This Sunday is Ingathering Sunday, the culmination of our annual campaign. We will present our gifts – our time, talent, and treasure – to God. We will also offer our hopes and dreams for the coming year. Please bring your pledge card or pledge online at this link. If you have already made your pledge, thank you.
And come hungry: the Sprinkles Donut truck will be here starting at 8:30 a.m. with speciality donuts, hot cider, hot chocolate, and coffee.
This past Sunday, we were blessed by the preaching of the Rev. Taylor Devine, from RenewalWorks, a ministry of Forward Movement. …[Read more]
RenewalWorks is the organization behind the Spiritual Life Inventory many of you completed last month. The purpose of the inventory was to help us identify Christian practices that, when done together as a community, will help us grow more deeply in love with Jesus and open our hearts to the transformative power of God’s grace.
The Vestry chose to engage RenewalWorks because Saint Peter’s is experiencing a time of transformation. We have grown in numbers at a pace that doesn’t appear to be letting up. We are seeing renewal in all areas – Bible study, prayer, service, and community. We are seeking to go deeper together. It is no coincidence that we are also in the midst of a Year of Discipleship.
RenewalWorks identifies three catalysts for spiritual transformation and growth: (1) engaging with Scripture, (2) participating in the Eucharist, and (3) cultivating a deeper life of prayer.
These three practices will, in the imagery of this past Sunday’s gospel reading, keep our flasks filled with oil and our lamps lit as we wait for the coming of the bridegroom. They will help us to prepare to welcome the kingdom of God right here on earth, with hearts centered on God’s love.
As you prayerfully consider your gift this week, I invite you to see these practices as part of your offering, too. Generosity, like prayer, is a practice of the heart. What we give of our time is as holy as what we give of our treasure.
You can start right now by setting aside even five minutes a day to read Scripture. Instead of reaching for your phone to doomscroll, reach for the Word of God. If you need a Bible at home, let me know. I hope that you have taken a card from the Bible Challenge display in the Narthex. The Rev. Cory Michael has assembled quite a course of possible readings with a range of time commitments.
Or, set aside five minutes for prayer. Take an index card and write three things for which you are grateful and three people whom you would like to lift in prayer. Offer them to God.
Finally, commit to coming to worship at Saint Peter’s in these final weeks of the Christian year (remember, the new church year begins with Advent on November 29th!). Sing, pray, and receive the body of Christ with your neighbors who are on this journey with you.
I am grateful that we are on this faith journey together. I invite you to remain open to the movement of the Holy Spirit as we continue to be called together in Christ, transformed by God’s grace, and sent out to serve. I look forward to gathering with you on Sunday as we offer our gifts – and ourselves – to God.
May this week be a blessing to you.
Jenifer+
Rector, Saint Peter’s
