Let's celebrate the 4th on the 1st!
Since July 4th falls in the middle of the week this year, for our Sunday, July 1st combined service at St. John's at 10 a.m. we will include the scripture passages and hymns assigned for July 4th services in our Liturgical Year. It's a special Sunday and I'm looking forward to being back with all of you. Don't forget to wear some RED, WHITE or
BLUE!!
Torrence
|
|
Torrence's Message
Scraps
|
|
(A Reflection on Saturday Morning June 16, 2018)
I have scraps of paper in so many places. With little notes on them. Perhaps a piece of a poem, a personal insight I don’t want to forget, a telephone number (just whose number is this one), a short grocery list (just which week/year was that one), a store receipt, a reminder (“Call . . . . .”). I find them when I am straightening what has accumulated on table tops or cleaning out a cluttered drawer or trying to find something in my pocketbook. Buff always commented when I did that, “Why do women call them pocketbooks, they are more like saddlebags!” as I would arrange little piles of removed contents, some to be thrown away, some to be filed elsewhere, some to be tucked back into my saddlebag.
This morning I came across a scrap of paper with words scribbled on it. Obviously, it represented a quote that had touched me in some random moment and Something had indicated I might need it in the days to come.
Instructions for living a life
- Pay attention
- Be astonished
- Tell about it
|
|
This happened just after I sat with my morning cup of coffee watching the morning light sweep over clouds drifting over the river. It was a softly lit morning. The clouds reflected gentle shades of lavender and pink; the sky in which they drifted was a lovely light blue. I thought of the colors of soft clothing we dress new babies in. I felt a gentle peace clothing me as my heart and mind simply drifted and I sensed that I was suspended in some dimensionless love and grace.
image courtesy of blogvirginia.org. No copywrite infringement intended.
|
|
The death of a loved one spins us into a transition. A way of life fades away, perhaps as dramatic and surprising as a brilliant sunset streaking across a familiar horizon or as quietly mysterious as the same sun descending, cloaked within the mist of rain-soaked veil. As darkness falls, too often it seems to take a long time to remember that a new day will be birthed again.
And I thought of all the people, like you, who have held me on/in their minds and hearts during the past couple of months. I sensed the presence of all the thoughts and prayers, spoken and unspoken, but given wings to find me and to surround me in that mysterious way that can’t be scientifically explained but is full of an astonishing truth that is absolutely and forever real.
I have a friend who creates the most beautiful scrapbooks. Scraps (pictures, notes, writings, a little of this and a little of that of her life) are gathered and arranged with a breathtaking creativity. They are surrounded, embraced by colorful borders, light filled whimsy or dramatic markings linking thoughts and visions in ways that highlight and insightfully offer patterns of meaning. At hobby shops and other creative outlets this is an old art form but experiencing a rebirth with the casual, catchy title of “Scrapping.”
It’s a good guess that my “scrapping” like maybe some of yours won’t make it from my interior memory bank to a beautifully crafted album that grandchildren can pour over a long time from now. But it is the “scraps” of our life that make us who we are and, when taken together, begin to offer a vision of who we are meant to become. What emerges from pouring over them is a profound revelation: that it is the scraps of life interwoven in the fabric of our lives that over time show each of us as being woven together by the hands and heart of an intensely personal and astonishingly loving Divine Weaver of Life.
|
|
The “scrap” that I came across this morning is a reminder to me of what the Divine hopes for my life. I believe I have recognized the truth of this message for a long time but just now needed to be re-reminded of it. This morning’s sunrise sheds light, once again, on the way I am called to live my life and what our Creator/Redeemer/Sustainer, the Great Giver of all Life, is calling each of us to do:
“Simply pay attention, be astonished and tell about it!”
Torrence
photo from Maile Belles via Pinterest. No copywrite infringement intended
|
|
|
Do you remember going to summer camp?
Mail delivery was right after lunch. Sometimes you got letters, and once in a while, the kid in the bunk next to yours got a box of cookies from home and would share them.
Georges Saison is going to Shrine Mont from July 14th - 18th. Remind him that he's got a church family and send him a
CARE
package!
His address will be:
Mr. Georges Saison
Shrine Mont, Inc.
EXPLORER CAMP
217 Shrine Mont Circle
PO Box 10
(if you ship USPS)
Orkney Springs, VA 22845
Note to parents of other children going off to camp this summer:
If you send the child's name and address at camp along with the dates a few weeks ahead of time in an E-mail to parishchurchnews@gmail.com, we can add it to future E-pistles.
|
|
School's Out for the Summer!
This Summer, the Community Resilience Team at The Haven will be holding their second annual Summer Camp! This four-week summer program will be held July 10th-August 2nd for the children and youth residing at the shelter.
We will primarily be using curriculum from 4-H and Art with Heart to provide a wide range of experiences for the kids. There are days set aside for creative and expressive arts, nature and gardening, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), and healthy lifestyles. We will also be integrating reading and language arts into our daily activities to help youth avoid that dreaded summer slump. It's going to be an exciting month.
For our Summer program, we are looking for donations of:
-Paper Towels -Craft Supplies -Children's Magazines
-Healthy Snacks -Gas Cards for Field Trips
If you are interested in volunteering your time with the Summer camp, contact Brittany Clayborne at 804-333-1099.
|
|
The Loose Plate Offering today goes to the Farnham & St. John's Discretionary Fund and in turn is used to help the needy in the community, so
PLEASE
be generous!
|
You
are invited to an
open house
at Bill and Kim Calvert's,1147 Simonson Rd., Farnham, VA., Sunday, July 8, after the Farnham Episcopal Church service.
|
|
Don't forget to bring
food for
the Social Services
Food Basket!
They are particularly in need of dry cereal and jelly.
They have plenty of peanut butter.
|
The church office is closed for the Independence Day holiday Tuesday and Wednesday, July 3rd and 4th.
|
|
 |
Sunday July 1st
Summer Service Schedule
10:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
at St. John's
|
|
|
|
Sunday July 8th
Summer Service Schedule
10:00 a.m.
Morning Prayer
at Farnham
followed by open house at the Calvert's, see annoucement
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday July 15th
Summer Service Schedule
10:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
at St. John's
|
|
|
|
Sunday July 22nd
Summer Service Schedule
10:00 a.m.
Morning Prayer
at Farnham
|
|
|
|
Come Worship With Us
Sunday Service this week
10:00 a.m.
St. John's Church, Warsaw
Summer Schedule
10:00 service alternating between St. John's & Farnham
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
