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Dear Creator Family,
I want to thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts during this period of my surgery and convalescence. I am especially thankful to our Morning Prayer leaders, Cheryl Duhan, Delisa Downey, and Will Burk, who stepped in to keep our worship life regular and robust. Their willingness to serve enabled me the time that I need to recover a bit and granted me the wonderful experience of attending Morning Prayer via Zoom with other members of our Parish family. I also want to give special thanks to Mary Ford, our Parish Secretary, who has been alone in the office (actually, that may have been a blessing) and has managed all of our administrative processes over the last three weeks. Tomorrow is Administrative Professionals Day. What better day or time of year to call, send a note, or stop by to let Mary know how much we appreciate her! Mary is truly a partner in ministry and a steward of our parish family. I am continuing to mend, and I will be working in the office with Mary several days each week over the coming month. In addition, I believe I am mobile enough to officiate at this week's Sunday service. I look forward to seeing everyone for this blessed service of joy as we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord through the Easter season. Personally, I am very much looking forward to celebrating and receiving the Holy Sacrament, something I have desperately missed. God bless your week ahead! Fr. Bill+
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I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
During the Easter season, we celebrate the truth of the living Christ. With perfect love, Jesus assured us before his crucifixion that death would not be the end for him or for us. In celebrating Easter, we rejoice that Jesus Christ lives—and we with him, not only then, but now; not just for some, but for all. Jesus came and comes to heal the brokenhearted, deliver the captives, recover sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are bruised (see Luke 4:18). That’s each of us. His redeeming promises apply, no matter our past, our present, or concerns for our future. It is by the truth of his promise and through the truth of his resurrection that we cry “Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9). The word Hosanna means “save now.” While we use the term weekly in our Eucharistic service, it is especially vivid and meaningful in Eastertide as the very realization of a promise made by Christ—and before Christ—has come true, as promised, on Easter morn. “Hosanna!” We make this our cry as we embrace our salvation in He who is life and light. And we cry Hallelujah (“praise ye the Lord”), for we recognize that Jesus came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. “Living Easter” is really just living; living into the truth of a life given for and given up so that we might truly live—every moment. Hosanna! Halleluia! (And Happy Easter) Fr. Bill+ Dear Creator Family,
What a joyful Easter celebration we had as we gathered on Resurrection Sunday! The bright sunshine and brisk spring air were tangible reminders of a God who makes all things new. It was wonderful to see our sanctuary filled with so many of our Parish Family and those who joined us to worship on this most blessed day. I pray that the scent of the altar lilies, the image of the colorfully flowered cross, and the familiar and celebratory hymns stay with you this week and throughout the Easter season. We certainly have something to sing about – a God who heals, renews, abides, comforts, calls, waits and walks with us every step. Even in those dark and troubling times of our lives, it is God, the eternal “spring,” who makes life as fresh and new as our Easter Sunday proclamation. I pray that you will know how completely “Christ is risen” in your life. Speaking of healing, I feel a special blessing as I enter into this first week after Easter and embark on a long-awaited surgical adventure. Today, Tuesday, I will undergo a near-complete rebuild of my right shoulder. As you might expect, I am a bit anxious and also hopeful. I am ready to be free from the pain and discomfort that this aging joint has caused me for many seasons, but also apprehensive about what lies ahead. I’m sure there are many who can relate to this complicated and trepidatious feeling. I have as my comfort the Easter promises we so recently sang about and the prayer and fellowship of our parish family. I am grateful for the many leaders, servers, overseers, planners, and doers that keep the rhythm of our corporate life steady and sure. Special thanks to the Altar Guild this season, who give their care and time each season—every Sunday!—but who bear an extra burden in this one. Thank you to the Vestry members who stepped up to help, and to Barbara for coordinating and overseeing such a meaningful liturgical time in our corporate life. Thank you also to the willing lay leaders and readers who offer themselves, lend their voices, and make our worship truly shared. I am grateful for the ushers who guide and make newcomers feel comfortable. I am grateful for our A/V specialist and for all those who make a point of “Zooming” with us to enlarge our worship space by the miles! There are so many who are an integral part of our worship life! Please make a point of attending on Morning Prayer Sunday(s)—obviously to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” but also to support our lay leadership. I am looking forward to convalescence at home before beginning the hard (and long-anticipated) physical therapy. Please keep me and our parish family members in your prayers. Where would we be without the care and intercessions of our Body? It is such a gift to offer our spiritual focus to God on behalf of another. Thank you for keeping our parish family strong in prayer and in care. My heart and spirit are with you in this blessed season of Easter. Recovering in Christ, Fr. Bill+ |
AuthorFather Bill Burk† Archives
September 2024
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