St. PJ's eNews: July 11, 2025 | | |
- Weekly Reflection: Bonhoeffer's Message to J.D. Vance: "You are the neighbor"
- Remembering Gwen Chapin
- Parish Hall Kitchen Update from Lynne Severance
- Call for Volunteers: Sunrise Cafe update from Sally Fleming
- News from the Wider Church: Episcopalian responses to Texas flooding, Christian protest and resistance, global ecumenical climate action, 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:
Bonhoeffer's Message to J.D. Vance:
"You are the neighbor"
From Rev. Nathan Empsall, priest-in-charge
This Sunday, our Gospel reading will be the parable of the Good Samaritan. When I saw that, I couldn't help but reflect on two things:
1) Samaritans were villainous figures -- certainly an unwelcome "other" -- to the Gospels' first Judean readers. Jesus's point was that even these were our neighbors, whom we should help and accept help from. That came to mind this past week when, in response to massive Texas flooding, Mexican cities sent rescue teams and aid to their unwelcoming northern neighbor. The USA treats Mexico like Samaria these days, but that didn't stop them from showing love and kindness. May we be likewise.
2) In February, J.D. Vance wrongly proclaimed that Christians should love our families first, then our immediate physical neighbors, and only then we can think about anyone else. Many theologians and commentators – including the late Pope Francis – quickly pointed out that this is in direct contradiction to the Good Samaritan.
So with that in mind, for the rest of this week's reflection, I want to include this excerpt from Harvard PhD student Mac Loftin's February 19 article in the Christian Century, "J. D. Vance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the parable of the Good Samaritan."
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by Mac Loftin
As ill-informed and odious as Vance’s blathering about the ordo amoris [order of love] is, it’s a symptom of a poison coursing through American Christianity: the temptation to believe that God demands we prioritize Americans over everyone else. (Even, for Vance, over his fellow Catholics. Recall this past summer when he spread revolting lies about Haitian immigrants—themselves overwhelmingly Catholic—eating people’s pets and spreading infectious diseases.) We have to take this poison seriously. [Pope] Francis gives a suggestion for where to begin, ending his rebuke of Vance by insisting the true order of loves can only be discovered by “meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan.’”
For my money, the best commentary on the parable of the Good Samaritan was published by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1937. It appears in his book The Cost of Discipleship, written while Bonhoeffer was running an underground seminary targeted by the Nazis for its pacifism and resistance to the state’s racist policies. Bonhoeffer presciently describes just the kind of noxious sophistry Vance and his allies deploy in their use of the ordo amoris. His call to care for the despised and excluded remains just as urgent today.
In Bonhoeffer’s telling, the main point of the passage in Luke where the parable appears is not in fact the parable itself, but the question that occasions it: “And who is my neighbor?”
The only reason we would ask the question, Bonhoeffer says, is because we want to shrink our circle of responsibility, to know who we have to love so we can know who we don’t have to love. To ask “Who is my neighbor?” is really to ask “Who isn’t my neighbor? Who do I not need to be concerned about? Whose suffering can I ignore?” In Bonhoeffer’s words, the question itself is already “rebellion against God’s commandment.” God commands us to love others, and in asking which others we have to love we are seeking permission not to love some others. “The whole story of the Good Samaritan,” he writes, “is Jesus’ singular rejection and destruction of this question as satanic.”
Is it possible to answer the question? Is my neighbor, Bonhoeffer asks, “my biological brother, my compatriot, my brother in the church, or my enemy?” But seeking clarification takes us down the wrong road. “The neighbor” is not some category of person into which some fall and others don’t—as if, confronted by the suffering and need of another person, I should first sit down and figure out whether this person is in fact my neighbor. Instead of being a category of person, “the neighbor” is for Bonhoeffer a description of the other’s moral claim on me. Thus, he says, there is only one possible answer to the question: “You yourself are the neighbor.”
You are the neighbor.
Bonhoeffer wrote these lines in the mid 1930s, before Kristallnacht and mass deportations but after the Nazis had stripped Jews of their citizenship rights. German Jews existed in a precarious position relative to German Christians: nearby, but no longer fellow citizens; living and working somewhat as they had before, but increasingly targeted and scapegoated by the state. A Christian in Germany in 1937 might be tempted, when thinking about the now noncitizens living in their town, hearing lurid rumors about them spreading disease and attacking citizens and plotting against the state, to ask, “And who is my neighbor?” This was the temptation Bonhoeffer wanted his seminarians to resist with uncompromising strength. “There is literally no time left to ask about someone else’s qualification,” he wrote. “I must act and must obey; I must be a neighbor to the other person.”
The coming months will see the Trump-Vance administration’s promise of “Mass Deportations Now!” made real. Images of ICE raids will no doubt be disturbing: children taken from schools, sick people taken from hospitals, worshippers taken from churches, workers taken from job sites, families taken from homes; people shackled together and loaded onto military planes bound for extrajudicial black sites and border camps. Some Christian voices will cook up spurious theological reasons for why you shouldn’t be disturbed. Your loves aren’t ordered rightly, they will say; we must prioritize members of our own community before the rest of the world. (And given the new administration’s promise to end birthright citizenship, “our community” is going to get smaller.) Is someone who doesn’t even speak my language, or who doesn’t have the right documentation, or who lives halfway around the world, or whose country is in conflict with one of my country’s allies—is someone like that truly my neighbor? Who is my neighbor?
Bonhoeffer was right. There is literally no time left for questions like this. We must act and must obey. We are the neighbors.
/quote
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Remembering Gwen Chapin
We are sad to share the news that longtime St. PJ's member Gwendolyn Chapin died peacefully on Wednesday evening, July 9. She will be missed by many.
Gwen's family has been at St. Paul's and then St. PJ's since 1906. Tudy Hill, Judy Lhamon, and the pastoral-care team have been faithful pastoral caregivers and friends to her while she has been ill and mostly at home these past ten years, and were able to spend sacred time with her -- including reading Psalms and looking through treasured photo albums -- in her final days.
We will share Gwen's obituary and funeral plans when they are available. For now, we ask God to accept Gwen into that eternal heavenly embrace, and we pray with Gwen once more the words of Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
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Parish Hall Kitchen Update
from Lynne Severance
Thank you to everyone who helps with Coffee and Community on Sundays, and with the kitchen.
The kitchen has been cleaned and organized. Thanks to Kate and Brenda [ed. note: and Lynne!]. Just a few things to bring to everyone’s attention:
There are some items that have been cleaned out of the kitchen. They are on a table in the fellowship hall. Feel free to look them over and take anything you might want.
When hosting Coffee and Community: The cupboards and fridge are only for unopened items. Please take open items home after coffee hour. Please do not leave fruit in the fridge.
When considering kitchen donations:
What we don't need: Coffee, tea, creamer, sugar/sweeteners, plates, napkins, silverware, cleaning materials, vases
What we need: Dish towels, paper towels, hot and cold drinking cups (no Styrofoam), a knife holder that fits in a drawer
Thank you!
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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 11, at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the fifth 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. James’, Poquetanuck; Christ Church, Redding; and St. Stephen’s, Ridgefield, and for ECCT & parish committees on investments, stewardship, planned giving, insurance, and personnel policy.
In the global Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Church of North India.
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, Uli Mackert, Steve Crowson, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Judi, Tom, Leslie, Andrew, Pam, Tommy, Beverly Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Janea Barthle, Rita Valenti- Piovane, Stephen Lett, Debra
Birthdays: Katherine Babb (7/16)
Anniversaries: Sarah Hill & Isaac Mukwaya (7/13), Jeff & Janie Lange (7/18)
Faithful Departed: Gwendolyn Chapin (7/09)
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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, Rev. Nathan celebrated the Eucharist and preached about whether Christians may feel patriotic -- or not -- on the Fourth of July.
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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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