Beloved, let us love one another, 

~Canticle, " A Song of God's Love 1 John 4:7-11

Worship at St. David's Services:

Sunday 10:00 Service on: Zoom

Sunday 10:00 Service on Facebook Live:

Asset Mapping

Asset Mapping is a new buzz-word in the business and consulting world. Often, a business will look at the problems it faces, and those charged with mapping a way forward will despair at the size of the hill to be climbed. Asset mapping approaches the problem from the other end, by asking first what assets are already present.

At the first conference we ran for the pastors in the Diocese of Mpwapwa in Tanzania, we took the pastors out to a vacant field and asked them to map the assets. There was a dilapidated old chicken coop nearby. An electrical line ran overhead. There was a water spigot at the edge of the field. There were sticks lying around, and empty water bottles. Once they had made their list of assets, we asked them what kind of use they might put the field to. Some saw the possibility of brick-making with the water source. Others saw the possibility of bee-keeping, making a hive out of the sticks lying about. There were many good ideas.

Later in the conference, we used the story of Jesus feeding the multitude in the wilderness with the five loaves and two fish, as an example of big results from small beginnings. We asked the pastors to think about the story, and tell us what they saw in it. One of the pastors jumped up enthusiastically, and said “When Jesus asked his disciples what they had, he was asset-mapping!” Bingo.

I’m convinced that in every situation, God has already given the gifts necessary for the ministry God calls us to. As we prepare for our Rogation Day (pray for good weather!), and discerning how St. David’s moves forward, we can begin with a gift-assessment, or an asset map. What gifts has God already given us? It could be as boring and as seemingly useless as empty water bottles – some of the pastors imagined that those water bottles could be punctured and buried as a kind of simple irrigation system for growing vegetables in that field – not a use I would have thought of.

What gifts has God given us? We have useable space. We have a bunch of pianos. We have gifted people, who bring a wealth of experience to the table. We are in a beautiful setting. That’s just the start of what can be a long list.

The next question is where our gifts meet the needs of the community (and which community are we talking about). St. David’s has a long history of commitment to music and the arts. At the present, we have access to a pool of talented musicians, and people who have studied music and taught music. This may provide us a hint of a direction to go (we also have lots of pianos, and a fantastic organ). Maybe a music studio here at St. David’s?

God has given the gifts, and invites us to be stewards of those gifts. Like Jesus feeding the multitude in the wilderness, if God blesses the gifts, they will accomplish much more than we can imagine. Let’s think about that list, and then begin to ask God to bless it.

ROGATION CELEBRATION

A time of praying for remembrance,

Following a one (1) year hiatus of being able to join together we have returned to In-Person Worship, and on May 9^th which is Rogation Sunday, we find it to be an appropriate time to take the next step in Faith ! Following the 10:00 a.m. Service, we shall as a group, with social distancing, process around the church perimeter remembering that our lives, and seasons, are in God’s hands.

We will begin our journey starting in the Memorial Garden, where we shall offer up prayers of remembrance, then proceeding to various places along the way, stopping to offer up prayers of thanksgiving and remembrance.  Concluding our journey in the courtyard where we will join together in a feast, while maintain social distancing.

St. David’s will provide meat, rolls, beverages (coffee, tea and lemonade), condiments, and disposable tableware. Everyone attending is asked to bring a dish to share.

Reserve you table here: 

 05/09/2021 Rogation Celebration ONLY

In keeping with best practices we are putting out a Covid-19 vaccination survey. Please click the link to participate: Click Here

You can:

Getting involved in our services is making this darn pandemic tolerable,

at least on Sundays and a few other moments.

We invite everyone to help us in making our community stronger than ever through prayer. As you may know we have become acquainted with Zoom and Facebook Live to help bring us together to commune with each other. Please use these links to sign up to participate in our different prayer services and gatherings.

Sunday service participation for May: Click Here to sign up

Bible Study: Click Here

Coffee Hour Zoom: Click Here

If there are questions on how to sign up for Sunday participation or daily prayers please contact either Cherie or Dave

May 2nd ,2021

5th Sunday of Easter

online service at 10am

See link below

 https://www.facebook.com/StDavids

Dan's Blog:  

http://www.stdavidscny.org/;

https://episcopalchurch.org/

Denise Mako

Jamie Archer

Ian Kirkpatrick

Ginny Frey

Corinne Drury

James Palumbo

Lisa Richards

Judy McCumber

Marilyn Cleary

Roberta Heirath

Josh Echols

Frank Beadel

Isabella Songco

Daniel Healey

Hall Orcutt

Frank Cinque

James McDermott

Françoise Boulanger

Lois Shaffer

Rose Demagio

Tim Orcutt

Yvonne Shaw

Diana Smith

Judy Finlayson

Colleen Bain 

Miggs Coleman

Lisa Smith

Msr. Robert Yeazel

Email either Kristen, Dan, or Cherie if there is something you would like to see posted.

Please join us Tuesdays at 7pm. Our normal Bible Study continues this week by virtual meeting because of the limitations the Covid-19 virus has put on all of us.

A zoom link with be emailed to anyone who has expressed an interest..

Call the Church Office to request a Zoom invitation to our weekly Bible Study, which is held on Tuesday's at 7 pm.

We are trying to be sure that our prayer list is as updated as possible and certainly don't want to remove someone that should be on it. If you know of someone who should be removed please let the office know. Thank you.

Pastoral Care:

* If you or a family member is sick or in the hospital.

Altar Guild

Parish Office Closed

      Pre-packaged cookies are needed and can be

Please contact Linda Williams email: [email protected], 315-637-6952

We're putting together a virtual coffee hour as part of our Sunday Services. Please send me either individual pictures of yourselves or you and your spouse if applicable, Click Here to send the pictures to my my email for St. David's projects.

May 2, 2021

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”