The E-pistle

Friday, July 18th 2025

A Note from Father Sam

Dear friends in Christ,

“Are you a Mary or a Martha?” Growing up, that was a question I heard in my church community from time to time. On Sunday, we’ll hear the short story of these remarkable sisters who welcomed Jesus into their home, who gave him hospitality during his long walk to Jerusalem, and who along with their brother Lazarus, were counted as some of Jesus’ closest friends.

You may know the story: Martha is busy doing the work of hosting, while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet as he teaches. Martha senses that this is unfair, and confronts Jesus about it. There’s more to the story than that, but the general picture has given us these two archetypes of Christian discipleship, down through the ages: the worker vs. the dreamer; the active vs. the contemplative, the altar guild vs. the acolyte. Like all dichotomies, it’s not quite an accurate picture of the story, or of the contours of Christian discipleship, but it’s something that makes sense to us, I think.

In the midst of another difficult week in which we have lost a dear member of our community, I’m aware of the many ways you are showing up and following Jesus in loving one another, in ways that exemplify the best of both models. You visit one another at home and in the hospital, you write cards and make phone calls and attend to each other’s needs; and, you pray for one another, you worship God alongside one another, you bring before God your hopes and fears in intercession of all kinds.

I pray that as we face illness and death, we would always strive to a church inspired by both Martha and Mary: caring for one another in generous acts of service; and, always attuned to the grace and mercy of God, to the good news that Jesus offers when we sit at his feet and listen. It seems so important to me that when their brother Lazarus dies, it is to Mary and Martha that Jesus utters his powerful words:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Faithfully,

Father Sam

Sunday, July 20th, 2025

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 AM Holy Eucharist Rite II

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Scripture for the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost: Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42

Serving this Sunday:

Altar Guild: Robin Race

Fellowship: Patty Melville & Gale Page

Celebrant: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Preacher: The Rev'd Samuel T. Vaught

Assisting Priest: The Rev'd Jane Tillman

Acolyte: Kim Savery

LEM: Diane Dillon

Lector/Intercessor: Carl Sprague

Greeter: Frank Smith

Musician: Doug Schmolze

Parish Prayer List

Those who are ill or in need of intercession

Jacob, Kathleen, Cynthia, Lori, Kit, David, Ann, Celia, Anne, Dawn, Tracey, Jim, Mary, Janet, Bobbie, Ginger, Arthur, Michael, Holly, Dick, Loralee, Maggie, Michelle, Martha, Grace

Those who have recently died

Lucianne Shoffner, mother of Loralee Brontë

Pat Buttenheim

Ginger Schwartz

Those who have asked for our long-term prayers

Josh, Mike, Ginny, Travis, Faye, Heidi, Rick, Allie, Joan, Duncan, Bernadette, Ray, Piers, Katrina, Rich, Karen, Michael, Khali, George, Barbara, Christy, John, Anthony, Astrida

Those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries

Tracy Weston

Our Parish: St. Paul’s, Stockbridge

That we may grow in faith, hope, and love, and together strive to be the hands and heart of Christ for Stockbridge and the wider world; for Sam, our Rector; Jane and Libby, our Priests Associate; for our Wardens  and Vestry; for the students and staff of the St. Paul’s Children’s Center 

The Diocese of Western Massachusetts

Doug, Bishop

Steven, interim Canon to the Ordinary

Search Committee for the next Bishop 

Diocesan Cycle of Prayer (Week of 7/20)

Congregations, Ministries, and Partners in Ministry

Christ Trinity Church, Sheffield

Archdeacon, The Ven. Jane Griesbach

The Church and Wider Mission

United Thank Offering (UTO)

National Network of Episcopal

Church Employees

The Episcopal Church in the United States of America; Sean, Presiding Bishop

The Anglican Communion throughout the world; Stephen, Archbishop of York

Anglican Cycle of Prayer

Sun 7/20: The Church of Pakistan (United)           

Mon 7/21: Diocese of Newcastle (England)

Tues 7/22: Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador (Canada)

Wed 7/23: Diocese of Central Newfoundland (Canada)

Thurs 7/24: Diocese of Western Newfoundland (Canada)

Fri 7/25: Diocese of Ngbo (Nigeria)

Sat 7/26: Diocese of Niagara (Canada)

Prayers for those in Authority

The Town of Stockbridge 

The Stockbridge Select Board 

Ernest Cardillo, Jamie Minacci

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Maura Healey, Governor of Massachusetts

The General Court of Massachusetts 

Leigh Davis (House of Representatives) 

Paul Mark (Senate) 

The United States of America 

Donald Trump, President of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The United States Congress 

Richard Neal (House of Representatives)

Elizabeth Warren (Senate) 

Ed Markey (Senate) 



Prayers for the World 

For lasting peace in the Middle East

For the people of the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Haiti, and other places of conflict

For kidnapped Ukrainian children and their families and friends

For all affected by natural disasters and climate change

For all who live in fear, especially migrants and transgender children and adults

July Red Letter Days

July 4: Independence Day

July 22: Saint Mary Magdalene

July 25: Saint James the Apostle

Lee Food Pantry: Current Needs

Baby wipes

Laundry detergent

Flour

Sugar

Rice

Paper towels

Toilet paper

Items can be dropped off at the back of the church. On the second Saturday of the month, a team from St. Paul’s volunteers to distribute food. Questions? See Jim Wade.

Two Red Letter Days this Week

There are two “Red Letter Days” in the church calendar this week: St. Mary Magdalene on Tuesday, and St. James the Apostle on Friday. Both were early followers of Jesus. Mary Magdalene was the first to announce the news of Jesus’ resurrection, and became the “apostle to the apostles.” James, we learn from the book of Acts, was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred for his faith. We celebrate their witness to the good news of Christ, and their sharing in his resurrection life, with Holy Eucharist at 6:00 p.m. each night. After each service, we’ll spend time in simple fellowship with one another. So if you’d like to catch up with your fellow parishioners in the midst of summer travel, pick one or two nights this week, come pray together, learn a little about these inspiring disciples of Jesus, and enjoy each other’s company.

Letter to the Church from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe

Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church:

Yesterday, Archbishop Hosam Naoum of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East gave a powerful address to the Church of England’s annual Synod in York about the situation in Gaza and the Holy Land. He spoke of the horrifying humanitarian conditions that the war in Gaza has created, including the continued bombing of hospitals, a desperate lack of medical supplies, and a food distribution system that he likened to the dystopian novel “The Hunger Games.”

In his address, Archbishop Hosam asked for our help, saying, “Where the church is wounded and constrained, we need the wider body of Christ to help us, to be the church in brutal and damaging times.”

Here are some ways that we in The Episcopal Church can respond to his call for help:

As Christians committed to peace and reconciliation, we can stand with our siblings in Christ in the Holy Land as they continue their ministry of presence and resilience in the midst of inhumane conditions. We join Archbishop Hosam in his call for the Israeli military to end the bombing of hospitals and the siege of Gaza; for the restoration of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza under United Nations supervision; and for Israel and Hamas to release all unjustly detained people and hostages.

We can also call for Israel to end its targeting of civilians in Gaza. I particularly grieve the death of Dr. Ahmad Attallah Qandil, a surgeon at the Diocese of Jerusalem’s Al Ahli Hospital, who was killed by a drone strike as he left the hospital after his shift last Friday. He is one of hundreds of medical workers who have been arrested, detained, or killed in Gaza during this war.

Conditions in the West Bank are also deteriorating, and we join the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem in expressing grief and outrage at the recent attack on Taybeh, the last all-Christian village in the West Bank. Extremist Israeli settlers destroyed crops and olive groves, damaged historic buildings and water systems, and attempted to burn its ancient Byzantine cemetery and fifth-century Church of St. George.

Archbishop Hosam and the Diocese of Jerusalem are committed not only to providing Christian hope in the midst of the current hopelessness, but also to creating conditions that will bring about a lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Because U.S. policy plays an outsized role in this conflict, we Episcopalians in the United States have a particular responsibility to support this work by advocating to our government to support a permanent ceasefire and a solution that provides a just and enduring peace. Most of all, we must decry in the strongest possible terms any U.S. or Israeli proposal for ethnic cleansing or the removal of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.

Our Office of Government Relations helps us make our voices heard in Washington, D.C., ensuring that we can speak as Christians guided not by any political party, but by the redemptive love of the Risen Christ. You can find more information and tools for advocacy on the church’s website.

As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we can also support the Diocese of Jerusalem as it continues its ministry of peacebuilding and reconciliation and prepares for the rebuilding of its ministries after the war. As I have done several times, I invite you to join me in making a generous donation to the Good Friday Offering or the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem, both of which provide urgently needed funds for the ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

In his address, Archbishop Hosam, who is from the Israeli city of Nazareth, called us to join his church in fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue there:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

   because he has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

   and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

May we answer this call through our support for God’s people in the Holy Land.

The Most Rev. Sean Rowe

Presiding Bishop

The Episcopal Church

Diocesan Summer Reading Author Events

Video of Conversation with Author Cristina Rathbone

Resources for learning, support and advocacy

• Berkshire Immigrant Center
• Pioneer Valley Workers Center
• Worcester Refugee Assistance Project (WRAP)
• Episcopal Migration Ministry -- TAKE ACTION

Join us on August 19 for Conversation with Tim Crellin

The Land of the Living

BY THE REV. TIMOTHY CRELLIN

AUGUST 19 @ 6 PM

Join author, Tim Crellin, for a discussion of his first novel.

The Land of the Living is a historical novel that explores the themes of immigration and assimilation, war and its impact on families, the role of race and class in forging identity, and what it means to find home.

The conversation will be hosted by the Rev. Dr. Nina Pooley.

Episcopal Relief and Development– Disaster relief in the Texas Hill Country

Dozens are dead and dozens remain missing following the recent flash flooding in Texas Hill Country. Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Diocese of West Texas to provide support in the coming days and weeks. Many in Kerrville, in their diocese and across Texas have personal connections to the missing campers and staff members impacted by this devastating crisis. As the scope of the disaster continues to unfold, we need your help. Episcopal Relief & Development is accepting donations to help with disaster relief here.

Summer Bible Study

Summer Bible Study continues!  Each Wednesday through August 27, we gather at 5:30 p.m. on the screen porch of the Rectory to explore the readings for the upcoming Sunday. We let our curiosities guide the conversation, and we never know quite where we’ll end up! Bring a Bible if you have one (we have plenty here, too), and come with questions and an open spirit! You can enter on the west side of the house, from the church gardens. Questions? Email Father Sam.