2024 Sun June 30 – Page 2 – St. Peter's News

Today’s readings encourage us to remember God’s goodness and act toward others with the same unflinching generosity and compassion. Lamentations reminds those who are suffering that God’s goodness will surely come. Paul encourages the Corinthians to offer their surplus of wealth to other communities who are in need. In the gospel, Jesus brings the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue official, back to life in anticipation of his own resurrection.

We are called to live for others and not for ourselves. We are called to share what we have with others and to be in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized. We are called, most of all, to remember that God’s love endures forever, and that at times we need to wait, and not lose hope. The woman who suffered for many years in Mark’s Gospel did not lose hope, neither did Jairus in the time of crisis for his daughter. We know that God through Jesus Christ gives us new life, a life that transcends death, a life that calls us into solidarity with others and to share what we have, for Christ lived not for himself but for all; we also are called not to live for ourselves but for others.

The Judeo-Christian concern for the poor and needy has become overwhelming in this day when the whole world of nations is at our doorstep. We hardly know how to respond. International economic injustices prevent the distribution of national resources on the basis of simple human need. Welfare and many other social obligations have largely become the responsibility of governmental agencies and institutions. We are not too conscious of the individual injunction to be our brother’s keeper.

Still, those who live under biblical mandates do what they can to relieve human need, as they are able. “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he has not.” Voluntary and secret pledging may be hazardous to the Church, but it is in the spirit of what we are called to do. As Paul says, “…so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.”

The motivation for such stewardship of our resources is our response to Jesus’ voluntary poverty that we “might become rich.” If our gratitude and love for his life given for us is genuine, we are spontaneous givers. Paul equates liberality with our desire to fulfill the will of God, who has given us all that is necessary for our well-being. What and how we give it is really a matter between ourselves and God and reflects our relationship with God.

The passage from Mark seems incongruous with today’s other readings, but it may be related squarely to our sense of gratitude. There are two open secrets in the Gospel of Mark. One is that Jesus is lord over all life in both the natural and spiritual worlds, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The signs of God’s kingdom come in Christ are staked out all over the countryside if we can but read them in his words and deeds. The other secret is that faith alone will enable us to receive the blessings Jesus brings to the world.

For the first time in Mark’s gospel, a respectable member of society “falls at Jesus’ feet.” Whatever mixture of motives he might have, the ruler of the synagogue also has some faith that Jesus can help his dying child. Jesus recognizes the quantum of faith in Jairus and responds to it. Our lord is quick to respond to any budding faith, no matter how it is mixed with self-serving interests.

But the little girl dies before Jesus reaches her. Why trouble him further when death strikes in the midst of hope? We say “where there is life there is hope.” But Jesus, already challenged and victorious over the violence of nature and demonic forces, goes immediately to meet death head-on and calls the daughter of Jairus out of her “sleep.”

God is not the God of the dead but the living. “I am the resurrection and the life…He that believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” So Jesus vanquished death also, demonstrating that he is lord even over the last enemy of life.

Jesus has proved how genuine is his love for us. Our gratitude moves us to find our brothers and sisters in need and carry on his gracious work.

Stories to Remember, Words and Pictures, 2010-2024

July 5, 2024June 25, 2024

A review of the years at St. Peter’s by year.

Link to the article

Some Favorites, 2010-2024

July 5, 2024June 25, 2024

Some favorite photos and/or those that may not have had a place in the review.

(full size gallery)

Weekful of Saints

July 5, 2024June 18, 2024

June 29 – Feast of Peter and Paul

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul commemorates the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles St. Peter and Paul of Tarsus, observed on June 29. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being either the anniversary of their martyrdom in 67AD or of the translation of their relics. They had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword. Together they represent two different Christian traditions.

Why do we remember them ? Peter is pictured on the left with the keys – the keys to the kingdom. In Matthew 16, Christ says ” And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” They keys since then have been symbols of Papal power. Peter represents that part of the Church which gives it stability: its traditions handed down in an unbroken way from the very beginnings, the structures which help to preserve and conserve those traditions, the structure which also gives consistency and unity to the Church, spread as it is through so many races, cultures, traditions, and geographical diversity

Paul is pictured with the Bible. He, on the other hand, represents the prophetic and missionary role in the Church. It is that part of the Church which constantly works on the edge, pushing the boundaries of the Church further out, not only in a geographical sense but also pushing the concerns of the Church into neglected areas of social concern and creatively developing new ways of communicating the Christian message. This is the Church which is constantly renewed, a Church which needs to be constantly renewed

Episcopal General Convention 81

July 5, 2024June 18, 2024

The General Convention is the governing and legislative body of The Episcopal Church. Every three years it meets as a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, composed of deputies and bishops from each diocese.

The 81st General Convention will take place June 23 – 28, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Link

This General Convention marks the conclusion of Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry’s primacy and the election of his successor, the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. There are 5 nominees

What is the main work of the convention? Work on the resolutions that come before the convention make up much of its work. Resolutions arise from four different sources: 1) “A” resolutions from interim bodies whose work is collected in what is referred to as the “Blue Book” 2) “B” resolutions which come from Bishops 3) “C” resolutions which come from diocesan conventions and 4) “D” resolutions which originate from Deputies. Each properly submitted resolution is referred to a convention committee which makes its recommendation to the House. When one house has acted on the resolution it is sent to the other house for consideration.

Who is going to be there? Deputies from each of our 110 dioceses in the United States and abroad, lay leadership and diocesan bishops, as well as members of the Episcopal Church Women, and other visitors.

Youth. This is the General Convention Official Youth Presence (GCOYP.) This group was established by a resolution at General Convention in 1982 and has been further defined at subsequent conventions, with legislation passed as recently as 2000. Up to two youth from each of the church’s nine provinces will be selected to participate in the Official Youth Presence The GCOYP have seat and voice on the floor of the House of Deputies and can testify at hearings held before and during General Convention.

Special topics:
1. The Blue Book Reports by each standing committee, the Executive Council, the House of Deputies, and the House of Bishops. This is the way to follow the path of the resolutions.
2. Calendar of the Convention – What happens each day, including the election of the next presiding bishop
3. Organization chart
4. The Virtual Binder. This system replaced reams of paper in 2018. It enables users to track the progress of convention resolutions. It also includes each house’s daily agendas, calendars for each day and journals (a list of messages sent between the houses informing the other of actions taken), committee calendars and reports. It contains tabs for checking on current action and floor amendments in each house.
5. Media Hub This has live video from the two houses as well as video clips, photos and press conferences.
6. Event App. A. Search for the “Cvent Events” app on the iOS Apple App Store or Google Play Store. B. Upon opening the app search for “The 81st General Convention,” and download the event to the app.

The Gospel in June, 2024

July 5, 2024June 2, 2024

We are back to Mark! In May the readings were from the Gospel of John as it explored the effects of the Resurrection, the roles of the disciples and their relationship to Jesus. This month explores the challenges to Jesus with the Pharisees, with the disciples and even from his own family. Jesus is not on the defensive – these stories help enlarge the concept of the Kingdom of God.

June 2 – 2nd Sunday after Pentecost -Mark 2:23-3:6

Sometimes rules and regulations can get in the way of our mission. The connection this week is in the role of the Sabbath. Jesus’ operating principle is that the Sabbath ( and the law and the rituals of holiness) was created for humanity, and not the other way around. ’ In that sense, God is chiefly known as love and the laws and purity rituals are for humanity’s own good. The alternate theology is that for humans have to achieve a certain level of holiness – through following laws or practicing purity rituals – to be acceptable to God. That’s the focus on the Pharisees whose religion had deteriorated into rules, regulations and rituals..

To make His point still further, Jesus goes into the synagogue and brings a man with a withered arm into the middle of the gathering. Then, He asks the simple question – is it against the law to do good on the Sabbath – or to save a life? Needless to say, His critics have no answer. Jesus has an answer – he heals the man. Mark’s description of healings were important – they were signs that the Kingdom of God was at hand