Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 7/18/21

Dear Members and Friends of St. James,

This parish update comes to you with an appeal. Because summer leans, in any case, towards a more relaxed time and vacations, we find ourselves in need of lay readers. So, if you have been longing for a “new” voice or to share with the congregation your own oratorical skills, there is no better time than the present than to make that wish come true. Inasmuch as the lectionary rotates on a three-year cycle, printed texts of any Sunday in the year—and this is year B—are available in advance for review and practice. This ministry is not an onerous one and would demonstrate the people at worship, and solely the priest. This is a call to offer not only of ones finances, but of time and talent. A brief reply to me via this medium would suffice.

Collect for Sunday, 18 July 2021, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost:
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

May the peace of God, that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be with you, and remain with you and those whom you love, this day and forever more. Amen.

Your fellow traveler in The Way,
CEB +

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“Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.”
― Adam Lindsay Gordon

(inscribed at a water feature, Charlotte, NC)