Dear saints,
It seems strange in a way for the church to keep on keeping on with its usual ecclesiastical activities - like this Sunday's annual parish meeting - while on the news we hear of such terrible and heartbreaking events like the mass shooting in Buffalo, NY. While life is snatched away so cruelly, we might well ask as the old Quaker hymn goes, 'how can I keep on singing?' Yet we do keep on singing, and praying, and gathering as we will this weekend to elect from our number parishioners who will lead the church in this place as vestry members. We do so, not to escape the worries of the world, but to fortify ourselves to face them. In a time when there is so much focus on what divides us, to be a community that prizes and celebrates the beauty of diversity and the strength we find in being an all sorts community on so many levels is no small thing. A world where someone wakes up with murder on their mind is a malformed world. Life together as we know it in the church is our opportunity to re-form that world, starting with ourselves. Let our hearts weep with those who weep for those lost at the hands of others, from Buffalo to Mariupol, and may the church be our place to offer a better vision for human flourishing.
Peace,
Simon+
