate with words for awhile, so we are very connected to our bodies and to what we experience in them.  But, it seems like as we grow older, we’re taught to ignore our bodies and hearts in favor of passing the standardized math and reading tests.  We forget how to read ourselves and each other.

 

Many times, we begin to accept this “vain” world’s assessment of us.  We’re not pretty.  We’re not smart.  We think funny.  We dress funny.  We don’t make enough money.  We aren’t good enough.  We forget that God created our diversity and that the norm is diversity rather than conformity.

 

That’s why renewing our baptismal vows is important.  Those of us baptized as children may only have a photograph of the event, but in a very real sense, that baptism was telling our spirits to remember where we came from…to remember God’s name.  As we got older and once again surrendered to the world’s assessment of us, renewing our baptismal vows reminds us that in the waters of baptism, we died to the world’s view of us and were returned or reborn to God’s view of us.

 

And God’s view of us is that we were perfectly created.  No, we are not God.  We are not perfect in that we know everything or can do everything or see everything.  We are perfect in the part of the body of Christ that we are.  We are perfect in our humanity.  We don’t have every talent, but we have talent…talent necessary for the world.  We don’t possess all knowledge, but we possess knowledge that is necessary for the world.  We don’t have all intelligence, but we have intelligence that is necessary for the world.  We don’t have all understanding of God, but we have understanding of God that is necessary for the world.

 

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens were torn apart, so the Holy Spirit could break in and the voice of God could confirm that Jesus was a child of God, beloved of God and that God was pleased.

 

And we need those same reminders.  When we renew our baptismal vows…when we feel the water sprinkled on us, God is breaking through to us…recalling to us what we knew when we were born…reminding us of God’s name.  God is reminding us that the Holy Spirit is right with us.  God is reminding us that we are beloved children and that God is well pleased with us.  Then we are prepared to go into the world in peace to love and to serve God.

 

Amen

This Sunday (January 11, 2015) at St. John’s

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God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:5

Most of us have had many “first days.”  There is the first day we remember.  There is the first day we went to school.  There is the first day we met our best friend or our spouse.  There is the first day we lived after someone we loved had died.  So many first days….

This Sunday we’ll here this short passage from Genesis about the first day…truly the first day.  It’s hard to imagine that.  But what we do know about first days is that they represent something new and different…something that dramatically changes our lives and how we live them.  There can be incredibly hard first days, but there can also be incredibly important and hope-filled first days.

If we’re not living the life God has called us to, we can start trying again.  We can have a new day…a first day of living in a new way.  We’re only 11 days into the New Year.  What first days do you think God is calling you to?

Blessings as you finish your week!

Love, Rebecca

01-11-2015 Bulletin Renewal of Baptismal Covenant

Rebecca’s Schedule: Rev. Rebecca will at St. Agnes’ House Monday, January 12, through Thursday, January 15. Her Sabbath day will be Friday, January 16. You can get a message to her by calling the church office at 606-528-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org

Adult Forum: In January through mid-February (Christmas and Epiphany), we will discuss the blessing of same gender relationships.  Next week, Rebecca will be reviewing the History of the Episcopal Church’s Decision.

Godly Play offered for children.  All children are invited to participate in this special program of spiritual development.

Your prayers and presence are requested at the ordination to the Priesthood of Andrew Hege, on Saturday, January 17,10am, at Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington.

Youth Group Bowling.  The youth ages 13-18 will go bowling Sunday afternoon, January 18, 1-3pm at Forest Bowling Lanes, Corbin.  Please see Rev. Rebecca if you’d like to go.

The Diocesan Stewardship Commission is offering an update on their work prior to Diocesan Convention.  Join Rebecca on Tuesday, January 20, at 7pm at St. Mary’s in Middlesboro to hear this update.  We can ride together and leave about 5 so we can eat dinner together.  The Bishop is also offering scholarships for teams from parishes to attend The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (www.tens.org) conference in Texas in May.  Please let Rebecca know if you’re interested in either of these events, as well as assisting with stewardship at St. John’s.

Weekday Morning Eucharist will be available Wednesday, January 21, 9am, in the Sanctuary.

Reading Camp Meeting, January 21, 10am.  This meeting will be with people in Corbin interested in helping children read.  We will look into recruiting children from Corbin for the Pine Mountain Camp, as well as connecting them to the local programs supporting reading during the school year.  We will also discuss raising money to support the children and the camp.  If you’d like to be part of this, please let Rebecca know.

Grow Appalachia!  We’ve received a grant for $4,530 for our community garden through Grow Appalachia.  The Grow Appalachia website is http://www.berea.edu/grow-appalachia/  The Grow Appalachia Committee will meet Wednesday, January 21, 6:30pm. 

Worship Committee will meet Friday, January 23, 4:30pm to plan Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.  All are welcome!

Game Night, Friday, January 30, 6:30-9:00pm.  Everyone is invited to Game night on Friday, January 30, hosted by the Young Adults of the parish.  Pizza will be provided.  Bring snacks and your own drinks.

The annual Acolyte Festival will be held Saturday, January 31, 10am – 3:30pm at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington

Provide Flowers for the altar in honor or in memory of a loved one: Donations for flowers for the altar are accepted for any Sunday of the year. Please place your donation in the envelope, marking whether they are in honor of or in memory of someone.

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 Rebecca know by phone 859-429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

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.

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This Sunday (January 4, 2015) at St. John’s

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How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. Psalm 84:1

Psalm 84 always reminds me of the piece from the Brahms requiem.  I’ve sung this piece in a number of choirs over the years.  It’s meant to provide a comforting vision of heaven for those mourning a loss.

It’s especially wonderful to sing this piece in a church, because church space is such a sanctuary in our world — just a little bit of heaven here on earth.  And St. John’s certainly is that.  Fairly simple, always peaceful and serene.  And especially at Christmas and Easter, the space is especially beautiful.  Thanks to the Altar Guild and helpers who decorated for the season.

This Sunday is the Last Sunday of Christmas and we then enter the season of Epiphany.  Come sit in this holy and beautiful space this Sunday.

Blessings as you finish your week!

Love, Rebecca+

01-05-2015 Bulletin

News & Notes

Rebecca’s Schedule: Rev. Rebecca will at St. Agnes’ House Monday, January 5, through Thursday, January 8. Her Sabbath day will be Friday, January 9.  You can get a message to her by calling the church office at 606-528-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org

Today we welcome Emily Cardwell to the pulpit.  Emily is in the supervisory part of discerning a call to ministry for the Diaconate. She has been supported in this process by a discernment committee and her Vestry at St. John’s in Versailles, as well as by her husband, Jeff and their three children – Leah, Quinn and Willa. She has been assigned to St. Agnes House for her supervisory reflection, while also being given the opportunity to preach here in Corbin. Emily is on the Pastoral Care team where her focus is prison ministry, and she finishes up her third year as a Vestry member next month.

Adult Forum: In January through mid-February (Christmas and Epiphany), we will discuss the blessing of same gender relationships.  Next week, Bruce Cory will continue a discussion on What Does the Bible Say.

Godly Play offered for children.  All children are invited to participate in this special program of spiritual development.

Youth Group Bowling.  The youth ages 13-18 will go bowling Sunday afternoon, January 18, 1-3pm at Forest Bowling Lanes, Corbin.  Please see Rev. Rebecca if you’d like to go.

Vestry Retreat: Please pray for our Vestry as we are in retreat on Saturday, January 10.  We will be looking more closely at our mission and the future.  To help us with the discussion, please answer these questions and talk to or email Rebecca at priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.  Please provide short one or two sentence, powerful descriptive answers to each question.  Humanize answers whenever possible. i.e. Share a real-life example.

  1. How do we help/serve people?
  2. Who do we help/serve?
  3. What are our vital services/programs?
  4. What is our track record?
  5. Our plans for the future?
  6. How do we use our money?
  7. Why do we deserve your support?

 

Weekday Morning Eucharist will be available Wednesday, January 21, 9am, in the Sanctuary.

Provide Flowers for the altar in honor or in memory of a loved one: Donations for flowers for the altar are accepted for any Sunday of the year. Please place your donation in the envelope, marking whether they are in honor of or in memory of someone.

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 Rebecca know by phone or email priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

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 spring.

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 Rebecca know by phone 859-429-1659 or priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

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.

 

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Sing and Rejoice O Daughter Zion (Sermon) Christmas, 2014

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Sermon – December 25, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Christmas Day

 

Zech 2:10-13

zech 2:10-13

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

Be silent, all people, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

1 John 4:7-16

God Is Love

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

John 3:31-36

The One Who Comes from Heaven

The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

 

 

Well, it’s that time of year.  TV, newspapers, blogs and all kinds of media have retrospectives of the year…2014 in review.  Even Facebook and Google Plus will take the photos you’ve posted this year and create a year in review.  It’s kind of scary to see what they put together.

Sometimes it’s hard not to despair.  I’ve told you before that everyone alive on earth right now has the same mother from 50,000 years ago….mitochondrial Eve, she’s called.  So, technically we’re all brothers and sisters.  Yet we treat each other so badly, sometimes.  I mean ISIS/ISIL is so horrifying, aren’t they?  They’re such a puzzle.  And we were touched personally whenAbdul-Rahman Kassig, Anne Day and Jeff’s friend of their daughter Sarah, was executed.  Every day, we hear things that break our hearts or make us shake our heads at how cruel we can be.

That’s why this vision from Zechariah is so comforting:

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. Zech 2:10-11 

This is a vision of joy, because God has come to live with us and thus bring all nations together as one people.  A vision of unity.  Now, we know that this does not mean we are all alike or think alike.  We are a typical family and very, very diverse!  Yet, we hold one thing in common and that is our joy in God’s coming.

And then in our reading from 1 John, we get a second dose or guide to hope.  We hear the central truth that God is Love.  And we get this guidance:

Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:11-12

Our love of each other is a response to God’s amazing love to us…a love we celebrate this morning.  And in loving each other, we create a place for God to dwell and not only that, God’s love becomes perfect in us.

The best gift we can give today…the best way we can reflect our joy on this day, is to resolve to better love each other.  It’s not easy, we know, but we can redouble our efforts to try.  Loving each other is the only way to know God.

Amen

The Greatest Gift (Sermon) Christmas Eve December 24, 2014

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Sermon – December 24, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

The Eve of the Nativity of our Lord

Christmas II

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see– I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  Luke 2:10-11

Please be seated

One of the things I’ve always loved about Christmas is the surprise of the gifts.  When I was a little girl, some of my relatives lived far away, so they’d send us our gifts.  I remember they’d arrive in the mail and my mom would put them under her bed.  Why my brothers and I never tried to open them, I’m not sure.  Maybe it was because their bedroom was mostly off limits to us.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve, we were allowed to get all of the gifts from under my parents’ bed and place them under the tree.  Of course, we tried to guess what they were, shaking them a little and looking at the shape.  But we were never allowed to open them early.

Trying to get to sleep Christmas Eve was nearly impossible.  The excitement of the presents under the tree and then, anticipating what Santa would bring.  So many surprises.  I could barely sleep and was up very early in the morning.  My poor parents….they said we were not allowed to go into our living room until they were awake, but we woke them up SO EARLY!  The waiting was so hard.

When my children were young, for some reason, they’d sleep in on Christmas morning, which drove me crazy!  I was so excited to see their faces when they opened their gifts.  Some years I woke them up!

There’s just something about  finding the perfect gift for someone, isn’t there?  Seeing the look on their face…the surprise and joy.

And then there’s the joy we feel as the giver.  We’ve used our precious resources – our money.  We’ve spent time and thought.  And sometimes we’ve made the gift, using our talent.

I wonder if God was that excited by giving us the gift of Jesus!  We had certainly lost our way.  We had become judgmental.  We had become more attached to rules than to relationships with each other.  We had become dishonest.  We had become unjust and uncaring.

But God didn’t destroy us.  God didn’t just pick out a few good people and destroy the rest.  No, God decided to come down to earth…to be born as we are born…to grow as we grow…to live as one of us.  Jesus came to show us how to love each other.  Jesus came to show us how precious we are to each other…how important we are to each other.

Yes, sometimes the message of Jesus has been distorted and misused over the past two millennia, but somehow the essence continues to come through….  The good news that God is love and that God so loved us that God came to earth to show us and to teach us how to love each other and what justice looks like and how living in peace is the goal.

Yes, we are probably tired from searching for that perfect gift for our loved ones.  Yet, on this night, look around you and know in your heart that God is showing us the most perfect gift – that of the love of each other.  Right here in this place….  The baby Jesus, God incarnate, is laid in the manger bidding you to rest in the love of God and the love of each other.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see– I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 

Amen

 

Blessed Christmas Eve and This Sunday (December 28) at St. John’s

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As Advent approached, I had an idea we could write our own Advent Meditation booklet based on verses of Advent hymns.  But I was late in planning and then Living Compass sent us their meditation booklets.  Jason Beams-Jackson wrote this meditation and I really liked it, so on this last day of Advent, wanted to share it with you.

Comfort, comfort ye my people, speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
comfort those who sit in darkness mourning ‘neath their sorrows’ load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem of the peace that waits for them;
tell her that her sins I cover, and her warfare now is over.  Hymnal 1982, 67

I am touched deeply by this verse; it reminds me to keep a humble heart.  Advent is a great time to reflect on what we have done to comfort one another; and how we have treated one another.  So for me, this has been a great reflection on myself.  I had to allow God to give me comfort and peace at heart.  So with God’s grace and guidance, I hope to be a comfort to those around me; and to help those overcome their darkness.  I am grateful every day for God’s love and the peace of having a helping heart.

Hope to see many of you today at the Christmas Eve services as 7 and 11.  Morning prayer will be said tomorrow at 9am.

Blessings during this special time of celebration!

Love, Rebecca+

Bulletin 12-24-14

News & Notes

Rebecca’s Schedule: Rebecca will be on vacation Friday, December 26, through Friday, January 2. During her vacation,.the Rev. Peter Helman is available for pastoral emergencies. He can be reached by text or phone at 940-735-1235. You may also leave a message for Rebecca by phoning the church office at 606-528-1659 or emailing priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Christmas Eve Services: 7:00 pm – Evening Candlelight Service. 11:00 pm – Midnight Candlelight Service.
Christmas Day: 9:00 am – Morning Prayer
Sunday, December 28, 11am – Service of Lessons and Carols

Adult Forum: There will be no Adult Forum on December 28. January through mid-February (Christmas and Epiphany), we will discuss the blessing of same gender relationships.  If you’d like to lead a session, please see Rebecca.

Godly Play (Sunday School): The Godly Play program is for children and offered each Sunday morning at 10:00 am. All children are invited to participate in this special form of spiritual development.

Please pray for our Vestry as we are in retreat on Saturday, January 10.  We will be looking more closely at our mission and the future.  To help us with the discussion, please answer these questions and talk to or email Rebecca at priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

 Provide short – one or two sentence, powerful descriptive answers to each question. Humanize answers whenever possible. i.e. Share a real-life example.

 1.How do we help/serve people?
2. Who do we help/serve?
3. What are our vital services/programs?
4. What is our track record?
5. Our plans for the future? 6.How do we use our money? Why do we deserve your support?

 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.

Yes, Lord, I Believe (Sermon) Funeral of Brenda Neeley Gibson, 12/23/14

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Sermon – December 23, 2014

The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW

Funeral of Brenda Neeley Gibson

London Funeral Home Chapel, London, KY

John 11:21-27

 

21Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:21

 

27She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’ John 11:26-27

 

Well over the past few weeks I’ve heard some favorite stories about Brenda.  Like the time someone said they’d take her for a motorcycle ride and she climbed right on and went for the ride, although she didn’t really ever want to take a second ride.  Or how she learned to drive using her crutches to move the gas peddle and the brake.  Or the time when someone said they were coming to pick her up for something and she said she was in the middle of painting the ceiling!  Her friend was incredulous, but arrived at the house to see Brenda in her wheelchair with a roller on an extension and she was painting the ceiling!

Or how she loved her job at Laurel Heights Nursing Home and what delight she had helping the residents there and how she made sure they got to the church services.  We could spend hours telling stories, couldn’t we?

I didn’t know Brenda for very long, but got to know her better in the past couple of months when she was hospitalized.  During her illness, I started hearing stories, and to a person, everyone agreed that Brenda was an amazing person.  She was always so cheerful and encouraging.  She was always up to a challenge.  She didn’t want any special treatment.  She’d talk about some of the things that happened to her, but she’d be so matter of fact about it.  She was an inspiration to so many of us, helping us try harder in our own lives, helping us to be better people.

Yes, she did have her moments, but she sure didn’t like you to know about them.  One day I called her at the hospital and she broke down about so many things that were worrying her.  But when I went to see her the next day, I could tell she was so embarrassed she’d let me see her worries.  Because, as amazing as Brenda was, her one downfall, like so many of us, was that she had a hard time asking for and receiving help.  She was so independent and believed it was important for her to take care of herself.  This independence could be frustrating at times when you knew she needed help.  I hope as we mourn, we will reach out to each other and take help from each other.

So, upon hearing about Brenda’s death, most of us can relate to Martha in our Gospel, Lord, if you had been here, our sister, Brenda, would not have died.  Because we depended upon Brenda so much that we didn’t want to have to readjust our lives to being without her.  We wanted her to live forever or at least outlive us.

But, I think the gift Brenda gave us that we probably overlooked, was that Brenda knew every single day of her life was a gift.  None of us are promised length of life and yet we live like it is our right to live many, many years.  We act like there’s always a tomorrow.  But, you see, Brenda knew as a child that she was not expected to live very long…not expected to live beyond her teenaged years.  So, I don’t think Brenda took her life for granted.  She tried to pack in as much as she could and lived in tremendous gratitude for every day.

Now, some people might choose to be bitter.  But, you see, Brenda didn’t really question why she had the medical problems she had.  Maybe she had her private moments of wishing things would be different and we wouldn’t blame her for that.  But, I think Brenda accepted her life, because Brenda believed in God and in Jesus Christ, his Son.

Brenda believed that Jesus was “the resurrection and the life.”  She believed that in believing in Jesus Christ, she would live and never die.  She could answer Jesus like Martha did, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

And as hard as it is to say good-bye to her at this time of year…this time of Christmas…what more fitting time?  This is the time we celebrate Jesus’ coming into the world.  This is the time we remember that God gave his only Son to us and we can be sure that Brenda is wrapped in the loving arms of God.  We can be sure that Brenda is sitting at the feet of Jesus.  We here are waiting to see the face of Jesus, but Brenda is right there.

God asks all of us to be examples of His love and His rule on earth.  Brenda was certainly that, so we carry in our hearts her perseverance, her determination, her joy, and her knowing that each and every day is a gift from God.

Thank you God for giving us Brenda.  Rest in peace, dear one of God.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Servant of the Lord (Sermon) December 21, 2014

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Sermon – December 21, 2014
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, CSW
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corbin, KY

Advent IV Year B

For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:37-38

Please be seated.

When I lived in Washington, DC, I was on the board for the Countertop Quartet, a group of sopranos and counter tenors.  One Friday night, we had a concert at a church in Northern Virginia.  The President of the Board asked me to welcome everyone to the concert.  I wasn’t nervous at all.  I was used to talking to groups of people.  At one point, I thought maybe I should write some notes to guide my welcome, but I decided against it.

At the prescribed time, I got up and thanked everyone for coming and thanked St. Luke’s church for hosting the concert.  I noticed a man in the audience giving me a funny look.  You see, we weren’t at St. Luke’s Church; we were at St. Paul’s Church.

Later in the evening I discovered my error.  I was so shocked at having said St. Luke’s and decided I needed to pay attention to that.  You see, the Quartet was often connected to another St. Paul’s church, so I shouldn’t have gotten the church wrong at all.  There was no reason for St. Luke’s to be in my mind…none at all.

I began asking questions of God.  “Am I supposed to read the Gospel of Luke?  God, what does this mean?”

The next day was a lovely March Saturday.  I attended a meeting in the City that ended at 11 and decided I’d walk the ¾ of a mile to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch.  I started walking and there it was… an Episcopal Church sign for …you guessed it – St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

I had to go check it out.  It was just around the corner.  A woman came out from the church as I was standing there and told me more about the church.  As I left, I was talking to God.  “Am I supposed to start attending church here?  God, what do you want me to do?”

Well, I was looking for a spiritual director at the time, and what I discerned from God was that I was supposed to ask the Rector of this church to be my spiritual director.  Now, understand, I’d never met her and knew nothing about her.  My attempts to find out more about her failed.

So, I just emailed her at the email address on the website, telling her I thought I was supposed to be in touch with her about being my spiritual director.  Can you imagine getting an email like mine from someone you’d never heard of and did not know?

I didn’t hear back until early May.  She apologized, but she’d been busy.  She said she’d be happy to meet with me, but couldn’t be my spiritual director, because she was on her way to South Africa and then an 8-month sabbatical.

Hmm….well, I still felt God nudging me to meet with her, so I set up a time later in May to meet her.  It turned out she was on the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese.  They’d just re-done the process for discernment for the priesthood.  I mean, it was just completed, and hadn’t even gotten to the website yet!  She told me all about the process, including a retreat I’d need to attend that was being held in June and some of the other details.  She also gave me names of some others who could be possible spiritual directors, one of whom I worked with for awhile.

I was astounded because I was truly led to her and if I’d met with her any earlier, the Commission on Ministry process wouldn’t have been completed.  The timing was so perfect.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the familiar story of the Annunciation.  An angel comes to this young girl, Mary, and tells her she will bear the Son of God!  Did you hear the picture of the angel painted in our hymn, “his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame.”  I don’t know about you, but I’d be very frightened.

When Mary is astounded, perplexed and I’m sure frightened by this encounter, the angel explains some more and ends by saying nothing is impossible with God.

This is so implausible, isn’t it?  And don’t many of us question the details?  It just seems too impossible and too difficult for our brains to comprehend.

Interestingly, Mary is the only woman named in the Koran, so Mary and her story is important not only to Christians, but also to Muslims.  In other words, this person of Mary is key in two major world religions.  So, something amazing must have happened for this woman to be so remembered, especially by name.

As if the experience wasn’t frightening enough, her response is also astonishing.  I mean, if you heard what she heard, wouldn’t you be saying… “hmmm…. Let me think about this?”  Or wouldn’t you be angry… “Gee, I had other plans for my life.”  “God, how are you going to protect me?  Don’t you know my community might stone me to death?  What am I going to say to Joseph?  Do you know how hard it is to raise a child?  This is no small task you’ve asked of me, God.”

No, Mary just says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  You see, Mary knows the central truth of our lives.  Mary knows her purpose on earth is to serve God.  There is no other purpose for her life and thus, she accepts what God has for her to do, “let it be with me according to your word.”

And if we are truly followers of Christ…if we mean what we say during this time of Advent…of hoping and preparing for Christ’s return, we know deep in our being that our purpose is to serve God…to serve God with all of our God-given talent and skill…to serve God with all of the treasure God has given us…to serve God with all of the time God has given us.

Serving God is our purpose.  Serving God gives us meaning.  Serving God serves the world.

The Angel Gabriel with his wings of snow and eyes of flame may not visit us and so clearly tell us how we are to serve God, but I believe God does send us messages in many ways.  We need to be aware and to listen for those messages.  They may sound crazy to us.  They may not make logical sense to us, especially in the moment.  I mean, wasn’t my story about St. Luke’s crazy and nonsensical?

In our skepticism and disbelief, we hear the angel’s words to Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then we respond like Mary, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Week (December 21) at St. John’s

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Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, BCP, pg. 212

We will read this Collect of the Day on Sunday.  I love the vision of it.  That God would daily visit us and work in us every day.  This doesn’t say that we ask God to visit us, but assumes God DOES visit us daily!

Then, because of these daily visits for which we don’t even ask, a mansion would be created in us for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Not just a room or any old house, but a mansion!  A beautiful, huge place for Christ to dwell.

My prayer for you is that you may feel God working in you, building that mansion where Christ dwells..

Love, Rebecca+

Bulletin 12-21-2014

News & Notes

Rebecca’s Schedule: Rebecca will be at St. John’s Corbin through Thursday, December 25.  Rebecca will be on vacation Friday, December 26, through Friday, January 2. During her vacation,.the Rev. Peter Helman is available for pastoral emergencies. He can be reached by text or phone at 940-735-1235. You may also leave a message for Rebecca by phoning the church office at 606-528-1659 or emailing priest-in-charge@stjohnscorbin.org.

Christmas Eve Services:
9:00 am – Morning Eucharist.
7:00 pm – Evening Candlelight Service.
11:00 pm – Midnight Candlelight Service.

After the 7pm and 11pm service, we will have a chocolate and champagne/wine/sparkling cider reception.

Christmas Day: 9:00 am – Morning Prayer

Adult Forum: During December, we’ll continue our discussion of The Thirty-Nine Articles, BCP 867-876.  Come learn about this historic document, which guides our denomination.  Are the Articles still relevant today?  Join the discussion.  There will be no Adult Forum on December 28.

January through mid-February (Christmas and Epiphany), we will discuss the blessing of same gender relationships.  If you’d like to lead a session, please see Rebecca.

Godly Play (Sunday School): The Godly Play program is for children and offered each Sunday morning at 10:00 am. All children are invited to participate in this special form of spiritual development.

Decorate the church, Sunday, December 21, after church. Bring your lunch and stay after church on December 21 to help us decorate for Christmas.

Getting ready to decorate the church for Christmas.

Getting ready to decorate the church for Christmas.

Greening of the church will take place after the service this Sunday. Bring your lunch and help out!

Greening of the church will take place after the service this Sunday. Bring your lunch and help out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth grades 7-12 are invited to a retreat, “A New Year in the Spirit” at Cathedral Domain, Saturday, December 27 – until Tuesday, December 30.  See Rebecca for more information.

 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.