Dearest family and friends of St. Mary's,
In times of great distress, it is especially important to begin in prayer. Let us pray,
God our deliverer, gather our horror, anger, and sadness at the death of children and teachers at Robb Elementary School into the compass of your wisdom and strength, that through the night we may seek and do what is right, and when morning comes trust ourselves to your cleansing justice and new life. Amen.
(Adapted from Enriching our Worship 2, p. 143)
Not yet in seminary, in June of 2016, I took to the pulpit the Sunday following the Pulse nightclub shooting. I remember the gravity of such a moment and the responsibility to bear witness to Gospel truth. I recalled my priest, the Sunday after Sandy Hook. How she shook with grief and heartache. My chest, heavy, now bore the same distress and responsibility. In 2018, I received a scholarship and an invitation to preach at St. John's in Larchmont, NY. Once again, I was charged with preaching after a mass shooting... in a school with children. This time it was Parkland. One of the victims was part of the Episcopal Youth Corps. Heartache struck deep, but this time in a new way. I was doing this again...AGAIN...and still, before ordination.
Our hearts break for the souls of the innocent who departed this world and for the parents who grieve. Too many lives have been lost to gun violence.
When entering this vocation, there is an expectancy of encountering the unbelievable, the incredible, the unpredictable, both good and bad. All of that is a gift of ministry and the immense privilege of being invited into the most intimate moments and spaces of our lives. It saddens me that I cannot be with you this weekend, especially after another tragic event. Instead, Jane Carol will walk into the pulpit, not yet ordained, and bear the same responsibility. My prayers go out to our deacon in training, to all of you in my absence, and to our nation in mourning.
Like many of you, I find myself frustrated over the loss of life and gun violence that plagues us. All of this death and destruction, sadly, is and has been predictable. The number of guns in our country far outnumbers the people. How could it not be anything but death? But hope is not lost when we put our faith in Christ, and turn our prayers into ACTION. All may not be eliminated, but it can be curtailed. We know this, because other nations have succeeded. Other countries do not suffer as we are suffering.
Unfortunately, we have a deeply unhealthy relationship with guns, power, and money. It is the idolatry of the day, the golden calf. We must renounce these sinful ways. God demands it. God demands more from us. We need to listen and respond.
Sometimes the answer is as simple as the first two commandments. Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, ALL your mind, and ALL your spirit. The second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. In all, we do, God must come above all else.
Yes, I continue to pray, and also recognize that praying to God is more than thoughts to heaven and conversations with Jesus, Mary, and all the saints. Prayer is active in body, mind, and spirit. We must listen more closely to the call which is demanding we rise and do better. On this Feast of the Ascension, we must ascend higher. As such, it is a call to life, and it demands we pray with our voices, with our hands, and with our feet and resources. Our prayers must be active until the vibration of change is felt underneath our feet and flows through each and every person and community.
This week I was invited to preside at a Memorial Service for an amazing Jewish woman. To honor her I said traditional Jewish prayers, recited a psalm and concluded with a poem by Rabbi Maller, "When All that's Left is Love". As we move into this Memorial Day weekend where we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom, I find these words most poignant.
When all that's left is Love
When I die
If you need to weep
Cry for someone
Walking the street beside you.
You can love me most by letting
Hands touch hands, and
Souls touch souls.
You can love me most by
Sharing your Simchas (goodness) and
Multiplying your Mitzvot (acts of kindness).
You can love me most by
Letting me live in your eyes
And not on your mind.
And when you say Kaddish for me
Remember what our
Torah teaches,
Love doesn’t die: people do.
So when all that’s left of me is love
Give me away.
Truly, we honor those who have come before us, fought and died for our freedoms, by doing just as the Rabbi suggests. Let your prayer be Action in our living world.
If we are sending our children to school or to a grocery store, or park, porch stoop and fear violence, we are not free. To truly honor those who gave all for us, we must give all for our children, our grandchildren, and their children. They deserve a better, brighter, safer world. Our prayers must be a genuine and active verb. Our prayers must be action.
"Nineteen small bodies and those of two teachers demand our commitment and attention to life... They had a right to life. So did grocery shoppers in Buffalo, NY, churchgoers in Laguna Woods, CA, and schoolchildren in Columbine, CO, Newtown, CT, and Parkland, FL. The Robb Elementary School shooting comes ten years after 20 children and six adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. It comes 10 days after 10 people were murdered while grocery shopping in Buffalo. Their deaths spur us on towards prayer and action." The Rt. Rev. Carlye J. Hughes, Bishop
Some ways to take prayerful action today:
- Call and write your congressional representative.
-
Call and write your state legislature representative.
- Start a chapter of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship
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Donate to Sandy Hook Promise or another organization to help prevent gun violence.
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Adapt prayers for individual use and for the prayers of the People. Bishops United Against Gun Violence (bishopsagainstgunviolence.org)
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Wear Orange on June 3, National Gun Violence Prevention Day (wearorange.org).
Almighty God, receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of those who would inflict evil in this world and establish your rule of justice, love and peace; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
(Adapted from the Collect for the Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, p. 238)
May the God of peace be with you today and always.
May the God of peace guard you in all your ways.
May the God of peace strengthen you.
May the God of peace and comfort enfold you and encourage you.
May the God of peace give you peace!
May the God of all peace guard your heart.
May the God of all peace comfort you and sanctify you.
May the God of love and peace fill you to overflowing with love & joy.
May the God of peace bless you now and forevermore.
Blessings in Christ,
Mo. Allison+
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Important Dates to Note:
May 29th - 6 to 8 PM - Strawberry Festival
June 3rd - Wedding Rehearsal
June 4th - the wedding of Chelsea Schuster and Andrew Hickman
June 4th: NO Saturday Service.
June 5th - Baptism of Morrighan Aisling Langston
June 11th- 11 AM Celebration of Life Grace and Bill Repp
June 12th - 9 AM Service The Rev. Canon Joann Izzo
June 18th - 11 AM - 75th Anniversary Celebration of St. Barnabas by the Bay, Villas
July - We are looking forward to the Science Explorers returning, Thursday's on the Lawn, and Saturday Evening Beach services.