Here is our weekly collection plate of a few of the good things that Episcopalians and their congregations have done that made the news this past week. And other news fit to print.
St Andrew’s Episcopal Church sponsors Partners for Peace, a group dedicated to ending gun violence in New Haven, CT. A report of one event with the group Meeting of the Moms:
There were a lot of youths involved in Saturday’s ceremony and in a memorial service the night before. These are youngsters who have lost their brothers and sisters and cousins to gun violence. The events were hosted by Partner 4 Peace, a community initiative. Its interns work through St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. They’re trying to do something. They’re not sitting still and expecting others “to do what we ourselves were called to do.”
In Detroit, Michigan, the unemployment rate is 29 percent. Some of those folks come to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak every Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. for a support group for the unemployed.
While a church may be an unlikely setting for a support group for the unemployed, few would argue that …what is accomplished…here is indeed “God’s work.”
As one member of the group discussing resumé strategy said, “Let’s not forget, with God, all things are possible….”
The group is open to the public and aims to provide ongoing support, networking and strategizing techniques. With painful honesty, they share the highs and lows of their job quest, occasionally having to remind each other: “Unemployment is not who I am. It is what I’m going through.” And, “There is no such place for false modesty in a career search.”
St. Thomas of Canterbury Church in Temecula, Calif., has a home after almost 30 years in the wilderness.
In dedicating the building, Bishop James Mathes was a realistic voice.
He urged those present to welcome the building’s first scrapes and gouges, dents and dings. Each blemish should be cherished as the new facility begins its service to the Lord, he said.
“I pray that those marks in this new church will be the marks of love,” Mathes said during his sermon. “It is there that God’s love will be found….”
“Wear it out,” Mathes advised the congregation on their new building.
Finally, here are some useful tips on how to pass the peace during the flu season, courtesy of Dave Walker:
