St. PJ's eNews: July 3, 2025 | | |
- Weekly Reflection, from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe: "Once the church of presidents, the Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance"
- Office closed tomorrow, Friday, July 4
- A Growing Need: Sunrise Cafe seeks volunteers
- A note about musical prelude timing
- News from the Wider Church: Fourth of July reflections, faith leaders respond to one big ugly bill, Navajoland updates, and more
- This Week at St. PJ's and Cycles of Prayer
- Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon
- Parish-wide Visits with Rev. Nathan
- There's Always More...
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Weekly Reflection, by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe: "Once the church of presidents, the Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance"
Our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, published this op-ed in Religion News Service today.
It is shaping up to be a complicated Independence Day for the Episcopal Church. We were once the church of the Founding Fathers and presidents—34 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of what became our church after the Revolution, and 11 presidents, including George Washington, have professed our faith. Today, however, we are known less for the powerful people in our pews than for our resistance to the rising tide of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism emanating from Washington, D.C.
When religious institutions like ours enjoy easy coexistence with earthly power, our traditions and inherited systems can become useless for interpreting what is happening around us. But our recent reckoning with the federal government has allowed us to see clearly the ease with which the Protestant tradition of patriotism can lead Christians to regard our faith more as a tool of dominion than a promise of liberation.
We have had an eventful few months. In February, we joined a coalition of interfaith partners to sue the federal government on the grounds that the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in houses of worship is a violation of our religious freedom. In May, we ended our four-decade participation in the federal refugee resettlement program over the current administration’s demand that we resettle white Afrikaners designated as refugees. We are now assessing how to respond to the travel ban, which prevents us from gathering and worshipping freely with the people of our churches in Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba, and may limit entry for our members in several other of the 22 countries and territories where the Episcopal Church is found. These challenges to our ability to practice our faith have strained the comfortable intermingling of church and state that our institution has enjoyed for nearly 250 years.
The reckoning, if we are honest, is long overdue. Every July 4, our prayer book reminds us of our failure to stand against the enslavement of Black Americans with a prayer for Independence Day claiming that “the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us.” But not all of us. The Episcopal Church did not make a moral stand against slavery, and some of our eminent leaders were pillars of the transatlantic slave trade. Our church ran residential schools for Indigenous children at which they were denied their culture and God-given humanity. And in the mid-20th century, our foreign missions aligned with U.S. foreign policy in Asia and the Pacific, and in Central America and the Caribbean.
The history of the church in Nazi Germany is a cautionary tale about how Christians can falter in perilous times. Some Christians in that time and place sided with the Reich based on their theological tradition of nationalism and loyalty to the state. Others, who came to be called the Confessing Church, became determined that they needed to oppose the government’s interference in religion. They resisted the Nazi regime — some, like Lutheran theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to the death.
But the Confessing Church’s resistance was not primarily based in resistance to the Nazis’ deadly and dehumanizing antisemitism, but rather in its belief in the autonomy of the institutional church and its resulting desire to block state interference in church affairs. The last six months has heightened my understanding of that impulse, and I do not intend to diminish the witness of the Confessing Church — especially that of Bonhoeffer, who was brutally executed by the Nazi regime less than a month before the end of the war in Europe. Its history, however, teaches us that when we are awash in propaganda, even our resistance can be bound by its definitions and incline us to see the world in the same categories — foreigner and neighbor, cisgender and transgender, white and people of color, Christian and Muslim — that we seek to transcend.
These historical lessons are urgent. Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last institutions capable of resisting this administration’s overreach and recklessness. To do so faithfully, we must see beyond the limitations of our tradition and respond not in partisan terms, but as Christians who seek to practice our faith fully in a free and fair democracy.
We did not seek this predicament, but God calls us to place the most vulnerable and marginalized at the center of our common life, and we must follow that command regardless of the dictates of any political party or earthly power. We are now being faced with a series of choices between the demands of the federal government and the teachings of Jesus, and that is no choice at all.
This is not the same kind of patriotism that has guided our church since its founding in 1785, but this July Fourth, it may be the most faithful service we can render — both to the country we love and the God we serve.
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Church Office Closed Tomorrow,
Friday, July 4
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July.
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A Growing Need:
Volunteer with Sunrise Cafe!
Our partners and dear friends at Sunrise Café have put out the call for help!
It is summer, when many regular volunteers go on vacation. Sunrise Café, which was co-founded by St. PJ’s member Anne Calabrese, serves breakfast to around 90 f0lks each weekday morning in the St. PJ’s undercroft. The chef makes eggs, bacon, and other items, which volunteers serve to the folks sitting at tables. This program is a tremendous help to those who may be unhoused, living alone, or have few supports, allowing them to gather here, find community, and start the day with a full belly and some kind words.
For more information about Sunrise Cafe and how you can make a difference, contact St. PJ’s member Sally Fleming: sallyjfleming@yahoo.com
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A Note About Musical Prelude Timing
Please note that in order for our Sunday service to begin at 10:30, the musical prelude now begins at 10:25, not at 10:30.
This gives worshippers a chance to enter and settle in with a moment of prayerful musical reflection before the service begins. This will also help us to finish closer to 11:45, so that volunteers aren't kept longer and families can care for their children's needs.
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Come for Jazz Eucharist this Sunday, July 6, at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
Rev. Nathan will celebrate and preach.
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Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
In person and online
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Wednesday Prayer 12:30 p.m.
In person
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Thursday Compline 8 p.m.
On Zoom
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Cycles of Prayer
In the cycle of prayer for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, we pray this week for St. Paul’s, Plainfield; Christ Church, Pomfret; and Trinity, Portland; and for military chaplains and all who serve this country.
In the global Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
ST. PJ'S PRAYER LIST: Rachel, Doug Parker, Anne Matthies, Betty Hill, Tim Barnes, Calvin Griffin, Lenny Santarsiero, Rev. Walter MacNutt, Tom Caffelle, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Richard Holcomb, Tiras Jaske, Gwen Chapin, Uli Mackert, Steve Crowson, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Judi, Tom, Leslie, Andrew, Pam, Tommy, Beverly Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Janea Barthle, Debra, Rita Valenti- Piovane
Birthdays & Anniversaries: Suzy McDowell (7/12)
Faithful Departed: Richard Saykosky (6/16)
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VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon
If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.
Last week, Lynne Severance presided over Morning Prayer, Tudy Hill preached, and we said goodbye to Eva and Deacon Andrew Stump.
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Upcoming Visits with Rev. Nathan
As previously announced, I am now trying to meet with every St. PJ's member -- as families or individuals -- and get to know you and your dreams for our community life together.
I want to hear about who you are, what makes you tick, what you believe and love, your history at St. PJ's, and your hopes for this congregation's future. Through these meetings, I hope to get a better feel for who we are as a community -- and where the Spirit might be leading us!
Ideally this meeting would be at your home, where I can also offer a home blessing. If you prefer a coffee shop, your office, or a park bench on a nice day, those are fine options too -- anywhere but the church itself.
Because I am half-time, it will undoubtedly take several months to get through these visits. If you would like to meet sooner, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to use an Excel random-number generator to determine the order in which I'll reach out. But whether it's next week or in September, know that I can't wait!
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There's always more...
If you would like to submit an item for consideration in the eNews or bulletin announcements, please let Rev. Nathan know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.
Please contact Monifa Atkinson in the church office at office@stpaulstjames.org or (203) 562-2143 if you are interested in receiving more information about any of the following:
- Renting space at St. PJ's for your next party, meeting, concert, wedding, or other event. More info at the St. PJ's website here >>
- Volunteering with St. PJ's
- Adding a name, birthday, or anniversary to the St. PJ's prayer list
- Arranging pastoral care needs
- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's
- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall
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St. PJ's Staff and Contacts
Administrative Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - Noon
Priest Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., and by appointment
office@stpaulstjames.org
(203) 562-2143
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Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org
- Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson
- Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
- Children's Ministry: Molly Clayton
- Director of Music: Will Cleary
- Associate Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
- Tech and Music Intern: Dontae James
- Priest Associate: The Rev. Steve Crowson
- Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Roni Holcomb, Steve Crowson, Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance
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