St. Andrew’s NET
May, 2007
Pastoral Letter from Diane Montague
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Just weeks ago we celebrated the terrible death and the glorious
resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Easter Day
service was full of praise and joy expressed through music, Scripture,
candles, light, children, organ, instruments, color, flowers, hugs,
alleluias, coffee hour, smiles and so much more.
So now what?
For the past several months a committee of three from St.
Andrew’s and three from St. Peter’s, Lyndonville,
along
with the vestries of both parishes, has been deeply involved in the
process of calling a priest to a joint ministry. The members of the
congregations also had the opportunity to voice their concerns and
hopes. On April 10th the process came to an end with the decision not
to call the particular priest who had been recommended to us by the
Bishop and diocese.
That brief paragraph does not do justice to the enormous amount of work
involved in this process, combined with intense emotional struggles and
sometimes pain and misunderstanding.
So now what?
Paul writes a stirring message to the church in Corinth concerning the
resurrection. I recommend it to you. He ends it on a note of triumph:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, o death, is
your
victory? Where, o death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and
the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers,
stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the
work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not
in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:55-58)
The resurrection of Christ means that those who are His have victory
over sin and over its outcome, death! It means that, as we do the work
of the Lord, we need not be discouraged and uncertain about what may
seem to be disaster and failure and hopelessness. Yes, we get hurt;
yes, we question and worry. But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Not necessarily success, as we
had hoped for; not complete agreement with others we care about; but
small steps in forgiveness, in acceptance of a decision we may not be
completely happy with, in generosity of heart, in compassion and in
hope as we move ahead.
So now what? THIS is what!
The prophet Jeremiah had a wonderful message from God for the Jews in
exile and for us too!
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the
Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope
and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I
will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with
all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the
Lord….” (Jer.29:11-14a)
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
VESTRY NOTES by Anna Kennedy
PASTORAL CARE
If you are looking for pastoral care please don't
hesitate
to contact someone on the Pastoral Care Team:
Sybil Hazen 626-8678, Marion Parks 748-3083, Lisa Norsworthy 695-1408,
Jocelyn
Burrell 748-5247, Lin Hill 467-3308, and Robin Bergman 633-2871. (Sybil
and
Marion head up this group.)
Pastoral care is the work of the congregation – this is our
group of
facilitators -- all of us should feel encouraged to send notes or make
phone
calls when we see the need, particularly at this time where we lack the
spiritual guidance of a priest. We also must remind ourselves to reach
out for help when we need it.
ODDS AND ENDS
RETURN
Updated 5/1/07