Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last week I made the decision to take a long weekend over the 4th of July holiday, where my priority was to step away from technology of all kinds. I let myself 'be' for four days, and spent quite a lot of time thinking my thoughts and sitting with uncomfortable feelings. If you haven't taken any vacation time since the onset of Covid-19, I encourage you to do so. It's critical that we take time to rest and step away, even if "away" looks more like a hammock in our backyard or our living room couch instead of trips to Europe or beach houses as we might have been planning at the start of this year.

The gift of taking time away is the feeling of a little more energy to pick up where you left off, and fresh eyes to see what you've been looking at for so long. This is the time when many of our parishes report lower attendance due to vacations, and much of our programming is on hold. Of course, Covid-19 has changed this dynamic of church life, too. One gift of this pandemic is that we no longer have to travel beyond our favorite chair (if we don't want to or don't feel comfortable doing so) in order to engage in interesting and meaningful experiences - both within ECCT and beyond.

This missive is full of opportunities for you - from speaker-series to river clean ups, from NE Region specific events like the upcoming digital town hall to our ECCT Convention, which will be entirely online this year. I would encourage you to check out the opporutnities to engage, the opportunities to speak out, and the opportunities to put yourself in a position where your voice can be heard. Look into what submitting a question at Convention is like, or what nomination to the Standing Committee might look like. Explore the new Convention website in its entirety, and since participation is free for non-voting members (and only $15 for delegates!), encourage your entire family to be part of this work.

The Kingdom of God will not be built in a day, but in many days and years of our collective work. So rest when you can, engage when you can. Be mindful of your energy levels and think about ways in which you might experience church differently. I'm always available to you if you have questions or if you need a friendly voice of encouragement.

Photo by Maggie Breen

If you are looking to get involved with Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation and/or Anti-Racism work but aren't sure where to start, below are a few good resources for you to check out:

The Saint being venerated by July’s Icon of the Month is not all that well known, but that needs to change. Western Christians mark the feast day of Saint Simeon Salus on July 1, Orthodox Christians using the Byzantine calendar honour him on July 21 (August 3 according to Gregorian calendar).

St. Simeon Salus was definitely a nut job – literally. His mad behaviour included throwing nuts to extinguish the Eucharistic candles and for knocking the hats off of the women in the congregation. Earlier, he first introduced himself to the townsfolk by dragging the carcass of a dog through its streets. This did not sit well with the townsfolk and he was treated as an outcast. 

To learn humility, he argued, we must love humiliations. Therefore, Simeon deliberately began to behave as a fool – hence his nickname Salus, which in Syriac means crazy. No-one could respect a man who acted so oddly, but the pathetic ones whom he desired to love, his fellow outcasts, welcomed him as one despised like themselves. It was to these people that he ministered. 

He is traditionally shown holding a hand-puppet which he is reported to have made to look like himself in order to mock and laugh at himself and to ridicule sin. Instead of a hand puppet, I have chosen to use a shadow puppet. In this way, I am also playing the fool. Either way, Simeon is the patron saint of puppeteers.

Icons are traditionally written on wooden panels (to represent the Cross), however, as a further step in the direction of foolishness, I have painted this icon on a standard stretched canvas panel. Also, I have absolutely no idea what the green thing is that’s enveloping the worthy saint.

Icon and article created by David Clarke, member of St. John's, Vernon

This is the space of possibility! A space where we have time to explore what we are curious about. A space where we can figure out how to find joy when we must be apart.

So..........here are some things I've found interesting in the past week: music, projects, art, articles, etc. May they be of service to us so that we can be in service to others.

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You can reach Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, the following ways:

PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154

EMAIL: [email protected]