Good morning church,
The oppressive humidity from yesterday has dropped a little bit with the blessing of rain showers overnight but it’s still humid enough that the dog takes a pass at going outside. Our situation in June of 2020 in the United States of America could be described in similar terms. Things are opening up literally, as some restaurants now offer limited seating and outdoor dining and more businesses resume activity. Things are opening up figuratively as well. Old ways of thinking are being challenged and a debate is raging out there about things like racism, criminal justice and law enforcement. For some it is a very scary time. For some it is a time of hope. The two quite often appear together (fear and hope). Let us pray that as a country and as a people we navigate the important questions of this time and come out a better and more just society on the other side. There is still plenty of humidity in the air. There will be a few more storms this summer, and perhaps we need those storms. Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy! And remember the song:
“No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?”
At St. Peter’s we are working on a new edition of Steeple Views that will fly out next week and include special re-opening documents. I don’t want to attach them to my emails yet because they need one more council approval. The plan is to continue with our church service recordings through the summer and offer a small in-person Sunday morning service beginning on July 5. Stay tuned! This coming Sunday is our designated youth and graduation service. The prelude will include a picture show of many of our graduates of all education levels. I am also planning to offer a virtual Holy Communion again. If you want to participate in that, please have some bread and wine or grape juice ready at you home when you watch this coming Sunday’s service. As the elements are consecrated in the recorded service, so let your elements at home be blessed by the Holy Spirit who breaks barriers of time and space. It is not an ideal practice from my point of view, but it will help us through this time. Mr. James M. who has been our youth ministry leader, working together with J. Bodolus, will bring us a message.
Here is another one of our confirmation youth speeches! Kyrstyn was the oldest youth in this year’s senior confirmation class. She is finishing her junior year at North Penn High School and joined the confirmation group after she and her dad discovered our church two years ago. She went through a pretty fast and impressive development in her young faith journey. Last year she received her First Holy Communion. On two youth service occasions, she took to the pulpit and spoke to the congregation (see attached picture). She is a comfortable speaker, and because of her unique circumstances came to the group with the accumulated wisdom of many counseling hours. Sometimes it is helpful to have a youth in the group that’s a little bit older than the rest, and that was the case here. She really helped us (the teachers) and related well to the rest of the confirmation group. We could always count on her. I hope you enjoy her reflection on the confirmation experience. Just click on the Vimeo link below.
Join us for today’s noon Bible Study via Zoom. We will tackle the 5th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. See the material attached. Here is the invitation:
Today, please pray again for our friend Dave S. He lost his nice shock of hair as a result of the chemotherapy. His prospects of beating his cancer (non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Stage 1) are good according to his doctors. But those of you who have gone through chemotherapy and/or radiation know what it can be like. Please keep Dave and his caring wife Linda in your prayers. Thank you!
As always, be blessed and be safe! Pastor Andreas Wagner