Hello –
In one of the psalms (84) we sing to God ‘happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Happy are those whose strength is in you…they go from strength to strength.’
Going from strength to strength strikes me as a wise way to proceed. We ought to identify a strength and then pray that it be made stronger.
I believe one of our strengths as a community is our worship. I never cease to be grateful to for the capacity we share to ‘worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’ We know how to hold silence. We know how to move through the space with grace and dignity. We know how to welcome the stranger, often wisely determining whether what’s asked for is a warm welcome or respectful space.
This capacity to function as a whole community before God is precious and rare. I believe it is a gift we have been given.
What we do on Sunday mornings at 8am and 10am is called liturgy. ‘Liturgy’ means, in its original Latin, the work of the people. Liturgy is shared work. Here are three invitations to deepen your experience of worship and so go from strength to strength:
• Read ‘Understanding the Holy Eucharist: A Guide to Sunday Worship.’ This short, three page guide gives the meaning behind each of our gestures in worship. It’s always available on the table by the door to Duncan Hall. I’ll ask the ushers to pass it out this Sunday too.
• Praise God and pass the cruet! (This part was written by my friend Judy!)
Chchchchanges…with apologies to David Bowie, your Altar Guild faced several exciting (not strange) changes this year. We welcomed Steve Avenzino, Suzanne Crawford and Pamela Barnes; Holly Pritchard and Rainie Joses achieved Emeritus status, and we say a fond farewell with tons of thanks to Mary Schmidt and Carolyn Eitel (though we hope to occasionally have Carolyn’s helping hands at 8am).
Praising God and serving St. Paul’s go hand-in-hand when you belong to the Altar Guild. We provide the opportunity to go ‘behind the scenes’ as we set the Lord’s table Sunday and slather TLC on our beautiful Church on Saturday. What’s required? One hour prep work on Saturday only once a month and a quick 15 minutes before and after one of our Sunday services once a month. That’s it. We provide plenty of training and oodles of support. You get countless blessing. Please join us – contact Judy Rowcliffe at 415 456 4131 or jlrowcliffe@comcast.net for more info.
• Celebrate our children. On the second Sunday of the month, much of our worship will be lead by our children as they read the lessons, offer the chalice, and serve as ushers. After the service ‘take a knee’ to thank and encourage our kiddos. Liturgy is the work of the people and children are people too!
Thank you for being my worshipping community.
Blessings,
Christopher
p: (415) 456-4842