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I am anxiously awaiting new guidelines from the Bishop
and the diocesan Committee for Reopening Churches. Clergy of the diocese met
with the Bishop this morning and gave our input on what we would like to see
change. My request was to reduce the physical distance requirement so that more
people can attend church at the same time. The diocesan group will meet next
week and give us new guidelines within a few days. I expect there will be
changes, but won’t know what they are until late next week at the earliest.
Stay tuned!
There are still a few slots available for in-person worship this Sunday. Go to Sign Up Genius at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c44aeae29a7ffc16-inperson to sign up if you’d like to attend.
Our 8:00 service will resume on June 27, so please consider attending at 8:00 during the next several months. If enough people choose the 8:00 service there would be room for 40 people to attend each week.
Sign Up Genius Instructions:
Remember to bring your bread to church with you this Sunday and for all following in-person services. We will have Communion in both kinds. Wine will be consecrated and poured into individual cups for you to receive.
For those watching on Zoom you may pick up Communion kits beginning tomorrow. The Communion kits will be outside in a cooler at the head of the ramp into the office door. Or you may pick them up for about a half hour after the Sunday service.
I hope to see you on Sunday!
Here is the blurb about the book from Amazon:
The way of love is essential for addressing the seemingly insurmountable challenges facing the world today: poverty, racism, selfishness, deep ideological divisions, competing claims to speak for God. This book will lead readers to discover the gifts they need in order to live the way of love: deep reservoirs of hope and resilience, simple wisdom, the discipline of nonviolence, and unshakable regard for human dignity.
Please let Caroline know if you would like to participate in this book study.
The remaining Sundays at 10:00 AM
This Sunday-Jun 13th
at 10:00 a.m.
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL
The Collect
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
First Lesson 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
In our Hebrew Bible story the Lord sends Samuel to anoint David to be the new king over Israel. God has rejected Saul as king, but he remains in power and Samuel must go secretly on his mission. As so often happens in the Bible, one who seems least likely in the eyes of others is chosen by God to carry out the divine will.
Psalm 20
A prayer and petition for victory in time of conflict.
The Second Lesson 2 Corinthians 5:6-17
In this lesson Paul speaks of his confident hope and his longing to experience the transformed body of heavenly existence. It will be like having a new house or set of clothes replace or–better–be put on over this tent of a body. In any case, we will not be left just as souls without form, but will have some manner of personal existence. God’s Spirit is already our guarantee, born from conviction that Christ has died and risen. We must live, therefore, no longer for ourselves alone, but for Christ, for we will be judged for our use of this earthly life.
The Gospel Mark 4:26-34
In our gospel Jesus tells the parables of the seed growing secretly and of the mustard seed in order to suggest what the kingdom of God is like. God’s activity is often unseen and mysterious, but it will produce its fruit and bring about the time for harvest. To human eyes the beginning of the kingdom seems insignificant, but suddenly it will break forth. The great bush which the mustard seed becomes is a symbol for the kingdom of God’s protection. The evangelist closes the passage with his understanding that only faithful disciples can perceive the significance of Jesus’ parables.
If you like meeting new people, sharing your story and your faith with others, lively discussion about scripture and other authors, praying together, all from the comfort of your living room, EFM may be for you! If you need more information, Jen, Carol, Sammie, or Pat would be happy to answer any questions.
The Memorial garden and the gardens behind the parish hall, are in need of some TLC. Starting on Sunday, June 6th, and during that week following, we are looking for volunteers to help weed, cut back, and do whatever needs to be done to make our grounds beautiful for the summer months. You don’t have to do a whole garden, just do a section. Call a friend/parishioner to come with you, more hands, less work, and it is always more fun to chat while working. I plan to start on Sunday the 6th, late morning. If you are able to help, please email padams419@yahoo.com, so we know who is available and when. Bring your gloves and tools!!!!! Thank you!!!
For all those who working with COVID patients, vaccinations and vaccines.
Updating the Prayer List
Please let Deb know when a person can be removed from the prayer list. Thank you.
On the Parable of the Mustard Seed, by Denise
Levertov
Who ever saw the mustard-plant,
wayside weed or tended crop,
grow tall as a shrub, let alone a tree, a treeful
of shade and nests and songs?
Acres of yellow,
not a bird of the air in sight.
No, He who knew
the west wind brings
the rain, the south wind
thunder, who walked the field-paths
running His hand along wheatstems to glean
those intimate milky kernels, good
to break on the tongue,
was talking of miracle, the seed
within us, so small
we take it for worthless, a mustard-seed, dust,
nothing.
Glib generations mistake
the metaphor, not looking at fields and trees,
not noticing paradox. Mountains
remain unmoved.
Faith is rare, He must have been
saying,
prodigious, unique —
one infinitesimal grain divided
like loaves and fishes,
as if from a mustard-seed
a great shade-tree grew. That rare,
that strange: the kingdom
a tree. The soul
a bird. A great concourse of birds
at home there, wings among yellow flowers.
The waiting
kingdom of faith, the seed
waiting to be sown.
16 Tina Quinn
