Dear Friends in Christ,
This week’s announcements are below. Please look particularly at:
*Church Ladies' Night, June 25 – TONIGHT!
*Parish Baseball Outing/Somerset Patriots’ Game, July 12
* Family Promise Homeless Shelter, July 6 – help needed!
* Bridging the Summer Meal Gap, on-going food collection for Food for Friends, Dover
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COMMUNITY HOSPITALITY We received a thank you card today from Long Hill Township Girl Scouts: “This small donation is sent along with the deep gratitude of the many Girl Scout leaders and Girl Scouts who have the benefit of using your wonderful facilities to hold our meetings and other Scouting events. We truly appreciate the congregation of All Saints’ opening your church home to us, which helps Girl Scout of Long Hill Township to build girls of courage and confidence who make the world a better place. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the years to come. Sincerely yours, Llora McAvoy and Alison Johnson, Co-Service Unit Managers. We are so glad to support the girls (and their families) of our community! ~ VGM+
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HELPING HANDS
Family Promise Homeless Shelter - Our date to serve at the shelter has been changed to Monday, July 6, and we need help!! We still need one volunteer to provide hamburgers and rolls, to cook, two people to host at dinnertime, and two to stay overnight. There are more details on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kathy Pfeil. Thank you for helping these families get back on their feet.

Bridging the Summer Meal Gap – In NJ, 1 in 5 children face hunger; in Morris County, nearly 8% (38,350 people) are food insecure. When school is out, the children don’t receive school breakfast and lunch. Please remember the kids in your donations to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover. A new summer shopping list is available for you to pick up in the Narthex. Thanks for your help in feeding hungry people!
Please leave your donations in the basket in the Narthex. They will be offered and blessed at our Sunday worship before being taken to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover.

FUN & FUNDRAISING
TONIGHT! Church Ladies’ Night at the Stirling Hotel – this Thursday, June 25, starting at 7 pm; come when you can. We’ll gather in the outdoor area. Share your plans for the summer, decompress after the school year, enjoy your fellow parishioners... and maybe we’ll talk about Rummage, too!

Parish Baseball Outing, July 12 @ 5:05 pm – Come for a fun evening with your fellow Saints and watch the Somerset Patriots play the Long Island Ducks at the TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater. Tickets are $9.50 per person (group rate) and we have field box seats reserved right behind home plate! Respond to this e-mail or sign up on the sheet in the Narthex and bring your family and friends. Once we know who is coming we’ll get transportation organized. Questions? Speak to Greg Story.

The Rummage Sale – Are you ready? The first day of rummage collection will be Sunday, August 2.  Please tell your neighbors and friends, as well as setting your own clean and usable stuff aside. Sale date is Sept. 19. We still have many opportunities for willing hands to sign up and work. Take a look at the poster on the easel in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kimberly Celeste.

WORSHIP and MUSIC       
Summer Choir - We’ll be having an informal summer choir on July 19 & August 30. Show up at 9:30 to rehearse the anthem and then sing for the 10 am service. This will be a great time to “try on” choir – either for the day or as an intro to next fall. We are always happy to have new choir members! Interested? Please speak to Alison Siener Brown.

The Thursday morning 7 o’clock service of Holy Eucharist and Healing prayer is taking a break for the summer; as is the All God’s Children/Special Needs Worship on the third Sundays of the month. Catch us again in September!

Next Sunday, July 5th we’ll pray for our country, sing some patriotic hymns (@ 10 am) and offer our thanksgiving for our liberties and responsibilities as a nation. Hope to see you in Church!

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 10:15-11:30 am in the Rath House. We are meeting through July 15. We’ll take a break for the summer and then pick up again on August 26. We are using a book to guide our study: Bible Women, All Their Words and Why They Matter, by Lindsay Hardin Freeman. This is a great book to read with the group or on your own. We are always happy to have new people join us. Questions? Please speak to Mother Vicki.

Summer Refreshment Hosts are needed for our fellowship after worship. In the summer we have cool drinks and munchies on the Parish House lawn. Please take a turn by putting your name on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to John McGrath

Women's Book Group will meet on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. This month’s book for discussion is The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. Come for an evening of fellowship, discussion, and learning.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
General Convention has begun in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here is a link to the General Convention website: http://www.generalconvention.org/ and the diocesan site: http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/GC2015 . You can also follow on Facebook or Twitter at #gc78. The election for the new [presiding Bishop will take place on Saturday. Please pray for the House of Bishops as they make their selection. Please also pray for the work of our Church as it meets in Convention.

“Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in General Convention for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it. Guide the minds of those who shall choose a Presiding Bishop for this Church, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”  ~ Book of Common Prayer
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Parish Calendar This Week
7/1            Bible Study                 10:15 am, Rath House
And please check the calendar on our website for the full listing of groups and events in our buildings.
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FOR ALL THE SAINTS
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles Peter and Paul, the two greatest leaders of the early Church, are commemorated separately, Peter on January 18, for his confession of Jesus as the Messiah, and Paul on January 25, for his conversion, but they are commemorated together on June 29 in observance of the tradition of the Church that they both died as martyrs in Rome during the persecution under Nero, in 64.

Paul, the well-educated and cosmopolitan Jew of the Dispersion, and Peter, the uneducated fisherman from Galilee, had differences of opinion in the early years of the Church concerning the mission to the Gentiles. More than once, Paul speaks of rebuking Peter for his continued insistence on Jewish exclusiveness; yet their common commitment to Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel proved stronger than their differences; and both eventually carried that mission to Rome, where they were martyred. According to tradition, Paul was granted the right of a Roman citizen to be beheaded by a sword, but Peter suffered the fate of his Lord, crucifixion, though with head downward.

A generation after their martyrdom, Clement of Rome, writing to the Church in Corinth, probably in 96 A.D., says: Let us come to those who have most recently proved champions; let us take up the noble examples of our own generation. Because of jealousy and envy the greatest and most upright pillars of the Church were persecuted and competed unto death. Let us bring before our eyes the good apostle Peter, who because of unrighteous jealousy endured not one or two, but numerous trials, and so bore a martyrs witness and went to the glorious place that he deserved. Because of jealousy and strife Paul pointed the way to the reward of endurance; seven times he was imprisoned, he was exiled, he was stoned, he was a preacher in both east and west, and won renown for his faith, teaching uprightness to the whole world, and reaching the farthest limit of the west, and bearing a martyrs witness before the rulers, he passed out of the world and was taken up into the holy place, having proved a very great example of endurance. ~ Holy Women, Holy Men

Questions for reflection: Remembering that the word “apostle” means “one who is sent”, to whom is the Holy Spirit sending you with a word of hope, comfort, encouragement, counsel, peace, or justice?
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This is a traditional African-American Gospel song. Johnny Cash’s version of it is linked below, as is a more recent recording by the Sojourners.

Children, go where I send thee
Children, go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I shall send thee one by one
One was little bitty - baby
wrapped in swaddling- lying in the manger,
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children, go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I shall send thee two by two
Two was Paul and - Silas
One was a little bitty - baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

[Repeat in descending order:]
Three was the 3 men riding
Four was the four come knock'n at the door...
Five was the gospel preachers...
Six was the six that couldn't be fixed...
Seven was the seven that went to heaven...
Eight was the eight that stood at the gate...
Nine was the nine who saw the sign
Ten for the ten commandments...

Johnny Cash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlSLvllkXL4
The Sojourners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7J7T7_eaeg

Blessings,
Vicki+

In the photo above Peter is shown on the left carrying a key - a reminder that he was given the keys to God's Kingdom.
Paul is shown at the right with a sword - a symbol of the Scriptures as a "sword of the Spirit." Paul was also martyred by the sword (befitting a Roman citizen). Peter, on the other hand was martyred by being crucified upside down.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Next week the public school year ends. Teachers, students, and parents will all shift into summer mode...so will the rest of us! I hope for you that means a more relaxed schedule, perhaps some travel, getting together with friends and family, and some beautiful summer weather. No matter what your summer brings, remember to stop (or at least pause), and breathe, and remember the God’ goodness – and pay attention to the beauty all around you. And when you are in town on the weekend consider coming to worship – whether coming to the 8 am service (quiet, shorter, getting a head start on your day), or the 10 am where we’ll still sing hymns and service music, but with a more laid-back feeling, and dialogue sermons where you get to talk back to the preacher! J It might give you a different slant on worship, an opportunity to hear the Spirit in a different way. Child-care will continue in our Nursery during the later service, and our after-worship refreshments will be cold drinks and munchies on the Parish Lawn. Hope to see you and worship with you!

This week’s announcements are below. Please look particularly at:
*Father’s Day, June 21
*Parish Baseball Out/Somerset Patriots’ Game, July 12
* Family Promise Homeless Shelter, July 10-11
* Bridging the Summer Meal Gap, on-going food collection for Food for Friends, Dover
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Finally, a few thoughts about last night’s shootings in Charlestown, SC. In case you missed it – a 21 year old white man walked into an historically black church at the time of a scheduled Bible study, asked for the pastor (who also was a South Carolina State Senator), and sat with the Bible study group for an hour before he got up and started shooting – nine fatalities in all. When one of the survivors tried to talk him down from continuing, the shooter responded with an answer that was clearly motivated by racism.

There will, of course, be much speculation about the man’s state-of-mind, and whether he was mentally ill. He may be, but that does not excuse nor explain racism, which is sinful. To allow hatred, prejudice, and ignorance to grow and fester so that it becomes the motivating force in one’s life is idolatry – it becomes one’s ultimate goal and highest good, displacing God. It is just a few short steps from there to murder; only a ready weapon and a plan is needed. We do our entire society a disservice when we give racism a pass – whether blatant or subtle. It’s not just a person’s outdated opinion, but an ideology that is rooted in fear of the other that ultimately is destructive to individuals and to the fabric of our common life.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves: neighbor does not mean the people who look, act, dress, and talk like us. Our neighbors are all the people God puts in our path, all those who have been made in God’s image (that is, all human-kind), all those for whom Christ died (the whole world). In Jesus’ call and command there is no place for racism, or hatred, or oppression, or violence and murder. They all fall into the category of sin, and we are told to turn away from everything that separates us from the love of God that is to live in us and through us to God’s world.

May the Rev. Senator Pickney, and the other victims rest in peace and rise in glory. And may their families and the congregation of Emmanuel AME Zion Church be given comfort, strength, wisdom, justice, and peace. ~ Vicki+
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FUN & FUNDRAISING
Parish Baseball Outing, July 12 @ 5:05 pm – Come for a fun evening with your fellow Saints and watch the Somerset Patriots play the Long Island Ducks at the TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater. Tickets are $9.50 per person (group rate) and we have field box seats reserved right behind home plate! Sign up on the sheet in the Narthex and bring your family and friends. Once we know who is coming we’ll get transportation organized. Questions? Speak to Greg Story.

Church Ladies’ Night at the Stirling Hotel – this Thursday, June 25, starting at 7 pm; come when you can. We’ll gather in the outdoor area. Share your plans for the summer, decompress after the school year, enjoy your fellow parishioners... and maybe we’ll talk about Rummage, too!

The Rummage Sale – Start setting aside your treasures for the Sale; collection starts on Sunday, August 2.  What do we take? Housewares, toys, garden and yard equipment, tools, kid’s books, small appliances, furniture, lamps, electronics, boutique, table linens & bedding, etc. – anything clean, useful and workable. What don’t we take? Tube TVs, books for grown-ups, tires, clothes, shoes. Sale date is Sept. 19. Volunteer sign-up sheets are in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kimberly Celeste.

WORSHIP and MUSIC       
Father’s Day, June 21 – Special prayers and carnations to honor and remember all our fathers, at both 8 and 10 am.

Special Needs Worship - All God's Children Service, at 12 noon, on the 3rd Sundays of the month – next service, THIS SUNDAY, June 21. Designed for children and families with a range of special needs - including anyone who has a hard time sitting still! A 30-minute service, no segment is longer than 3 minutes each; optional Communion. Pass the word to friends and neighbors who can benefit.

Summer Choir - We’ll be having an informal summer choir on July 19 & August 30. Show up at 9:30 to rehearse the anthem and then sing for the 10 am service. This will be a great time to “try on” choir – either for the day or as an intro to next fall. We are always happy to have new choir members! Interested? Please speak to Alison Siener Brown.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 10:15-11:30 am in the Rath House. We are meeting through July 15. We’ll take a break for the summer and then pick up again on August 26. We are using a book to guide our study: Bible Women, All Their Words and Why They Matter, by Lindsay Hardin Freeman. This is a great book to read with the group or on your own. We are always happy to have new people join us. Questions? Please speak to Mother Vicki.

Summer Refreshment Hosts are needed for our fellowship after worship. In the summer we have cool drinks and munchies on the Parish House lawn. Please take a turn by putting your name on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to John McGrath

Women's Book Group will meet on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. This month’s book for discussion is The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. Come for an evening of fellowship, discussion, and learning.

HELPING HANDS
Bridging the Summer Meal Gap – In NJ, 1 in 5 children face hunger; in Morris County, nearly 8% (38,350 people) are food insecure. When school is out, the children don’t receive school breakfast and lunch. Please remember the kids in your donations to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover. A new summer shopping list is available for you to pick up in the Narthex. Thanks for your help in feeding hungry people!
Please leave your donations in the basket in the Narthex. They will be offered and blessed at our Sunday worship before being taken to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover.

Family Promise Homeless Shelter Our next date to serve at the shelter (at Trinity House/ Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling) is Friday, July 10 to Saturday, July 11. We need volunteers to cook, host at dinnertime, stay overnight, and help on Saturday morning. There are more details on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kathy Pfeil. Thank you for helping these families get back on their feet.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
General Convention is our Church’s triennial meeting for worship, fellowship, governance, and discernment. Each diocese is represented by eight deputies: four lay and four clergy, elected at our diocesan convention. They make up the House of Deputies. The House of Bishops also meets in Convention, sometimes as a whole, and sometimes separately. These two houses are roughly equivalent to the House of Representatives and the Senate. This year Convention meets in Salt Lake City, Utah from June 25-July 3. Here is a link to the General Convention website: http://www.generalconvention.org/. This year the House of Bishops will be electing a new Presiding Bishop; Bishop Jefferts Schori has served her full term. Here is a link to the four nominees for the role: http://www.generalconvention.org/pbelect . And here is a link for our Diocese of Newark Delegation: http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/GC2015 . Various reports and blogs will appear here that you can follow. Please keep the work of the General Convention and our Episcopal Church in your prayers.
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PARISH CALENDAR THIS WEEK
6/24          Bible Study                 10:15 am, Rath House
6/25          HE & Breakfast            7:00 am, Church
And please check the calendar on our website for the full listing of groups and events in our buildings.
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FOR ALL THE SAINTS
Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24

“The prophet and forerunner of Jesus was his cousin, John, the only child of Elizabeth and Zechariah. He is sometimes called the last and the greatest of the prophets.

John lived very plainly, wearing "camel's hair and a leather girdle" and eating "locusts and wild honey." He preached repentance and called upon people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He baptized his followers to signify their repentance and new life. Hence he was called John the Baptist. Jesus himself was baptized by John in the River Jordan. John had many followers, at least some of whom became Christians. He preached strongly against the notorious sins of King Herod and was finally beheaded by the king at the request of his daughter Salome.

John figures prominently in the New Testament, and Luke gives us an account of his nativity. His parents were elderly at the time of his birth. His father, a priest of the temple in Jerusalem, was struck dumb in a vision foretelling John's birth and did not speak again until the baby was born. The magnificent canticle, Benedictus Dominus Deus, Blessed be the Lord (The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 50, 92), is attributed to Zechariah, the joyful father. John is particularly remembered during Advent as a prophet and during Epiphany as the baptizer of Jesus.

May we announce the Messiah with boldness, that the world might know the saving power of Jesus Christ.  Amen.”  ~ Holy Women, Holy Men

The Community of St. John Baptist, our local Episcopal religious order, has John as their patron saint. Keep the Community in your prayers this Saturday as they hold their annual Commemoration Day festival with friends, Associates, relatives, Oblates, and the Sisters. Here is the link to that event: http://www.csjb.org/eventsDetail.php?JUNE-20---COMMEMORATION-DAY-35 .  And if anyone is interested in becoming affiliated with the life and work of CSJB by becoming an Associate of the Community, please speak to Sister Monica Clare or Mother Vicki.

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ~ The Collect for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, BCP, p.241

Questions for reflection: How does your life point to Jesus, as John the Baptist’s did?
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St. John the Baptist: 1St. John’s Eve

Midsummer night, and bonfires on the hill
Burn for the man who makes way for the Light:
‘He must increase and I diminish still,
Until his sun illuminates my night.’
So John the Baptist pioneers our path,
Unfolds the essence of the life of prayer,
Unlatches the last doorway into faith,
And makes one inner space an everywhere.
Least of the new and greatest of the old,
Orpheus on the threshold with his lyre,
He sets himself aside, and cries “Behold
The One who stands amongst you comes with fire!”
So keep his fires burning through this night,
Beacons and gateways for the child of light.
                                    ~ Malcolm Guite
The illustration above is by Rebecca Merry of Malcom Guite’s sonnet.
Blessings,
Vicki+

Dear Friends in Christ,
This week’s announcements are below. Please look particularly at:
* Family Promise Homeless Shelter, July 10-11
* Bridging the Summer Meal Gap, on-going food collection for Food for Friends, Dover
* Going Local “Dwelling in the Word” ~ listening to Scripture in (perhaps) a new way
* Book Group, June 17
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FUN & FUNDRAISING
THIS SUNDAY – Coffee Hour to honor our Choirs after the 10 am service! Come and fete the members of our choirs and thank them for their ministry and friendship on this last day of choir in the program year.

Thank You to Tim and Barbara Erday for hosting our Parish Picnic last week, to Jane Hayden for staffing our grill, and to everyone who came. We had a great time!

The Rummage Sale – Start setting aside your treasures for the Sale; collection starts on Sunday, August 2.  What do we take? Housewares, toys, garden and yard equipment, tools, kid’s books, small appliances, furniture, lamps, electronics, boutique, table linens & bedding, etc. – anything clean, useful and workable. What don’t we take? Tube TVs, books for grown-ups, tires, clothes, shoes. Sale date is Sept. 19. Volunteer sign-up sheets are in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kimberly Celeste.

WORSHIP and MUSIC        
June 14, Adult Choir Sunday – At our 10 am worship this week we’ll have the choir’s favorite hymns and anthems before they take a break for the summer, and we’ll recognize the choir members for their individual years of service to the parish and choir.

Father’s Day, June 21 – Special prayers and carnations to honor and remember all our fathers, at both 8 and 10 am.
Special Needs Worship - All God's Children Service, at 12 noon, on the 3rd Sundays of the month – next service, June 21. Designed for children and families with a range of special needs - including anyone who has a hard time sitting still! A 30-minute service, no segment is longer than 3 minutes each; optional Communion. Pass the word to friends and neighbors who can benefit.

Summer Choir - We’ll be having an informal summer choir on July 19 & August 30. Show up at 9:30 to rehearse the anthem and then sing for the 10 am service. This will be a great time to “try on” choir – either for the day or as an intro to next fall. We are always happy to have new choir members! Interested? Please speak to Alison Siener Brown.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study - Wednesdays, 10:15-11:30 am in the Rath House. We have started new series, using a book to guide our study: Bible Women, All Their Words and Why They Matter, by Lindsay Hardin Freeman. This is a great book to read with the group or on your own over the summer. It’s very straight-forward, divided into small sections, and we’ve created a reading schedule, if that is helpful to you. The price is $22; also available on Kindle for $10. We have one copy left, and we can always order more. If you’d like a book, please speak to Mother Vicki.

Summer Refreshment Hosts are needed for our fellowship after worship starting June 21st. In the summer we have cool drinks and munchies on the Parish House lawn. Please take a turn by putting your name on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to John McGrath
Women's Book Group will meet on Wednesday, June 17 at 7:30 pm in the Rath House. The book for discussion is The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown. Come for a time of fellowship, discussion, and learning.

HELPING HANDS
The Farm-to-Table Benefit Dinner scheduled for June 20 will not take place, due to too many busy schedules. We’ll look to try it another time. Stay tuned!

Bridging the Summer Meal Gap – In NJ, 1 in 5 children face hunger; in Morris County, nearly 8% (38,350 people) are food insecure. When school is out, the children don’t receive school breakfast and lunch. Please remember the kids in your donations to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover. A new summer shopping list is available for you to pick up in the Narthex, or you can find it below. Thanks for your help in feeding hungry people!
•    canned fruit and vegetables (no green beans, please)
•    dried pasta and noodles  
•    spaghetti sauce in jars
•    tuna fish
•    canned meats  
•    boxes of shelf stable milk
•    canned juice/juice boxes (100% juice)
•    whole grain crackers
•    peanut butter  
•    jelly/jam
•    dried cereals, oatmeal packets
•    granola bars, simple cookies  
•    raisins and other dried fruit
•    boxed macaroni and cheese  
•    dried and canned soups, stews, pasta meals with pop-tops
•    beans: black, red, kidney, etc.
•    tea bags, instant coffee  
•    any non-perishable food!  
•    Please remember to check the expiration date on items; if you wouldn’t want to eat it, neither would anyone else!
Please leave your donations in the basket in the Narthex. They will be offered and blessed at our Sunday worship before being taken to the Food for Friends pantry in Dover.

Family Promise Homeless Shelter
Our next date to serve at the shelter (at Trinity House/ Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling) is Friday, July 10 to Saturday, July 11. We need volunteers to cook, host at dinnertime, stay overnight, and help on Saturday morning. There are more details on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Questions? Speak to Kathy Pfeil. Thank you for helping these families get back on their feet.
Motorized Wheelchair Available – excellent condition. Charlie Hogan is looking for a good home for this wheelchair if you or a family member can use it. If you are interested, please call the Parish Office.
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GOING LOCAL: Listening to God in Scripture, in One Another, and in Our Neighborhoods – We introduced the Going Local process at our services last week, and have had a few opportunities to spend time with the Bible “Dwelling in the Word” passage that we’ll be using this summer. What is “Dwelling in the Word”? It’s a method of listening to Scripture (both Old and New Testament) that is simple, and yet can be profound. By simply listening to the passage being read, we allow ourselves to follow what grabs our attention, what catches our ear, where we feel compelled to stop listening , and pause or dwell in that place.

In this type of Scripture reading/hearing history and sociology, context, and whatever may come before or after the passage are far less important than whatever catches your attention, and your thoughts and feelings connected to it. Dwelling in the Word is not about trying to figure out the “objective” meaning of the passage, but rather, it’s meaning for you – so, for example, in the Exodus reading 2:23-3:12, you might think about what it is like to be Moses and see the amazing vision of the bush burning but not being destroyed. Then ask yourself, how might the Spirit of God be speaking to you, or nudging you through what you have heard?

Every time you hear the passage – and especially as you describe to someone else how you feel the Spirit “nudging” you – you may well hear something different. That’s how the Holy Spirit works through Scripture; the words remain the same, but you and your situation are different from day to day, and so there is always something fresh that God can say to you through any given passage: a word of comfort, direction, challenge, insight, wisdom, etc.
So please listen, share, and try to catch God’s nudges!
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PARISH CALENDAR THIS WEEK
6/16     Vestry                   7:30 pm, Rath House
6/17     Bible Study        10:15 am, Rath House
             Book Group       7:30 pm, Rath House
6/18    HE & Breakfast  7:00 am, Church
    
And please check the calendar on our website for the full listing of groups and events in our buildings.
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FOR ALL THE SAINTS
Evelyn Underhill, Theologian and Mystic, d. June 15, 1941
“To go up alone into the mountains and come back as an ambassador to the world, has ever been the method of humanity's best friends.”
“The windows of Christ's Mysteries split the [Light] up into many-coloured loveliness, disclose all of its hidden richness...make its beauty more accessible to us...And within this place we too are bathed in the light transmitted by the windows, a light which is yet the very radiance of Eternity. “

Evelyn Underhill was born in 1875 and grew up in London. Her friends included Laurence Housman (poet and brother of the poet A E  Housman) and Sarah Bernhardt (actress), and Baron Friedrich von Huegel, a writer on theology and mysticism. Largely under his guidance, she embarked on a life of reading, writing, meditation, and prayer. From her studies and experience she produced a series of books on contemplative prayer. The list includes the following (I have starred the ones that seem to be most widely read or highly regarded):  
 1902 The Bar-lamb's Ballad (poetry)  
 1911 Mysticism **  
 1913 The Mystic Way *  
 1913 Immanence (poetry)  
 1927 Man and the Supernatural
 1936 Worship ***  
 1938 The Mystery of Sacrifice

Miss Underhill (Mrs. Hubert Stuart Moore) taught that the life of contemplative prayer is not just for monks and nuns, but can be the life of any Christian who is willing to undertake it. She also taught that modern psychological theory, far from being a threat to contemplation, can fruitfully be used to enhance it. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time as a lecturer and retreat director. She died on June 15, 1941. ~ James Kiefer http://satucket.com/lectionary/Evelyn_Underhill.htm
Questions for reflection: How do you pray best, most easily? With words; listening to music; having structured and formal prayers; while walking or running; journaling; sitting in quiet, comfortable silence with God; praying out loud with words from your own heart? Is there a different style of prayer that you would like to try?
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“The full Christian life of prayer swings to and fro between adoration and action.  We must be sure that the outward swing toward God is full, generous, unhurried, brimming with joy.  Many of us live exacting lives of service full of hard material problems.  If we can acquire the determination that nothing shall turn us from a steady daily habit of loving adoration, our prayer will be full of loving intimacy and awe.  Then we shall have the best of all helps for the maintenance of the soul's energy and peace, and we will serve God with a quiet mind.” ~ Evelyn Underhill
Blessings,
Vicki+

Pictured above are Evening Prayer, by Jean-Francois Millet; and a photo of prayer walkers in Pittsburgh, by J.L Martello.