As most of you already know, I shall not be able to be with you next fall as your deacon.   Life changes have made it necessary for me to remain in Tennessee.  However, I shall be visiting from time to time and expect to hear LOUD ALLELUIAs.

Many changes have been, are, and will be happening for the community, which is St. Hilary’s.   It is a time of restlessness, excitement, concern, and anticipation.

As the People of God in this place, you have been wrestling with the calling of a new Rector.  The Search Committee is about to begin the final discernment process, so hold on.  Time will fly by and St. Hilary’s will begin a new era in its history.

Things will change and still stay the same.  As clergy, we come in and out of the life of the Parish, but the essence of the community is the People of God, who are St. Hilary’s.

I would like to leave you with some quotations to reflect upon:

The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and strength is renewed. Mark Morrison-Reed

The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. Frederick Buechner

We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone … and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something. Sandra Day O’Connor

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen

Just because everything is different doesn’t mean that everything has changed. Irene Peter

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. Saint Augustine

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld. Saint Augustine

May God’s peace always surround you.

Your Servant in Christ’s Love,

Deacon “B” – The Wandering Deacon

Bercry Eleanor Leas

St. Hilary’s is experiencing its first in many changes over the next year. With Rev. Denise and Deacon Bercry leaving there are mixed emotions. Of course we will miss them greatly, but both are going to be with their families, which is cause for great happiness! For  Rev. Denise a new call awaits and we know firsthand what an amazing gift St. Mark’s is about to receive, for we were benefactors of it for the past year.  Deacon Bercry will continue being a deacon and showing other congregations just how much enthusiasm belongs behind “Alleluia, Alleluia!” They will be missed.

We will remain here continuing on in our mission. As the quote above states: if nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies. We have had a long year preparing for our metamorphosis and now we are entering into the next stage. We are not a butterfly yet, but we are getting there.  And this is just the next step. Most staff will remain and of course we have the wonderful addition of Fr. John Gamble!

What happens next? In the months leading up to the new rector coming we will band together in prayer and worship; praying that God directs the right person to be rector here. We will continue in the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will learn, love and live as Christians the best we can. To sum up, we will continue as St. Hilary’s Episcopal Church offering the love of God to all who cross our paths.

At the end of this journey we will emerge as the true butterfly we are!

In God’s Ever-Present Love,

Mtr. Kelsey

The time has come for Denise, our Interim Priest, to return to her home and serve at another church.   She has led us through a year of learning who we are as a church family.  And, she has suggested ways for us to grow spiritually and in many other ways.  My personal thanks to you, Denise.

I have been praying for an expanded ministry.  It was very interesting that Bishop Smith and our vestry have asked me to return as Priest-in-Charge here at Saint Hilary’s until a settled rector has been chosen.

I trust you will come to me with any issues you may have; especially if hospital or home visitations are needed.

The vestry has many challenging issues to address.  I hope to be able to provide spiritual guidance as they face these issues.

All our prayers are needed for every member of the vestry and church leaders.

Your servant in Christ,

Father John

Easter season is about transitions and transformation. The “in-between time” for Mary and the Apostle’s was Easter through Pentecost. Mary may not have understood one bit of what was unfolding around her. Her thoughts may have been muddled and confused, her vision distorted, yet she was willing to believe what God had accomplished. Mary wept then she rejoiced. She believed and then proclaimed. Jesus allowed his followers some transition time but then he said “come out of your hiding, grieving places and go tell the Good News that I am alive and with you always.”

Lets greet this Easter with awe and wonder. Believing that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead, by a gracious and loving God, means we have to take responsibility as Christians. We agree, like Mary, to rolling up our faith sleeves and getting to work proclaiming that Jesus Christ provides us the opportunity for rebirth in all types of changes. If we understand and believe, if we open our hearts and our eyes to recognize our risen Lord in times of transition then we will be transformed! Alleluia!

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Denise+

He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

On Saturday, March 30 this refrain was heard throughout the country. One of the great things about the Episcopal Church is the liturgy. This means that on Saturday Episcopal Churches everywhere (times varying) were participating in the Easter Vigil and proclaiming the greatest news ever heard, the tomb is empty!

You might wonder why I am still talking about Easter if it has passed. In the Episcopal Church we celebrate the season of Easter for 50 days! The fiftieth day is Pentecost. Each season in our liturgical year has a purpose, a reason for season so to speak. The reason for this season should be easily discernible, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Every Sunday we say together these words of the Nicene Creed:

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Together we acknowledge the sacrifice and gift given for us. Now is the time we praise God for everything that Christ has done for us. Now is the time to glory in the forgiveness of our sins. Now is the time to remember that we have something extraordinary to share with others!

On Easter morning St. Hilary’s was blessed to have new Christians baptized into the church. That gives us even more to celebrate in this season. It is time we share with the new, old, young and seasoned Christians our stories of the resurrection, our stories of Christ. Now is the time we celebrate, not letting anything hold us back because Christ has broken the hold of sin and death. We are forgiven!

The season of Lent has passed and it is now time to rejoice in the season of Easter!

Alleluia, Christ has risen!

He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

In God’s Ever-Present Love,

Mtr. Kelsey

CHRIST HAS RISEN.   THE LORD HAS RISEN INDEED!

Here are how some Easter traditions came into being:

Easter has always had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival. It was co-opted by Christian missionaries starting in the second century CE.As with almost all “Christian” holidays, Easter has a secular side as well. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication.

The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they do what Christian missionaries have always done; they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.

It would have been dangerous for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries decided to spread their dogma slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.

As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian observance as pagans were slowly indoctrinated. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.

The Date of Easter

Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. The “full moon” in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical “vernal equinox” is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25. The Sunday prior to Easter is called Palm Sunday in commemoration of the palm-strewn path that Jesus took into Jerusalem prior to his Crucifixion.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

The Easter Egg

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of birth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

Deacon “B”

This month we get to walk through the last day of Christ’s “human” life. Every Wednesday we sit together as a parish, eat, and then participate in the Stations of the Cross. This is an important practice for us for many reasons. The first reason is the gift of fellowship we receive. We are not strangers to getting together but often the reason for getting together is more celebratory. This month we get together during the gloomy season of Lent. It is not Easter yet and we must walk through this time of lamenting and repenting. Walking this path with each other allows us to connect on levels not experienced before. It is one thing to walk with someone during a celebratory time but it is something completely different to walk with each other during the darker times. There are, of course, benefits to do doing this. Do you remember the last time you felt down? Who was there to help you through it? How different would it be if that person hadn’t been there?

The second reason these Wednesday nights are such an important practice is the walking of the Stations of the Cross. Together we recite the walk of Jesus to the cross. Together we cringe when Jesus is sentenced to death, worry as He has to carry his cross, sigh in relief as Simon of Cyrene carries the cross for Him, we flinch as He is nailed to the cross and we cry as His last breath escapes Him. This liturgy allows us to connect to Jesus at His most vulnerable moment, His death. It allows us to walk His last day with Him, giving us an insight that we do not normally get. Together we realize the true sacrifice and pain that Jesus went through for us. This is an opportunity for us to experience the true cost of God’s gift.

Take some time this Lent to walk with your fellow parishioners. Let us, together, walk with Christ on this painful journey to the cross and remember His sacrifice for us.

In God’s Ever-Present Love,

Mother Kelsey

“Lent”

Now quit your care and anxious fear and worry;

for schemes are vain and fretting brings no gain.

Lent calls to prayer, to trust and dedication; God brings new beauty nigh. 

Reply, reply, reply with love to love most high;

Reply, reply, reply with love to love most high.

To bow the head in sackcloth and in ashes,

or rend the soul, such grief is not Lent’s goal;

but to be led to where God’s glory flashes, God’s beauty to come near.

Make clear, make clear, make clear where truth and light appear;

Make clear, make clear, make clear where truth and light appear….

Then shall your light break forth as doth the morning;

your health shall spring, the friends you make shall bring

God’s glory bright, your way through life adorning; and love shall be the prize.

Arise, arise, arise! and make a paradise!

Arise, arise, arise! and make a paradise!

(Hymn 145, The Hymnal 1982)

“Now quit your care” is very different from the usual somber Lenten hymns. For one thing, it is set to the tune of a French Christmas carol.  It is all about nurturing that reality. It speaks to each one of us who is carrying a burden. I would guess that comes to about 100 percent of the readers of this meditation. Our burdens can range from concerns about health – our own, that of a loved one, or even that of an institution we care about – to our suffering because of all the pain experienced by our brothers and sisters around the world.

What we are to give up for Lent, according to Percy Dearmer, the author of this hymn,is fretting! That, as we all know, is more easily said than done.  Lent calls to prayer, to trust and dedication; God brings new beauty nigh. I think we give up fretting through filling our psyches, our souls, our hearts – whatever we call that unseen “self” within us – with the presence of God.

“SILENCE. Be still and aware of God’s presence within and all around.” Slowly but surely, the fretting can dissolve in that Presence of unconditional Love.

But – and here’s the rub – we need to give it some time. And that is where Lenten “discipline” comes in. It’s not a matter of “taking on” a prayer discipline, as much as “making space” for what is absolutely necessary to our life: God, at the core of our being.

May you all find such space, however you find it. However we dwell there, the more we dwell in that space, the more our own love will grow – and love “casts out” fear as well as fretting. Out of that love comes our action “to feed the hungry in their need” as well as to fight other social wrongs. We will be replying with love to love most high. Our loving action can dissolve the paralysis brought on by anxiety, and transform worry and fear into energy for good.

May your Lent be filled with the spaciousness of God, whose grace and love heals and comforts and redeems. What better preparation for the feast of the Resurrection at Easter?

Deacon “B”

Did you make any New Year resolutions at the beginning of January? Did you make a promise to yourself to do more of something and less of something else? How are you doing with keeping those promises now that February has begun? I know, these are a lot of questions but as an Intentional Interim Rector I have to ask many. Times of transition affect us all in different ways but one thing we all share is the promise of God to bless us with gifts (abilities) that we are called to activate in order to make Christ known and help our community. That is a resolution God never breaks.

There are at least 22 ministries at St. Hilary’s right now that need your gifts and service. And there are countless opportunities to begin more, with your help. This time in the interim could be your time to become more involved in the life of St. Hilary’s. Do you have a gift that you would like to activate with Our Lord’s help? Do you wonder what your gifts are? Do you have an interest in a ministry that can be explored this year?  If you answered “yes” to any of these three questions let’s talk!

Gifts, Services, Activities. One Spirit. One Lord. One God. Amen.

During this season of Lent, listen carefully to the scriptures read in church; where do you see yourself? What do you need to change to follow Christ more closely? What does Lent mean to you?

Now is the time to take account of your lives and when Easter comes we can celebrate all the more!

In God’s ever-present love,

Mtr. Kelsey+