Don't forget: Sunday is UTO Sunday at Farnham & St. John's
Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. is the Richmond County Ministerial Association's THANKSGIVING SERVICE at
Jerusalem Baptist Church.
Please note: the church office is only open Tuesday next week.
|
|
Torrence's Weekly Message
|
|
- Motel 6 is an American privately owned “hospitality” company with a chain of budget motels in the U. S. and Canada. Its name is a reference to the original cost per night for a room: $6. I’ve never stayed in one, but I was really attracted to one of its advertising campaigns years ago, with a catchy last line .
Whenever we leave home, isn’t there a hope that when we return someone has turned the light on for us?
|
|
Since living by myself I have found myself with the following ritual. When I leave home for the day and know that I won’t be home till after dark, I turn the porch light on so that when I return I can easily find my way to the door of my little house, my home place waiting to welcome me in, offer me rest or refreshment or both. This place is my sanctuary. It welcomes me just as I am. And that porch light just seems to reach out and draw me towards a doorway that opens to warmth, safety, nourishment, rest, peace.
|
|
My leaving ritual of deciding whether to turn on the light before I leave has recently changed. I realize I can’t necessarily predict my return to be in the light of day or the dark of night. Because things happen during my time away that divert the flow of what I might have planned in advance for that day. Something “else” (not on my radar screen) may happen and I recognize a need to respond to it, whether it seems to fit or not into a pre-planned day. There’s a saying that when we humans make plans, God laughs. But I’ve come to understand that it’s more like the things that mess with anyone’s plans are life events that probably make God’s heart tremble for us not chuckle about us. And when the Divine heart trembles it then searches out a human heart and mind and a set of proverbial hands or feet to respond to whatever has happened. And hopes that there is a response offering a “Here I am; yes, I will go for you.”
Deep inside us (I believe) is a home place, located in the heart and soul space of us. It has a doorway through which we pass, going in and going out – a threshold between two worlds. This home place is a place of great resource and re-Sourcing. A homeplace where all the stresses, cares, worries, tiredness, sadness, hopes, weariness is welcomed in, and where a divine “home-maker” takes it all in and somehow transforms the mix of who we are into something renewed, rested, refreshed, calmed, strengthened. My sense is this is a place where a holy waiting divine light is filling the space, a table is set and waiting, nourishing aromas draw us in, love and joy and peace and good conversation is waiting to welcome us and wrap us in the warmth of companionship.
|
|
An ‘80’s songwriter named Neil Diamond penned and then gave voice to a song with a line that went: “Turn on your heart light.” And someone (you know who you are out there as you read this Message) reminded me of this line as I was pondering what to offer the girls of St. Margaret’s in the homily I was asked to give for their St. Margaret’s Day service last Sunday. On that day I tried to talk about porch lights and heart lights and doorways and the Celtic idea of thresh-holds and I have no idea if any of it made sense when I tried. But I do know that my reflection on all of it (porch lights and heart lights and doorways in and out of places to find resourcing for life) continues to beckon me. And so I have added one more item to my home-leaving moment each day. As I turn on the porch light as I exit my little house, I ask God to leave on the light divinely placed at the door of my heart at my beginning. Because I yearn to hear that Divine voice reminding me: “I’m here, waiting for you. And, yes, I’ll leave my light on, always, for you, my dear one!”
As we turn towards Advent, that time of the year when we begin to search for the Divine Light, may we find it waiting for us . . . . and come to find that it is always with us because our true home is heart-shaped . . . .
|
|
Torrence
images from Pinterest: no copywrite infringement intended
|
|
|
Last weekend at Farnham & St. John's...
|
|
Saturday's Victorian Tea "Dressing from the bloomers up" raised $1,000 for the Discretionary Fund.
Sunday we honored our Veterans for Veterans Day and rang the bells at 11:00 (on 11/11) for Armistice Day.
|
|
The
Farnham Vestry Meeting
originally scheduled for this Thursday, November 15th has been tentatively rescheduled to
Thursday, November 29th at 7.00 p.m.
|
BL&C
(
B
ag
L
unch &
C
onversation) 12 noon to 1 p.m. this Thursday,
Healthy Harvest Food Bank
's
VP & Development Director Cindy Balderson will be with us to provide an update on their current work, programming and future plans. We have also invited Pastor Daniel Burch from the
Warsaw United Methodist Church Food Pantry
to share information about their food pantry program.
Thurs, Nov. 22: No
BL&C
- Thanksgiving!
Thurs, Nov. 29: Aimee Jenkins~
what t
he
Salvation Army
does in the community
.
BL&C
will resume on January 10th.
|
|
is sponsoring a
Building Conservation Workshop:
Keeping the Water Out
November 17
, 9AM-3PM at Holley Graded School, Lottsburg
(with an afternoon session at nearby Wheatland and a post-workshop visit to Sabine Hall, Warsaw)
|
Don't forget to bring your weekly food donation for Richmond County Social Services
as a mindful spiritual practice.
|
|
 |
Mark your calendars: November 18 is the date of our UTO Fall In-gathering.
God gave you 86,000 seconds today.
Have you used one of them to say “Thank you?”
Put a coin in your Blue Box and
say a prayer of Thanksgiving, every day.
You can pick up a Blue Box or UTO envelope from the parish house or see your UTO Coordinator – Dougie Lawton or Susan Crowley. Thank you!
|
|
|
|
Sign up for LIFELINE meal
packing for
Haiti
on January 19th at 10:00 at Rappahannock High School.
|
Farnham & St. John's have committed to supply 12 volunteers to help assemble bags of nutritional grains to be shipped to Haiti. The cost is $35/person. Contact Courtney Sisson to sign up or for more information.
|
|
|
|
NORTH FARNHAM ECW
Due to a lack of woman power and the threat of boxwood blight the ECW of N. Farnham is taking the year off from making and selling our boxwood wreaths this year. The ladies so appreciate the loyalty you all have shown by your support of our fund raiser. We regret this interruption of more than 30 years of making and selling the wreaths, but we hope everyone will understand.
|
|
St. Stephen's, Heathsville presents its 12th annual
Oysters &
Oldies
Tickets Limited and Only $30. Children under 12 are free.
Saturday December 1st from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at
Historic Roanoke Farm in Heathsville.
All you can eat!
Local Oysters
(Roasted or Half Shell)
|
|
Chili, Hot Dogs, Dessert & Soft Drinks.
Montross Brewery
Craft Beer & Wine Available
Oldies from the 40's thru the 80's
Louis Armstrong to ZZ Top
Tickets: In Heathsville at St. Stephen's Thrift Shop
proceeds benefit St. Stephen's community outreach programs.
|
|
Diocesan Secretary and Chief of Staff
announces his retirement.
|
|
We are excited to announce the Bishop Shannon S. Johnston
Fund for Youth and Young Adult Formation
in honor and thanksgiving for Bishop Shannon’s ministry to our diocese and his great passion for engaging young people. This fund will benefit our ministries with youth and young adult formation – in particular, our next stage of the Triangle of Hope initiative – and provide for meaningful diocesan collegiate endeavors.
How to give:
Make your check payable to Diocese of Virginia and include the memo: Bishop Johnston Fund. Send your check to The Diocese of Virginia, 110 W. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23220.
Give online through www.diocese.net and click on the red “Donate” button and choose the Bishop Johnston Fund Text DIOVA SSJFUND to 73256.
|
|
Lucy Lesson Lagniappe: If you're scheduled to be a lector and in going over your lesson find one of those old testament names that you don't know how to pronounce,
Click Here
and type the name you're trying to spell in the search box. (This is one of several google "Bible Pronunciation" sites.)
|
|
|
Sunday November
18
th
Fall UTO Ingathering
Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. at Farnham
11:00 a.m.
at St. John's
|
|
|
|
Sunday November
25
th
Christ the King Sunday
Holy Eucharist
9:00 a.m. at Farnham
11:00 a.m.
at
St. John's
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday December
2
nd
Celebration Sunday
Holy Eucharist
1st Sunday in Advent
9:00 a.m. at Farnham
11:00 a.m.
at
St. John's
|
|
|
|
Sunday December
9
th
2nd Sunday in Advent
9:00 a.m. at Farnham
Morning Prayer
11:00 a.m.
at St. John
'
s
Holy Eucharist
3:00 p.m. at St. John's
Christmas program
|
|
|
|
Come Worship With Us
Sunday Service this week
9:00 a.m. Farnham Church Farnham
11:00 a.m. St. John's Church
Warsaw
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
