Walking the Path of Imperfection

By The Rev. Cameron Randle, Rector

 

Friday, May 1 is a day set aside on our liturgical calendar to honor the memory of two apostles, St. Philip and St. James. In the day’s gospel reading from the 14 ^th chapter of John, we are treated to a verbal free-for-all between Jesus and his closest followers. Ultimately, Philip provokes Jesus into clarifying his relationship to the divine. The pivotal exchange comes on the heels of a similar interaction between Thomas and Jesus. Thomas had been pressing Jesus to show the apostles as clearly as possible the Way in which their lives were meant to unfold. In response to a frustrated Thomas, who asked the rabbi, “Lord, how can we know the Way?” Jesus speaks those words writ large across the ages: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”

 

This prompts Philip to go for broke. He pushes Jesus to stop talking in riddles and reveal the Creator in words and images accessible to the created. Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father .”

 

There it is in the simplest terms. Our search for the nature and character of God is revealed in the person of Jesus, the Christ. Our legitimate frustration at the often elusive and confounding aspects of the divine finds relief when redirected to the ministry of a pre-Resurrection Jesus and the words and actions of a post-Resurrection Savior. At Eastern Shore Chapel, we are each called to enter into a lifelong relationship with Jesus. We are challenged to explore the intricacies of that relationship, to discover the truths to be revealed along the Way, even (and especially) when they are provocative, uncomfortable and inconvenient. Concurrently, we are meant to learn more about ourselves and become increasingly committed to alleviating the suffering of our fellow sojourners.

 

St. James and St. Philip walked a decidedly imperfect spiritual path comparable to ours over 2,000 years ago. If Philip drove Jesus to the brink of exasperation, James is distinguished for not being distinguished. In fact, he is known historically as James the Lesser. This is in contrast to James the ‘brother’ of Jesus (and eventual bishop of Jerusalem) and to James the Greater, brother of John (and son of Zebedee). 

 

The good news for us in this time of uncertainty may be found in the lives of St. Philip and St. James. Their human flaws, imperfections and insecurities did nothing to rob them of their relationship to Jesus. He loved them despite themselves. He loved them because of who they were, warts and all. It makes no difference whether we are worshipping online via YouTube or Facebook Live, or learning alone with Kindle or by candlelight. God honors our genuine search. As long as we keep seeking, the Way, the Truth and the Life will be made known to us so that we may point others to the path, as well. Don’t give up out of boredom or fatigue. Remain committed to light, to life, to love and to learning. We’ll have much to share with each other when we gather together again.

Saints and Themes

Join Rev. Julia weekly for a summary on a selected Saint and a theme that we are talking. This week we will discuss St. Claire the patron Saint of Television as well as how Television is impacting our lives during this quarantine time. We will meet on Zoom at 1pm every Thursday. We will record the session and post it to YouTube and Facebook later. Join us live so you can ask questions and share your thoughts. 

Saints and Themes with Rev. Julia - Every Thursday at 1 pm on ZOOM

Click here to join us each week OR go to www.zoom.us and enter:

Meeting ID: 953 655 1806

Password: ESC

Intentional Time

 

During this Intentional Time, we will continue with our journey but with different expectations and different ways to Walk to Jerusalem. It is after all, it is just one step at a time. We will continue this until we are all back at work or have reached Jerusalem. 

Intentional Steps

Click here for a weekly tally sheet. It should print easily. No need to send it in, it is just an aid to help you keep track of your weekly steps. At the end of each week, please email Lee Davis with your total, [email protected] .

Virtual Sunday School

Your child can connect online with Sunday School! Please email the teacher and she will send you a ZOOM invitation.

Photo: EYC enjoyed some fellowship and fun this past Sunday!

Music for Good Shepherd Sunday

This Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 3, is referred to as “Good Shepherd” Sunday. Many times the ESC choir has sung the lovely anthem “The Lord is My Shepherd’ by John Rutter. Walter Taylor usually joins the choir, playing his clarinet for the oboe solo. Although we are unable to sing this anthem for our Sunday service, we can enjoy the musical setting of the “Lord’s Prayer" here.

You may also enjoy listening here to one of the favorite hymns for this Sunday, Hymn 645, The King of love my shepherd is.

Blessings to all,

Martin

First Friday Men's Breakfast via ZOOM

Can you believe it's time for our First Friday Men's breakfast again? We will meet on ZOOM again, but we won't run out of time this month - that problem has been cured! Make you own breakfast, then join us at 7:30 AM Friday May 1. Just click here to join us, or go to http://zoom.us and enter the following:

Meeting ID: 562 715 368

Password: John1513

We will start with Morning Prayer then discuss the scripture readings for Sunday May 3, The Fourth Sunday of Easter. Those readings will be:

Extra Credit: In which reading do you find an early description of the Rectors Discretionary Fund? The Book of Sirach, in our Apocrypha (also called Ecclesiasticus, or The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach) is thought to have been written sometime between 200 and 180BCE. It was widely used as a handbook for for study and instruction in educational settings. It is a great read. Here is a selection on the value of  friends . And, here are directions on  table manners . After reading the scripture from 1 Peter, do you think it is reflective of  this teaching in Sirach?

Thank you for your generous support of the Chapel Pantry!

Here are some shots from last week’s pantry distribution. We served 253 households! We have received phenomenal support from you and from Galilee as well, and we are most grateful. People regularly drive up with donations of food and we’ve received many checks, all very generous. We continue to prepare to serve up to 400 households per week; we are trying to stay over-prepared as we don’t want to turn anyone away.

 

Our current needs are the same, but with an addition. Our reserve meat supply from the walk-in freezer has been fully depleted. New product is coming in at a trickle. If anyone wishes to buy fresh or frozen meat and/or eggs, in addition to the non-perishable list we would be most appreciative. It’s fine to freeze it before bringing it in. Doesn’t really matter what kind or what size, it all helps us meet our goal. Reimbursements are available to anyone who wishes to shop for us, but can’t afford to donate the product. Bring the receipt at time of donation and cash reimbursement is given immediately (Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 2 PM for donation/reimbursement).

Cemetery Expansion Update

 

Our contractor for the cemetery expansion project, Premier Earth Shaping, has arrived and started installation of erosion and sediment control measures around the site. They have also started with clearing undergrowth brush and selective tree removal. Rain and wet weather over the last few days have meant site conditions are muddy, thus slowing some of the work. If you have any questions, please reach out to me, Mike Brown, at [email protected] or 757-422-1287.

As a 'thank you' to your donors for their time and blood donation, those who come to give blood May 15-31 will receive a special Red Cross T-shirt by mail. (Instead of T-shirts being at your drive and handed to each donor, they will now be claimed electronically by donors who have a valid email address on file. Donors will receive an email approximately 14 days after donation from the Red Cross with instructions on how to claim and receive their preferred T-shirt size by mail.)

Parish Day School: Rising to the challenge of online learning

Due to our current circumstances, our entire Parish Day School Team has been working hard to look for new and exciting ways to engage with our families and children. Our teachers have been given the impossible task of keeping 2, 3, and 4 year olds engaged and connected over a computer screen. They have risen to the challenge, learning new technologies, researching activities that can be done at home, using social media and offering love and support in this uncertain time. Instead of doing a story time in the morning hours, one of our teachers offered to do a bedtime story with the class through Zoom. She had the children come to the Zoom after they had put on pjs, brushed their teeth and were ready for bed. It was so sweet to hear how much the families enjoyed the special bedtime story from their favorite teacher! We are so thankful for our teams ability to think “out of the box” to help bring joy into the homes of our students.

 

As we are heading into week seven of providing preschool through distance learning, we have been so encouraged by photos and feedback from our families. Last week from the kitchen, Ms. Angie included our Parish Day School Banana Bread recipe and several of our families made the snack at home!

 

We are on the final lap of our fundraising for CHKD this week! We are so thankful to be able to continue our Trike-a-Thon virtually. We are grateful for the donations we have received from our friends and family. Thank you for helping us reach our goal. If you haven’t had a chance to donate or participate please connect through the link at  www.teamchkd.org/parishdayschooltrikers . #CHKDTrikeathon #TeamCHKD #ParishDaySchool

 

We continue to pray for our Parish Day School and Eastern Shore Chapel Church family. We are keeping our eyes on what God has in store for us with finishing out our school year, starting our summer camp and our new school year. We keep focused on our mission to love, educate, and support our preschoolers and their families. We know the way we serve and connect to our families might look different, but the mission is still the same. Sending all of you prayers for health and safety!

Pray for our military

From the Cru Military Ministry -- PRAISE the Lord for the fruitful (virtual) meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Military Ministries! Thank you for praying! In spite of the quick changes made due to COVID 19, we had many more participants (120+) at the web-based event than were originally registered! Many were inspired at the synergy between the various ministries who all have a heart to reach the militaries of the world for Jesus! Join with us in praying for the Lord to continue to grow and enrich partnerships.

Prayers & Prayer Cards for deployed military

If you would like a prayer card sent to your deployed service member please contact Bill Hunter at [email protected] or 757-402-6384. I would also be happy to place the service member on the prayer list at church for inclusion in the weekly Prayers of the People.

The Chapel Chimes is distributed every Wednesday.

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