Dear Friends in Christ,
If you have been attending to the media this week then you know that our country is working hard to make sense of 9/11. We are remembering, reflecting, and once again sharing our feelings about that horrific crime as well as the decisions and events of the decade that followed. This Sunday at Saint Paul’s we will be doing something just a bit different, i.e., praying our way through that trauma and wondering together what it is that God is doing in our midst even now. What others intended for evil God intends for good – that is a line from the first lesson this Sunday and a central tenet for all baptized believers. We are resurrection people who trust that God can take the worst situation (betrayal, torture, and crucifixion, for instance) and turn it in a way that is life giving.
At the core of our proclamation is the call to forgiveness – you will hear that call strongly enunciated in all of the readings appointed this week. The morning liturgy will honor the departed, pray for all affected, and call us to a deeper commitment to being agents of reconciliation in the world. The forum will be given over to a more detailed parsing of our shared concerns. Evensong will feature a homily by Bishop Mathes and Faure’s entire requiem. The yin/yang rhythm of grief and hope will influence all of these offerings. I sincerely hope that you will be able to join us for some or all of this as we present ourselves again to God as prisoners of hope.
Peace be with you,
(The Very Rev.) Scott E. Richardson
