You can tell that it’s Advent out there because this week’s news coverage of the ministries of Episcopal parishes is pretty sparse. That doesn’t mean things aren’t happening. It means that the focus right now is on making the shift into preparing for Christmas and helping congregation members do what they need to do to prepare for the winter.
There’s one story this week in particular that’s taken the task of preparation for winter really seriously.
A church in Washington State (St. Philip’s in Marysvale) was moved to protect a colony of honey bees that found a home under one of the church’s eaves this summer. There was a real concern that the bees might not survive the winter. The Rev. Mary Allen, the parish’s rector explains:
“Allen said people at a wedding ceremony held at the church in August pointed out the beehive.
‘None of us had noticed before then,’ Allen said. ‘We were just astonished.’
Allen called an exterminator who visited the church and told her the bees were honeybees. The congregation had heard reports in recent years of colonies of honeybees unexpectedly dying off and immediately wanted to help save the local bees, Allen said.
‘We were trying to find someone to come rescue them, to get the hive down and come rescue the bees. but it got too late in the year to do that,’ she said. “
More here.