Open Letter from Rev. Clarence, 9/5/22

Dear Members and Friends of St. James,

As requested, I attach for your reading the homily which I presented yesterday, 4 September, the 13^th Sunday after Pentecost, during our in-person liturgy.  Even as several in our midst continue to recover from milder cases of Covid and are refraining from attending Eucharist, I am please to share that again yesterday new faces appeared among us.  As one parishioner remarked, the external physical improvements to the buildings on our site do signal to the surrounding community that we have not abandoned our ministry to the world and to our immediate community.  We will continue our outreach to new and returning students at Tufts University who may seek a worshipping home away from home, but also a location for fulfilling the university’s “community service requirement.”  I hope to be able to announce other changes and additions in the near future.  Please share with friends and acquaintances the news of our continued presence.

Of your charity, I bid you pray for peace in our world and in our nation, for those in our congregation and beyond who are first responders to those in immediate danger, and finally I bid you pray for schools and colleges, as they open their doors to inquisitive minds:
O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through 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, which 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 Spirit, be among you, and remain with you, and those whom you love, for ever.  Amen.

Your fellow traveler in The Way,
CEB+