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The Fledgling--Week of December 18, 2020
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(Thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers! With two negative covid tests under our belts, I can jubilantly say that Ben and I are officially back safe and sound from Missouri.)
This week, we have the annual St. John's Advent Lessons and Carols. This is always a wonderful occasion--made all the more poignant this year by the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
One of the carols our choir will include is an arrangement of Adam Lay Ybounden. I really like this carol, both because it's one of the more famous Anglican choral works (you always hear it during Lessons and Carols from Kings College on Christmas Eve), and because it's a wonderful, strange text.
From all we can gather, the text of the carol is from at least the 15th century, though it probably dates earlier in oral tradition. The words describe a medieval belief that Adam (and Eve, one guesses) spent 4,000 years bound in hell after the Fall in the Garden, until such time as Christ descended into hell and brought them out. All of this was for an apple, the text marvels, with the implication that it might have been some divine overkill.
However, the text goes on to assert something that we don't hear often--if the apple had never been eaten, then never would Mary have had cause to bear the holy Child--and for this reason, we may sing, Thanks be to God. Essentially, it flips original sin on its head, and rejoices that even our faults become the site of God's redemption.
This isn't as wacky as it might immediately sound--Thomas Aquinas (again, 15th century) mused that stealing the apple was "Felix culpa". But it's also not a strand of thought we in the modern church hear much of. It's easier by far to categorize sin as a simple shameful thing, rather than a complex mechanism that eventually brings about God's glorious redemption.
Truth is, perhaps, that both are true. That God somehow, even in the midst of our poor choices and our stumbling, manages to bring something even more glorious out of it. And that, while we can still regret and lament the consequences of our sins, that God's work in the world is entirely unhampered by our human mischief. God brings about humanity's redemption and flourishing whether or not we manage to get it all perfect.
So, as we approach the waning days before Christmas, rest assured in the knowledge that Christ appears in our world, whether or not we achieve perfection--or even mediocrity!--in these times. Christ appears just by his own power, and his own deep, boundless love.
If you have a submission to the Fledgling, send it to the office by Thursday morning for inclusion on Friday. Bulletin announcements should be into the office by Wednesday morning.
- If you know of someone who would like to receive the Fledgling, please send their email to the office.
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Prayer for the week
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen..
Readings for the week
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Have you had coffee/tea/hot cider with Mtr Megan? Send me an email and we'll set up Skype/Facetime and chat! It's fun (I promise) and we can still meet while we're staying safe right now.
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Re-Gathering at St. John's
ADVENT LESSONS & CAROLS NEWS - Sunday, December 20, at 10:30, our Cyber Choirs and parish musicians offer an online service blending scripture and song in worship as we prepare for the Birth of Jesus.
Incarnational News: We will have two Christmas Eve services. The 5pm service will be live-streamed from the sanctuary, and will be Evening Prayer.
The 7pm service will be prerecorded, and feature choral music and beloved sing-along carols. We will also have a live-streamed Morning Prayer on Christmas Day at 10:30am from the sanctuary.
The diocese will also have a Christmas Eve service (including music from our stellar choir and music director!) at 4pm.
Very Silly News: A few brave parishioners have been hard at work on a Christmas Pageant, to brighten this dim season of 2020. Look for its appearing on FB and YouTube on Monday, Dec 21.
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Envelopes are here! If you regularly use stewardship envelopes, it is likely we ordered them for you for 2021. Please contact the office to arrange how we can get them to you.
We are wrapping up our Annual Stewardship Campaign over the next few weeks. If you haven't returned your Pledge card, please drop it by the Office, or put it in the mail. If you need another pledge card, email AnnMarie and she will send you one.
Most of all, thank you to everyone for your prayers, your faithfulness, and your support of the work we do at St. John's.
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Laundry Love Returns!
We are working to re-open Laundry Love, in a pandemic-safe way. If you would like to volunteer, and help our neighbors obtain clean clothes in these uncertain times, please send the office an email. Because Loaves and Fishes is no longer serving in person, our hours for LL may change from when we were previously open, but by getting on the volunteer list now, you can ensure that you'll be the first to know!
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Schedule this week:
Daily Morning Prayer: 9:30am on FB Live and YouTube Live
Adult Education: 9am: Reclaiming the Book of Revelation: Zoom link here
Sunday Morning Worship: 10:30 on Facebook Live or YouTube Live
Wednesday Evening Eucharist: On Pause due to bishop's directive
Virtual Coffee hour Zoom at 11:30am (We have a new Zoom Link! It's below!)
NEW Zoom link here.
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Adult Forum is unpacking the book of Revelation! Ever wonder about the apocalypse? Worried 2020 might be it? Come ask any and all questions as we dive deep into the scariest/most misunderstood book of the Bible! The book we will be reading alongside is Barbara Rossing's Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation Everyone is welcome! Zoom link is here.
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Important Announcement:
IN PREPARATION FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING IN JANUARY 2021 please take note that qualified voters are defined by NYS law and the canons of the Diocese as follows: persons of full age belonging to the parish, who have been baptized and are in regular attendance at its worship and contributors to its support for at least twelve months prior (i.e., since January 2020).
If you have any question about your membership at St. John's, please contact AnnMarie in the office for clarification. If you are new to St John's since February 2020, and have not yet transferred your membership in writing, please contact the office so that you will be eligible to vote in 2021. If you have not been a regular contributor (i.e. made and fulfilled a pledge or been a regular contributor of record), please contact the Treasurer (Mary Arlin) to rectify this before December 31.
Anyone standing for election as a vestry member must meet these same qualifications. Wardens and delegates must also be confirmed members of The Episcopal Church.
Annual Meeting will be held immediately following the service on January 21 via Zoom.
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Advent 4 Resources
Bulletin for Lessons and Carols is here
Online Prayerbook is here
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Resources for Anti-Racism/Solidarity Work:
Are you in need of a new faith based podcast to listen to? Why not choose one from a voice from someone different than you? There's this one, called Prophetic Resistance. Give it a shot!
We're about to hit the new liturgical year, and that means resolutions. If you want to do more intentional anti-racist work, but don't know where to start, check out My Work To Do: an online group for white folks who want to talk about race, but don't know how, or where to start. (Bonus: it's pay what you want, too!)
Did you know about the Episcopal Public Policy Network? This is an office of the Episcopal Church in Washington DC that is responsible for conveying the values expressed by General Convention to federal lawmakers. And you can help! You can sign up to be informed about weekly actions they take here, and write your representatives with your concerns as a faithful member of the church.
We will continue to post information on protests and ways to support in a timely fashion on the parish FB page.
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