6/02/2022

6/02/2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

“If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Anyone who has ever been to a wedding will be familiar with these words written by St. Paul to the fledgling Church in Corinth. It is often read at weddings to signify the love between the people getting married. But anyone who has ever been married or has any significant relationship of any kind knows that it is difficult if not impossible to live into these words all the time. I am often most impatient with those I love the most. Sometimes, I insist on my own way. Despite my best intentions I am sometimes unkind. And it takes an effort of will not keep record of wrongs done to me or even to others. St. Paul ends this passage with the words: “And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.”

I am sure that the past two weeks like me your attention has been focused on the tragic events unfolding across our nation in Buffalo NY, Laguna, CA, and Uvalde TX. Add to that a surge in coronavirus infections, the war in Ukraine revealing new atrocities every day, and rising inflation putting the basic necessities of life even further out of reach of the poor and widening the rich-poor divide, and we might be forgiven for wondering where faith, hope, and love might be found in the midst of the world’s ugliness. But as people of faith, we are called to keep our eyes on God’s Kingdom, to find our hope in the message Christ brought, rather than give in to the despair of the world. I find these things when I watch my almost-two-year-old grandson find wonder and awe in simple things; watching the momma and papa hawk bring food to their babies in the nest near my home, in tending my garden; on the beach and in the forests. And I am happy to tell you they are alive and well here at Saint Anna’s. Even as our hearts are breaking and our outrage is kindled, we have continued to gather for worship on Sunday mornings at 10, either in person or on zoom. We have opened our hearts and our wallets to support Mission Possible the outreach ministry at Saint Anna’s, either by donating food for H.O.P.E. house, diapers for the Bay Area Crisis Nursery, or supporting the staff and students of Kimball Elementary School. We have continued to meet for centering prayer, and for bible study. Saint Anna’s knows what it is to confront uncertainty and upheaval and after all the changes finds comfort and hope in gathering together, in reflecting on where God is in our midst, and in doing what we can to alleviate the pain and suffering in our little corner of the world. And we have done it faithfully and consistently over the years through good times and bad, weathering many changes and uncertainties and coming out the other side stronger and more resilient.

However, none of this can happen without the members of our congregation being willing to participate and volunteer. From serving at worship on Sundays to volunteering for Mission Possible, to participating in the Vital + Thriving survey, to

helping with coffee hour (see below), there are many ways you can give of your time and your talent and support not only your church community but the mission of the Church to witness to the presence faith, hope, and love in our fallen and broken world. This newsletter is a good way to find out ways you can get involved or talk to me. And thank you, for everything you do to make Saint Anna’s a place of hope, faith, and love.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane+