St. Paul's Episcopal Church Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
MESSENGER
"Making friends while serving God"
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The Week of May 25-31, 2021
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THE TRINITY by John Shelby Spong
July 25, 2012
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Bishop Spong writes a weekly essay available online by subscription on the internet, johnshelbyspong.com. In two of them, he has has given succinct expressions of his understanding of the Trinity.
On August 18. 2011, he wrote:
“The Trinity was a conclusion to which the Christian Church came after a long journey through history. It was not a part of early or original Christianity. If you read Paul closely, you will find that he is not a Trinitarian!
“I think what people fail to understand is that the Trinity is not a description of God, it is rather a description of the human experience of God couched in the language of 4th century, Greek-speaking Europe. We experience God as the source of life beyond any limit that the human imagination can impose on anything, and we call that God “the Father.” We experience God as the ultimate depth of life, deeper than our own breath and we call that dimension of life “Spirit.” We experience God coming to us through the lives of others, and, for those of us who are Christians, coming to us uniquely through the life of one called Jesus of Nazareth, and we name him “Son,” offspring of the “the Father.”
“Have we in this manner defined God? No, of course not. We have defined only what we believe is our experience of God. In that sense, I have no trouble with Trinitarian language. I do not believe that I can say that God is a Trinity without becoming idolatrous. On the other hand I can say that I am a Trinitarian for that formula helps me to make sense of the God I experience as real and the God to whom I am drawn.”
Then on August 15, 2013, he wrote in answer to an individual question:
“The Trinity is a human definition of God, and since the human mind could never fully embrace the mystery and wonder of God, to literalize a human definition of God borders on the absurd. For human beings to worship their own creation is the essence of idolatry. The Trinity is a definition not of God, but of the human experience of the divine and is, therefore, an attempt to make rational sense out of that human experience.
“We experience God as other, beyond anything our minds can grasp. This is what we mean when we say that God is Father – the Ground of all Being.
“We experience God as an inward presence, so deep within us that we cannot name the reality we know is there. This is what we mean when we say that God is Spirit, ineffable, life-giving, inward, and real.
We experience God in the life of others. Sometimes to lesser degrees, sometimes to what seems like a total degree. This is what we mean when we call Jesus, “the Son,” and why we frame doctrines like “the Incarnation.” Our experience was and is that in Jesus we saw the presence of God flowing through his human life.
“Is that who God is? No, but that is what our experience of God is, and so we claim it. The Trinity is not a definition of God; it is an experience into which we live.”
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To be redirected to the Lectionary Page and get a digital copy of the readings
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Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17;
John 3:1-17;
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The Sunday Sermon
Pentecost
I think we in the Western Church have such a problem understanding what we mean by the Holy Spirit. We go about trying to understand the “Spirit” in an intellectual way, and I don’t believe that really works. I think one is only able to experience the Spirit. I remember when I was learning the Catechism in preparation for my Confirmation; boy did I have to memorize a lot of things. Among those things, I was taught that in Confirmation I would be receiving “the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit.” And let me tell you, we could at any time during class be asked to recite by heart each of those seven gifts. So, on the day of my Confirmation, I could recite the gifts of the Spirit backwards and forwards, and I could tell you that the Spirit was the third person of the Trinity, but it was all cerebral. I hadn’t the foggiest idea how the Spirit worked in my life. However, as I got older, I began to realize that the Spirit is something we feel, she is that portion of God moving deep within us, engaging us to take on activities that are reflective of the kingdom.
So, where does the Spirit touch us? Think about it. I believe it is in that same place that we became very familiar with when we fell in love. It’s that place we felt when we watched our child take his or her first steps, or proudly take steps down the aisle at his or her graduation. It’s that place deep within us that helps us to know that we are all brothers and sister, bound by a common love, that place that moves us, as we dare, to act positively on that kinship we have with each other.
At times it can feel like a scary place. In this morning’s first lesson the apostles very quietly were seated in the upper room. Scripture says that all of a sudden there was the violent rush of wind that moved through the room with astonishing speed. And with that wind, came flashes of fire dancing about them and above their heads. And as the disciples cowered in stupefied amazement, the Holy Spirit, the power of God entered into them. And they were so moved by the experience that they found themselves racing through the streets and shouting aloud about what they were feeling, and what they now knew. And the noise they were making created such a ruckus that virtually everyone who saw them thought that they were, without question, totally enebriated.
Many, many years ago I was in attendance at the annual meeting of an organization in which I had membership, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. The meeting extended through a weekend. Because we were going to be there on a Sunday, people began talking about holding church services. I say church services in the plural because we were of different denominations. At one point two Roman Catholic priests announced that there would be a mass on Sunday morning and that everyone was invited to attend. People began to look at each other. Did that mean that as well as attending, we were also invited to receive communion at this liturgy? The question was put to them and the answer was “yes.”
The next morning one of the meeting rooms in the hotel became a church and was filled with Christians of all denominations. The two Roman Catholic priests presided. A woman with Baptist credentials prayed the collect of the day. A Methodist minister read a lesson. A Lutheran pastor read the gospel. And all of us shared in the creation of a sermon. The deeper we got into the service, the more we were feeling something touching us deep within our souls. A Presbyterian minister spoke eloquently as he led the Prayers of the People. He asked for our prayers on his behalf. He was going through a tough time in his ministry. And a Roman Catholic nun with tears running down her cheeks, prayed for healing for those young people who had been sexually abused by priests. And here is where the Spirit really took hold of us and turned us upside down and inside out. There were people in that “upper room,” if you will, who broke their anonymity, who revealed themselves as victims of childhood abuse, by priests. They thanked the nun for her prayers, and thanked the Holy Spirit for the sense of security they felt in that room that enabled them to let go of long time secrets that had been eating away at them for many, many years. The tears began to flow from all of us, and spontaneously we found ourselves reaching out and taking the hands on the person next to us. Then someone, no doubt encouraged by the Spirit, began singing “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
As we stood in a circle, a little later, receiving communion, we were no longer Roman Catholics or Methodists, no longer Baptists, or even Episcopalians or Lutherans. If someone had entered that room at that time, he or she would have thought the way that we were behaving that we were either crazy or flat out drunk. But we were one in the Spirit and not one of us would in any way deny that the Spirit of God was directing us. So my brothers and sisters know that the God of Pentecost is constantly reaching into us, breaking down the walls that divide us, healing us so that we might do the work of making real the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
--Fr. C. Allan Ford
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MOVING TO MORE IN PERSON SERVICE
As more and more people are getting vaccinated against COVID 19 the Bishop has eased some of the restrictions that have affected our worship. Given this the Vestry has decided that starting with the month of June all services (at 10:00am), except for the second Sunday of the month, will be in person and will include singing. We also hope to be able to broadcast the in person service live on our You Tube channel.
Our mask rule remains that anytime you are moving from your pew that you have your mask on. When you are seated you may take off your mask if you choose to do so. If you are singing please put on your mask. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.
The second Sunday of the month will be on Zoom (see below for Zoom link). This allows us to have the coffee hour discussions and to retain those parishioners who are able to only be with us remotely. This Sunday, May 30 will be a Zoom service.
We hope to see you on Zoom on Sunday and in person whenever you can make it in.
--Shawn Prater-Lee
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ZOOM CHURCH LINK FOR ALL SERVICES
We're going to again follow the in church services at 10:00am on the first and third Sundays, all other Sundays on Zoom format for now.
Our Zoom connections remain the same and are
Meeting ID: 823 3911 5280
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,82339115280# US (New York)
+13017158592,,82339115280# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We now have a YouTube channel.
To get there PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
or search on YouTube for St. Paul's Poughkeepsie.
We hope to put copies of all of our online services there.
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Don’t forget to let either Bobbie or Janet know when and where you’d like to volunteer June 19. If you are able to - we could also use help sorting Friday, June 18 between 10 & 2. Please speak to either of us to volunteer. We will also need help from men early and late that day to set up and break down tables and chairs. Early- between 8-10 a.m. ; late - between 3 - 4 p.m. Many thanks for any help you can give.
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A NOTE FROM THE TREASURY TEAM
Total deposits for the past week - $1075 ($525 for the Food Pantry). Many thanks to all who have been generously supporting the Food Pantry. We're looking forward to seeing you on Zoom until further notice.
A reminder - Please remember to either mail in your pledge or drop it off through the mail slot any day during the week. The correct address is: 161 Mansion St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
ST. PAUL’S THANKS YOU!!!
--Bobbie Gordon
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Voices Heard:
A Diocese Explores Pathways Toward Reparations
A webinar series sponsored by the Reparations Committee
of the Diocese of New York
All webinars are on Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is deeply entrenched in the structural systems and legislative actions that govern communities today. This series of panel discussions organized by the Reparations Committee for the Diocese intends to broaden awareness and deepen our understanding of the pressing topics of an intractable nature of systemic racism on education, health, economics, gender, policing and the criminal justice system, the church and more that negatively impact people of African heritage.
Bringing experts, community organizers, civic leaders, clergy and laity into dialogue will help to inform us and make commitments for engagement in our own communities as we prepare our cause for action in making recommendations for the task brought forth through Resolution regarding the Reparations Fund.
Educational Opportunity Denied: The Legacy of Segregated Housing
Tuesday, May 25
Register in advance for this webinar:
Medical Apartheid and Systemic Racism
Tuesday, June 8
Register in advance for this webinar:
Reaching For a Better Tomorrow: The Work and Mission of Hudson Link Working For Higher Education in Prison
Tuesday, June 22
Register in advance for this webinar:
The Awakening of Unwoke People: Church, Religion and State
Tuesday, July 6
Register in advance for this webinar:
Rectors of Color: Examining the Missed Opportunities of Deployment
Tuesday, July 20
Register in advance for this webinar:
Questions?
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Upcoming Lifelong Learning Courses
Have you ever thought about taking a few classes to deepen your faith or expand your ministry toolkit but don’t have a lot of spare time and thousands of dollars to enroll in seminary? Have you considered becoming a lay preacher, a faith formation leader, or evangelist or have you started doing these ministries and want to develop your skills with peers? Saying yes to any of these options means Pathways for Baptismal Living was developed for you.
Designed to be accessible and affordable, Pathways courses create communities of learning by blending asynchronous work (reading, watching videos, interacting with peers and your instructor in online discussions) that you can schedule to do as you can each week with some live conversations via Zoom.
Click on the course title to learn more and to register.
Worship Leaders Training —an eight-week course starting May 30 with M. Milner Seifert - This course is designed for any who want to explore more deeply the Daily Offices of the Episcopal Church and for laity who wish to be equipped to lead weekday offices and Sunday worship in the absence of a priest.
Advocacy 101 for Individuals and Teams - a six-week course starting May 30 with John Hennessey - Sometimes we need to work to address issues from an institutional or systemic perspective. This course is designed to help individuals or teams (two or more members of a community) to move from understanding their theological grounding to developing and implementing a plan for change.
Becoming Church- Representing Christ - a four-week course starting June 6 with Beth-Sarah Wright - - What and who inspires you to become church? How do you identify the gaps in your becoming? How do you gauge your becoming as you interact with others in the world? This course is an invitation for us all to engage and reflect on our becoming church and representing Christ in full authenticity, anchored in the culminating question of the Baptismal Covenant: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? This challenging but essential dignity work is part imagination, part capacity-building, part urgent and part non-negotiable in our journey of becoming. You will, throughout this course be asked to identify and discover ways to bridge the gaps between who we strive to be and who we actually are in our becoming more authentically church and representing Christ in the world.
Becoming Beloved Community - a five-week course starting June 6 with Bill Cruse and another facilitator from Kaleidoscope Institute - deeply explore the roots of systemic racism and explore transformative responses personally, interpersonally, culturally, and institutionally in order to enact the vision of Beloved Community. It includes taking and reflecting on results from the Intercultural Development Inventory and satisfies the Canonical requirements for all lay and ordained leaders to participate in anti-racism training.
Evangelist Leadership Training - a six-week course starting June 6 with Jerusalem Greer - This course is designed for those who seek to inspire, encourage, and lead the community toward bolder proclamation of the God’s Good News by leading Evangelism Ministries. Participants will explore evangelism leadership as a contextual story-sharing process from an Anglican/Episcopal framework. In addition to reflecting together on how one recognizes God’s presence, engages and interprets the stories of God’s action throughout history, and responds to God’s invitation to live in ways that demonstrate and teach the Good News, participants will engage a variety of media and techniques aimed at equipping them to develop and lead evangelism ministries within their congregation or diocese.
Discerning My Path for Faithful Living - a four-month course with Kate Gillooley and cohort facilitators - More than a course, this innovative communal process invites participants into a time of deep listening, practice of ancient and modern spiritual disciplines, and insights offered and received regarding individual gifts and passions — all within a brave/safe circle of trust. In addition to monthly synchronous Zoom meetings in small groups of 6-8 with a trained facilitator, participants will engage classic and current texts, videos and articles on discernment, spiritual practices, and the ministry of the baptized. Our journey together will be enriched with activities for self-reflection, guided conversations with others, and exploration of our own contexts. Our goal is to encourage each person to practice discernment of their call as a baptized Christian and equip them to actively be the Body of Christ in daily life.
Also mark your calendars and plan for for these future courses:
Learn more about Pathways for Baptismal Living at Bexley Seabury Seminary here. Contact me if you want to collaborate in offering these courses in your diocese or province or if you have ideas about courses that you would like us to develop with you.
Hope to see you online!
Julie Lytle, MDiv, PhD
Director of Distributive and Lifelong Learning Initiatives and
Associate Professor Educational Leadership
617-6669-8411
--The Rev. Dcn. Julett Butler
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VACCINE INFO AND SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS
Please use the link below to look up and schedule appointments for vaccines, at all available sites in the area.
--Aleen Josephs Clarke
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_3 Aiden Curtis
_7 Clifford Clarke
__ Christiana Hope Prater-Lee
11 Mary Wethington
----Cary Curtis
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15 Joanna Frang
17 Kataleya Anani Mayorga-Cash
18 Claudette Tucker
20 George Santos Jr.
___Richlina Angel Hodge
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22 Shiann Mayorga-Cash
27 Mark Goodwin
30 Deborah Pitcher
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Please keep those on our parish prayer list in your minds and in your prayers, especially at this time of separation and isolation.
Intercessions
MAY 2021
Our prayers are asked for:
Tommy; Carol; Chris; Sandra; George, Norm; Fr. Tyler & Molly; Janett; Kay, Katherine, Renate; Frank Burnett, Food Pantry Volunteers, victims of Human/Sex Trafficking; Burton family; Lillian, Matthew, Sasha; Joe, G.J., Aleta, Plain family, Melius family; Ibadan Diocese, All Saints' Church, Oni family; Gary, Legend; Rhonda, Joe, Ann, all Teachers, Parents, Students, Theodore, John, Paul, Kathy; Sharon Greene, Owen, Agnes, Norma; McLauren family; Graham family; Wood family; Braxton family; Lori, Steven, Jim, Seth; Phil; All essential workers; Beryl & Glen, Vincent family; George; Daniel Mizell and family; Liz, Martha; Eileen; the Butler, Richards and Barrett families; Fr. Allan and family; St. Paul's Vestry; Darien family; Richardson family; Sherow family; Edna Clarke, Michelle, Kathy B.; Carola and Violet; Whitman, Medical Reserve Corp. of Dutchess County, The Laken family; All Parishioners; Kairos International, Catherine, Michelle, Yamily; Matthew, Lillian; Lynita, Perry, Melius family, Sasha; Stacey, Linda, Phil, Jody; Tucker family, Branch family, Atkinson family; Alison, McGhan, Sterling, Unah, Avonel, Kim, Santos family, Madeline, Bramble, Charlie, Cynthia, Gencia, Val, Joanne, Janet, Corkey, Pelaez, Josephs-Clarke family, Dixon family, Paulette, Jarah, Mertlyn; Adam, Paul, Andrew & family, Douglas family, Ron, Dave, Liz; Jill, Lana, Andrew, Susan; Schneider family, all in need; Susie; Sherry, Claudia
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Please "Like" our page to stay up to date with all services and events.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Poughkeepsie
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'In Service to God & You'
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Our food pantry volunteers are in active service at St. Paul's these days. We give thanks to them and thanks to God for their willingness to help us by helping others.
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THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR
May 25-30, 2021
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TUE____ 25
WED ___ 26
THU____ 27
SUN____ 30
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10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
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Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
Zoom - Rite II, Ante Communion
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YOUR NEWS BELONGS IN ST. PAUL'S MESSENGER
Help us get the word out by submitting news of parish activities. Send submittals to [email protected] or call 845 452 8440
Give us a call today!
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church 161 Mansion Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
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