buildings & grounds

 

“Do you see these great buildings?”

And now a word from our building committee…

Do you see these great buildings?

Well, guess what…

It’s a heck of a time to bring up such things. This is Stewardship Season, after all. So it’s a good thing it is also Gratitude Season. 

Traditionally this time of year is called, with some derision, the October Ask-a-thon. That is because once a year congregations plan their budgets and how to meet them. And so, modeling on the old sobriety pledge, many congregations ask for a simple commitment, based on faith, that will guide their financial movements during the next year. 

This causes some anxiety. After all, who knows what is going to happen? And who knows, really, if they will be able to meet any promise they make ahead of time?

Piled on top of that are the real worries that gather. Personal tragedies, uncertainties, infirmities. Social and public problems. Extreme weather events that make the inconvenient truth of climate change all too real. It is scary. 

And there is frustration. But we are not the first to face these fears. The people of God have experienced fear before.

Anticipations and predictions of the end of all things are not new. 

For the people huddled around the reassuring, well somewhat reassuring, figure of Jesus, there was personal impoverishment, the oppression of an occupation under the Roman Empire, and the frequent rumors of revolutionary change.

Since their time, there have been times of plague and times of war. Empires rose and fell. Strange new places have become home. And familiar places have been transformed.

Through all these times there has been a thread of hope. We sing the songs of ancient times, brought forward into the present, because they remind us of things that last, that remain true.

We pray. We sing. We celebrate the Eucharist, we baptize the new to faith and welcome the stranger. We tell the story of love.

We can see beyond our anxiety and predictions of destruction to something that lasts. And that is God’s faithfulness.

 

“My heart exults; my strength is exalted in my God;” even, “my mouth derides my enemies”, all these are words of praise and even joy from Hannah which we hear echoed from Mary in the Magnificat when she sings “my soul magnifies the Lord”. 

Hannah says “those were full now scrounge for bread” and Mary says “the rich he sends empty away”--  these are words of joyous praise for that they are certainly words of assurance of God’s faithfulness and vindication.

The letter to the Hebrews assures us that having been forgiven and accepted by God we can approach his throne -- and we can approach life -- with confidence: for he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. He is faithful and our hope is sure.

And so we pass from gratitude to confidence in knowing that the promise of the one in whom we put our trust is sure: he is faithful and this gives us the attitude, the fortitude, the ---,  to face the new possibilities that come with troubled times. He is faithful: confidence, gratitude, Steadfast hope.

Martin Luther put his finger on something we do well to remember today. We do not give out of fear or obligation, we do not obey in order to be safe: we are saved. That single offering by Christ has once for all made our hopes sure and our faith complete.

We respond to God’s grace with gratitude and in gratitude we respond with our lives, our hearts, all we have to offer; and this is what it means to say all things come from God and of his own I have given him. For he is the source of all being and from him is the satisfaction of our hearts: all we do in gratitude is from the eternal words spoken for all. “You are my beloved child.”

When David dedicated the site of the temple he offered the first fruits of the harvest in thanksgiving. Even of the building materials he brought to the site he said “all this abundance we have provided for a house for your holy name comes from you and is all your own”. In that new confidence in the love of God the gifts, the faith in the Lord, and obedience of a faithful servant, are all offerings given freely and joyfully.

Over and over again we hear in the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Song of Hannah that was our response to the first reading today, of God’s steadfastness. We hear of the grace of God and love of God that last forever. And we hear also of how the people of God have responded with gratitude and love. 

And we hear of how God has vindicated the downfallen, protected the poor, and liberated the oppressed. And the people of God have been the hands of hope that have fashioned the future.

In other words (and council, cover your ears) what really lasts is not our structures, or even our achievements, but the love of God and our love for God and of each other and all of creation.

But don’t shred that pledge card yet!

It still has a purpose.

For the living church that is built is built out of our hearts, our hands, and our response of gratitude for all that God is accomplishing – including in us and through us … and despite us.

Christ’s work in us is not on some ethereal, ideal, unreal plane, but is accomplished here and now, where we can see it.

Indeed, we recall the apostle who said, “I speak to you of what I have seen and heard and held in my arms.”

“We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—” (1 Jn 1.1)

God’s love is physical – manifest – at work in the world. That this world is made by God and saved by God and charged with the power of God is what Incarnation is all about.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (Jn 3.16)

Therefore we acknowledge that all is gift: every day is a gift, every breath, even all we accomplish, comes as a gift from God and so we pray, along with the ancient servant of God, “…all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” (1 Ch 29:14b)

That familiar prayer of offering comes from the first book of Chronicles, from the story of how David, at the end of his long and eventful life, came within an inch of his dream, to build a house for God, and indeed laid the foundation for what his son Solomon would accomplish. The building of the first Temple, the magnificent structure and opulent furnishings the Torah describes.

That Temple was destroyed, the people it sheltered scattered and dispersed among the nations surrounding them. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and forgotten lands beyond, became the new homes of a generation of pilgrims, of refugees that would never see what they had left behind. 

Instead their children and grandchildren who returned found a lot of work to be done, to reclaim what they could of what had been lost, and to build a shallow replica of what had gone before.

Among them also were those who did the more glorious work of reclaiming the spiritual heritage, bringing back with them solid achievements of preserving past teachings and developing new understanding of the living truth of the love of God for humankind.

And the Temple that was eventually built was grand indeed, great indeed, and its builders were put to the work by a king himself called Great, Herod, whose monuments still rear above the inhabitants of Palestine and Israel. His tomb, his retreat at Masada, the Temple remnant we now call the Western Wall. 

When Jesus asked, “Do you see these great buildings?” it was those proud structures he was talking about. 

What was happening, on the surface, was an occupation, an oppression, a time of turmoil, disturbance, and woe. But what was really going on, deep in the hidden purposes of God, was the building of a new Temple, a new house of God, that is his people.

Those are the living stones: the people to whom Jesus preached and ministered and brought salvation. And it is the building up of that living Temple, not made by hands, to which we are called. 

Direct our hearts to you O God:

For you are the source of all being, eternal word and Holy Spirit. Amen.

November 14th 2021

BProper28(33) 

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Pentecost/BProp28_RCL.html

Daniel 12:1-3

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25

Mark 13:1-8

Meeting Jesus Again for the Last Time

For the Feast of Christ the King

In the 1920s in the era of Mussolini and Hitler, of Weimar and upheaval, the roaring 20s, the pope became concerned that the government was taking on itself almost divine pretensions. And so he decreed a new festival: Christ the King, that we now celebrate on the last Sunday before Advent. It foreshadows the theme of that season, indeed, as we anticipate the arrival of our true emperor but in the form of a baby. Nativity of our Lord we anticipate; in the meantime we have this reminder and summary of where the story ends: "in a scene beyond dreams" as Michael Been and The Call once sang. In fact the season of Advent, which we anticipate on the Sunday next before Advent, heralds the once and future king: the arrival of the infant and again the One who comes on clouds of glory at the consummation of time. 

This of course reminds us in salutary fashion of what it means to appear before the king: what have you been doing in my absence? We hear over the course of the church year numerous examples of a landlord who returns: the one, for example, who sets up tenants with a vineyard, winepress, and tower, and then sets off for a far country, only to return and summon his tenants to a reckoning; or the one who invests three servants with sums of money - talents - and then leaves for awhile, returning to ask how they have done with the wealth entrusted to them. 

There is hell to pay, or heaven to be enjoyed, depending on the stewardship of the ones holding trust.

Of course this does not just mean talents, as in large sums of money, or in the English-language pun, gifts and capabilities of said servants. It means all we are invested with, all we are given, as creatures of God and caretakers of God's creation. Genesis 1: dominion, meaning oversight, meaning care, with the obvious expectation, Don't wreck it! Take care of it!

Have we done so? Shall we do so? We are invited into this kingdom of harmony not discord, of wealth or at least not want, of freedom of joy not fear, of worship not obeisance, of a freedom not dependent on men or women, but on the ultimate service, the one that no other allegiance stands beside, our perfect freedom as ones who serve him and him only - all other allegiances are subject, contingent, on this first loyalty.

That does not mean of course that we exercise that allegiance by following our personal feelings at the expense of the legitimate duties of a citizen, a husband or father, a mother, wife, or daughter; it does mean that we know that these roles and services are in loyalty to something greater than themselves. All those laws, commandments, and prophecies that Israel collected in ancient days were indeed part of their covenant relationship with the Holy. How we treat each other is how that relationship plays out. It is not just prayer; not just alms giving or charitable contributions, not even a pledge drive response, but our whole selves that God calls us to put into right relationship: with God and therefore with others and our selves. 

***

A friend of mine had a funny job: he called it "talking to murderers." To make it even funnier, that is what he did. He got in his car, said good-bye to his wife, drove over the hill, and went behind bars, into a maximum-security state prison. And there he would listen to someone say, when I get out of this place, I'm going to find the guy who put me here, and I'm going to kill him. And then, they would ask my friend, are you going to tell them I said that? And my friend would say, yes. Because that was his job: he was evaluating their psychological fitness for parole. It got kind of wearing. Talking to murderers. Being alone with them locked up in a little room while they told you what they did, what they had done, what they were planning to do.

When Emma Lazarus wrote that poem "the new Colossus" that is on the base of the statue of Liberty, she left out a few things. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore" - but she didn't say, give me your murderers, give me your rapists, give me your armed robbers, give me even the worst of your self. But that is what Jesus got, when he said, I was in prison and you visited me. That is who he meant. 

Before my friend told me about his job, I found out about someone else, a combat veteran who would, after Sunday mass, get in his car, said good-bye to his wife, and head to that same prison, where he would talk to murderers. He did it, I discovered, because of something in the gospel that was read today. I was in prison and you visited me. Jesus didn't say, I won't look very nice. You won't recognize me. I stink and I will scare you. You will be afraid of me. No, he did not say that. 

We don't expect to see the face of Christ in someone so reprehensible. But I don't think Jesus left anyone out. His kingdom takes all kinds. Even us. Even the wretched refuse of our lives.

And somehow in those wretched awful people and the wretched awful parts of our own lives, still he is king.

Still when we get to the end of time and stand before the throne of God, we will find ourselves looking at - ourselves... and the worst of us, the worst of human nature, redeemed in what can only be divine strength. 

For he embraces us, as we are. He does not crown us or condone us. No when he is talking to murderers, rapists, and armed robbers, he does not say, never mind, forget it, it does not matter, you do not matter: he says I love you nevertheless. 

And so I love your friend too, this one over here, who has seen more firearms than most felons ever have, the one who came to visit me, the old veteran of a forgotten army, who heard what I had to say in the gospel: I was in prison and you came to see me. 

Not very nice people. But somehow redeemed. Only one king can do that, the one we celebrate today.

Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King AProper29 Track Two (OT reading complementary to Gospel).

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp29_RCL.html

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 , Psalm 95:1-7a , Ephesians 1:15-23 , Matthew 25:31-46 . 

http://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5TfrUAqh8w The Call, Scene Beyond Dreams (1984)

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/november-22-roc-matthew-2531-46

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3PrB9Xwnc

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

Dear Beloved Child of God:

On my way to work one morning, on a day in New York some years ago, I took a slightly different route, and decided to stop at a street vendor for something to eat. As I approached the pushcart I saw two Middle Eastern looking men beside it, one tending the wagon. The other man was singing, and dancing. He was singing, in Arabic, Thanks be to God! Thanks be to God! as he danced in joyous circles on the sidewalk pavement. Sorry, he said, got carried away. No need to apologize, my friend: Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice! There is never a wrong time to praise God or thank God. Indeed, give thanks in all things, on all days, with a grateful heart. That is our theme this harvest season: give thanks with a grateful heart.

The stewardship committee has asked me to extend to you their invitation, on behalf of the parish, to give thankfully of what God has given you. What we receive we receive from God; all we have and all we are. We as God’s people have the right and the gift of making an offering of thanks. What we hope to do through our financial contributions to the ministries of the church is to enable it to carry on in its mission – which is the mission of Christ in this place, among these people we discover to be our neighbors.

Who is my neighbor? Near or far, humble or proud, strange or strangely familiar, my neighbor is a person like myself in one, chief, important thing: my neighbor is made in the image of God; my neighbor is one whom Jesus loves. Our mission is to bring that love into the world.

Together as we pursue our common mission let us put on Christ – and receive, and give, with joy and grateful hearts, in thanksgiving.

Faithfully yours,

Father John

The Rev. John Leech

Priest and Rector

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

Look back with gratitude,
Look forward with anticipation,
In all things give thanks.

—Christine Sine

(http://msainfo.us/2012/07/31/grateful-heart/)

October 2012

Stewardship Letter 2011

October 4, 2011

Dear Friends in Christ:

One of the most revered saints in the Christian calendar is Francis of Assisi. We celebrate his feast every October. We remember his generosity, his gratitude, and his desire to follow and imitate Jesus Christ. Early in the thirteenth century he gathered together the “little brothers” (Friars Minor) who followed a simple rule of life. They prayed, preached – and begged. They were “mendicant” friars, which meant that every day they sought donations for charity and for their own needs.

One of the most beloved of the early friars was Brother Juniper. Brother Juniper was patient and kind and humble. He knew Brother Francis tried to imitate Christ and to follow in His footsteps. But Brother Juniper thought himself too lowly to follow Christ directly. So he tried to follow Francis as Francis followed Christ, and he did it step by step. Francis moved his right foot, Juniper moved his right foot, Francis moved his left foot…

Another time, when Brother Juniper was visiting a small priory, all the other friars had to go out for some good reason and left him to prepare the evening meal for their return. “It’s too bad,” he said to himself, “that every day somebody has to go out and collect donations and cook when this is all a distraction from their prayers. I can take care of this need for the next two weeks.” So he went out and begged up a storm – into pots he had collected he poured water and into the water went whole chickens (un-plucked) and fresh eggs (un-shelled). When the friars got home there was Brother Juniper dancing around from pot to pot stirring his amazing concoction. And then he served up his feast…

The Brothers could not be angry, not for long. They rejoiced in their brother’s simple good will and generosity. And of course they dined out on the story for many a year.

Reflecting on his brother’s example of extreme gratitude, radical hospitality, and wild simplicity, Saint Francis exclaimed, “O! That we had a forest of such Junipers.”

We are not nearly so simple or systematic as the humble Brother Juniper. But we can rejoice and celebrate God’s abundance in our own way and feast on gratitude for God’s care and love for us. Whether we are giving for the feast in thanks or receiving from it with grateful hearts, we know that all we have is from God. And for that we rejoice.

Would you like to share in the feast? Would you make a gift toward our feast of gratitude this year? We promise not to cook it all at once … but we do plan to stir something up!

St. Alban’s Church seeks to be a welcoming, Christ-centered community committed to sharing Christ’s love, empowering people to grow spiritually, deepening our relationship with Christ and living out our faith in our community and the world.



The Rev. John Leech, Priest and Rector

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church
21405 82nd Place West
Edmonds, WA 98026
Phone: 425-778-0371
info@stalbansedmonds.org

(Stories from the life of brother Juniper as told by his little brothers, and retold in English by Raphael Brown.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oh, what the heck. It sounds simple enough to me! Throw this in the pot:

God willing
my/our intention is to make a financial contribution to St Alban’s Episcopal
Church as an offering of thanks to God for all he has given.

My/our prayerful commitment to a giving plan for 2012:
__$............................. per week
__$............................. per month
__$............................. per year
Name: ……………………………………………………………………………………
Address: ………………………………...……………..…………….…………….……..
City, State, Zip: …………………………………………………………….…………….
Telephone: …………………………………………………...…………………………..
Email: ……………………………………………….……………………………………
How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?
Psalm 116:10 (Book of Common Prayer)
__I/we prefer not to have envelopes for my/our weekly offering.
__I/we would like to include St Alban’s in my/our estate planning.

Please respond by November 6, 2011 (our celebration of All Saints and blessing of offerings)
Let us join in giving thanks for God's abundance.
St Alban’s Episcopal Church, 21405 82nd Place West, Edmonds WA 98026
(425) 778-0371 info@stalbanedmonds.org
StAlbansEdmonds.org

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Stewardship at St. Alban's

Stewardship at St. Alban’s Church

As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of the gifts that God has entrusted to our care. Part of this calling involves putting those gifts to work to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can do that through our stewardship and planned gifts to Our church.

While stewardship does indeed involve giving away money, it is more than philanthropy. Just as Christians are called to worship in community, participate in Eucharist, serve the poor and needy in the wider world, and share the Gospel with others, we are called to be good stewards, to thank God by giving back a portion of what God has given to us.

Stewardship teaches that all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. We are, therefore, stewards of God's gifts during our lifetime. Discerning and carrying out God's purpose is the primary purpose of our lives. The gifts we have been given are to be used for that purpose. The primary role of the church is to guide individuals in development of their vocation as Christian persons, to discern the mission of their lives and the use of their resources in accomplishing it.

Ways to be Grateful, Glad and Giving

At St. Alban’s, there are many ways to be grateful for the many gifts we receive from God, glad for the many blessing in our lives, and giving of our love, our work, our prayer, and our good fortune.

Community Outreach

On the first Sunday of each month we take up a special collection to benefit area food banks, in Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, and north Seattle. On the third Sunday of each month we take up a special collection for outreach, offering support to an organization that benefits the local, global or church community in some way. On the second Sunday of each month, the undesignated (“loose”) offering goes into the rector’s Discretionary Fund.

The Hands-on Committee invites everyone to join them in working directly to benefit the needy in our communities, through volunteer opportunities for direct service in various community organizations.

Annual Stewardship Campaign

In the fall we host our annual stewardship campaign where we ask for pledges of financial support for the upcoming year. This year our campaign will begin with the Bishop’s visit, Sunday, September 25th, when we all celebrate the Eucharist together in one combined service at 9:00 a.m. After coffee he will lead us in a congregational meeting on stewardship.

The month of October will feature many ways to pledge support for St. Alban’s Church and ensure you are grateful, glad and giving. Our fall campaign will conclude on Sunday, November 7th, with an ingathering and blessing of pledges.

As you can see there are many ways to give to the church and through the church to help the church continue to serve the needs of our community and create apostles in Christ. If you would like to serve on the stewardship campaign team or give to the church in another way please contact senior warden Kären Ford or any member of the stewardship committee. You may also contact our church office for more details.


How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?
Psalm 116:10 (Book of Common Prayer)

—Your Stewardship Committee: Kären Ford (Chair), Karen Cresse, Eric Hanson, Susie Nichols, Morrie Tugby.

Saint Alban's Episcopal Church, 21405 82nd Place West, Edmonds, WA 98026 (425) 778-0371 stalbansedmonds.org

3 strangers

Three strangers came to the tent. Abraham and Sarah had journeyed far – from northern Iraq, across Syria and down through Canaan and on into Egypt (where they had many adventures) and then back to Canaan.

Here they were: their flocks and herds around them. They pitched their tent under the oak trees. Strangers came – and were welcomed.

Stay with us Lord and rest your feet. Sit in the shade under this tree. Let me bring you something to drink. Quick! Prepare a meal, a fine feast

The guests, receiving hospitality, now offer their hosts a gift: a promise of a future with hope. You will have a son.

Sarah cannot believe it – she laughs to herself behind the flap of the tent – and she is afraid when they catch her out: “O but you did laugh.”

When the promise comes true, how does she feel?

It was a happy meeting. They name the child Isaac (Laughter).

Remembering and celebrating a promise fulfilled, the beginning of a hopeful future – with descendants that would outnumber the stars – all God’s doing – but God can raise up sons to Abraham from these stones.

It was faith that singled Abraham out. In faith he received the promise – and his true legacy is faith.

His true descendants and heirs are those who are heirs through hope – of the promise of God – and that hope is found in Jesus Christ.

It is through him, through Christ, that the basis of faith, of hope, and of love is revealed.

The gospel from Matthew today is the conclusion of his last chapter, a chapter that began with women going to the tomb of Jesus about the break of day.

“He has been raised,” they were told, “from the dead and is going on before you into Galilee; there you will see him.” They got the message and spread the news.

And the disciples did go to Galilee – they made their way to a mountain and Jesus met them there. They greet him, believers and doubters alike, shoulder to shoulder; they greet him as the holy one of God: they worship him. And now in a few quick words the risen Lord Jesus say so much.

“All authority has been given me on heaven and on earth.” He is the only Son of the Father, the one true living God who created all things. There is no other.

And this Jesus, now risen Lord, has a message for his disciples. A big task lies ahead. His earthly mission has ended.

The mission of the church now begins. So – he commissions them, and he empowers them.

He sends them forth to build his church, to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, and to bring its reality into the midst of the earth and all its peoples.

“Make all people my disciples; baptize them everywhere in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; teach them to do all I have commanded you to do.”

As you have learned from me so go and teach. As I have made you disciples, disciple them. From here on the legacy now passes from one to another, from generation to generation. What I have given you – all that you have received, you must now pass on.

You will not be alone. For Emmanuel, God-with-us, says: I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Past, present, and future come together in this moment at the foundation of the Church.

On this mountain Jesus brings forth something beyond what Moses received on Sinai. He brings forth the living presence of God to accompany his messengers throughout the earth.

Worship, go, evangelize – and remember. Remember the promise given to Abraham and Sarah. Remember that their true descendants are the people of faith.

And remember Alban’s testimony to the one true living God who created all things.

Alban was living in a Roman town north of London when he found faith – or it found him. It came to his door in the person of a priest, fugitive in a time of persecution.

He sheltered the priest, welcomed him, gave him hospitality and safety, learned from him about ‘the one true living God who made all things’, and came to believe – so that he stood in the place of the priest and gave his life.

Hospitality, courage, and faith.

For his witness, for his faithfulness, he was executed, and won a crown in glory.

His faith we count as righteousness. It was his steadfast trust and witness that brought home to the people of the town the truth of the faith of the one true God.

What Alban did, living in his place in his time, was create a legacy of lasting witness.

People go there still, to the place where he was martyred, on pilgrimage, to the place so many now have gone before, where Alban simply stood the test of faith.

We may not be called to die by the sword but we may be called to simple witness to the truth of Christ, the promise of God, the faithful future, as heirs of hope that we like sons of Abraham may be raised up, may growth as heirs of hope and forebears of faith.

Courage, compassion, generosity, and hospitality – these gifts of faith are Alban’s legacy.

Fearless in the face of danger, Alban would not give up his faith. He testified to God’s truth.

Courage, compassion, and generosity; hospitality, bold truth telling, and unswerving faith, Alban in simple words led the way, a way so many pilgrims follow.

He followed the way of Christ through the Cross to Resurrection, through acceptance of Jesus’ gift on their behalf – and yes, its necessity – to a new life, a new way of living.

His allegiance was no longer to the gods of Rome, the gods of empire, the gods of greed, wealth, envy, instant gratification, the flash beauty of surface appearance, power, or hate.

Jesus calls all people to himself through all his people

All authority on earth and in heaven has been given to me; go – spread the good news.

Spread it to all nations and all generations – let this be your legacy, the living truth of the living God. He is Lord indeed.


O God, our Father, who gave to your servant Alban the gifts of faith, hospitality, compassion, generosity and courage, and sent people forth across the world to carry the word of your gospel to every creature, grant, we pray, a like spirit to your church, even at this present time. Further in all things the purpose of our community, that hidden things may be revealed to us, and new ways found to touch the hearts of all. May we preserve with each other sincere charity and peace, and, if it be your holy will, grant that this church, a place of your abiding, continue still to be a sanctuary and a light. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance

"God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance,
so that by always having enough of everything,
you may share abundantly in every good work."
(2 Corinthians 9:8)




Dear friends in Christ:

"Happy Fall!" someone said to me the other day. Autumnal equinox was just hours in the past, and the weather sure had changed. We faced a gray cool day of soft rain.

My neighbor had greeted me with humor: and a sense of what was happening. At this time of year we see seasons change. It's harvest time, in orchard and vineyard, field and garden. We celebrate that. We give thanks and share God's abundance. It's a new year in schools and colleges. We celebrate that.

We look forward with anticipation as new things begin, even as the year's pace quicken, leaves turn, and the air is fresh and cool.

Creation celebrates a change of season - and so does the church. At this time of year, particularly, we gather to give thanks and share God's abundance. We give thanks for God's abundance shown in the harvest and in our own lives. We celebrate with hospitality and welcome the gift of each other, friend and stranger. We share God's abundance in joy, showing in our lives the gratefulness we feel in our hearts for all that God gives. For all we have, we receive from God; when we give, we give of his own.

This year our stewardship team invites us to rejoice and give thanks: God’s Promise is Abundance. When we present our offerings in the Holy Eucharist, we are celebrating God's abundant grace and responding in generous thanksgiving.

There is a Native American word, skookum - which means good, special, best, and gives us an image of bountiful goodness. That is what God gives to us: bountiful goodness. And that is what we return to God: a gift of the best of ourselves.

When we give, we offer a sense of hope in the future, an affirmation of continuing relationship with Christ's Church and a forward-looking faith in a generous God. Please consider prayerfully what God is calling you to share from the abundance that he has given you. What we call a 'pledge' is no more than this: an offering of intention. Your pledge helps us in planning for the future.

In all things we turn to God, knowing that what we give and what we have and what we will someday see, comes from God.

On Sunday, November 7, we will offer all our pledges on the altar in thanks giving for God’s many blessings. [Please return the enclosed card in the envelope provided, by mail or in Sunday's collection.]*

May God bless you in this season of harvest and thanks giving, and in the coming year.

Gratefully,


Fr. John

October 2010






St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 21405 82nd Place West, Edmonds, Washington 98026

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*Stewardship team reports that ..."all the Stewardship Letters and Pledge Cards went to the Post Office this morning." (Wednesday, October 6, 2010)

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Legacy Sunday 2010

What is it that we have to pass on? What is it that really matters? What is it that will last, beyond ourselves, into the future of the promise of God?

In the name of God, source of all being, eternal word, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

On the river last Monday, as Sarah and I were in our canoe sitting by a dock, we saw coming up the river a young woman in a large-brimmed straw hat, standing in the middle of a canoe, with a pole in her hand. It was our cousin Mary and she was poling her canoe upriver. She looked, Sarah said, like a picture that could have been out of the 19th century - had she been wearing a long dress instead of a more modern boating costume. And it was true; Mary was poling up the river just as she had been taught by her grandmother, whose own mother had indeed, pole in hand, in long tweed skirt, a Liberty print blouse with a Peter Pan collar, and a cardigan sweater - and pearls, traveled up that same river, standing in a canoe, propelling herself with a pole. The skill was taught them by an Ojibway river guide (and canoe builder) named Laroque. Great grandmother learned, then grandmother learned; then Grammy taught her daughters and grand daughters. And the knowledge of the river and the skill of the pole were passed along, a living tradition, from generation to generation. Were passed along; are passed along; will be passed along.

A living tradition is something we pass along, something that gives strength, something that gives skill and even power, to those coming along.

The first disciples, the witnesses to the life and death and resurrection and ascension of our Lord, passed along what they had seen and what they had heard, what they had touched with their hands and embraced in their arms, to those who came along after them. And what they received they also passed on. To you.

What we have received we must also pass along. And we must decide what matters, what matters most, and that is what we must make sure to share with the new generations that are coming along.

What is it that matters most to us? What is it that will last?

What we know, what we have received, as church, as the family of God, always sustains us through these several elements: the sacred Word, the story of the love of God for humankind; the water of Baptism, in which we receive a sign of new life in Christ; the wine and the bread, transformed for us and, received in faith, transforming us ourselves into the body of Christ; and then the gift of each other, that Body of which we are all members; and - the Holy Spirit, in which all this lives and moves and has its being.

These are things that we have received, that we live by, that we pass on. These things are all gifts given us to give others, to share with them the grace and peace of God.

For on the night before he was betrayed our Lord took the bread and blessed and broke it and distributed it to his friends, saying, this is my body broken for you: remember me whenever you do this. And at the end of the meal he took wine in a cup and passed it around, having first blessed it and said, this is my blood, shed for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, remember me.


In the first reading this morning we are confronted with a great man of God, Elijah the prophet, leader of the resistance by the followers of the Lord, as their own king turned from worship of the one true living God to the worship of idols, false gods, known as Ba'al. Elijah confronted the king, named Ahab, and said these words of power:

‘As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’ (1 Kings 17:1)

That was enough to get the message across to the king. Then Elijah following the Lord's command left the royal presence and travelled east of the Jordan to a stream called Cherith. There for a while he was safe, and survived, on food the Lord provided. The drought and the famine had come upon the land, however, and so eventually the stream dried up. Elijah gathered himself together and began walking, west and north. He left his homeland behind.

Eventually he made his way over toward the coast in the land of Sidon, where he came into a village.

A woman was there, and he approached. May I have some water? And, exhausted, famished, at his last strength, he asked one more gift. Could you give me even a morsel of bread?

She was famished too. She was down to the last of the food. She was at the end of her rope. She was a widow with one child, a son, and they were both about to have their last meal.

And yet, hearing his assurance of the Lord God's promise, this woman, outside of Israel, answered him. Yes. This is the last I have, but here--have this bit of food and water. And so they both began to regain their strength.

The book of Kings tells us they did not run out of food for many days. And then the worst blow fell. Her son, her only son,--had no life in him. What have you done? she cried. Why have you visited the wrath of my sins upon me? Why?

And Elijah, distressed, stretched himself upon the body --and prayed. God, bring this boy back to life.

And the boy lived, and the prophet gave the woman back her son.

On the strength of that encounter, that saving and sustaining grace, Elijah went in the power of the Spirit back to Israel and defeated the priests of the false worship. He did great and powerful things, or more accurately, prayer saw them happen in the will of God.


Jesus referred to this story of the widow and Elijah, when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth, his hometown. The widow of Zarephath was the one to whom the Lord sent Elijah, the prophet of God. And it was in her house that the real miracle began. It began with a little thing, that you could hold in your hand. More spectacular things were to follow; but first there was a handful of meal and an alabaster jar of oil, and a little morsel of faith.

From that small beginning came greater things. In the little feast they shared between them, the widow and the prophet laid a foundation of faith that God built upon, rebuilding the faith of the people of Israel. (It was like the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes.) Small beginnings, greater ends; simple things, made holy.

Jesus had told this story, and then moved on. He came to Capernaum, and a centurion sent to him, asking him to heal a very sick man, a slave of his. Jesus responded and came toward the house. But the centurion sent a message: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed. And so it was.

Jesus moved on again, coming into the town of Nain, and a large crowd was with him. They came upon another large crowd, in that town, a funeral procession carrying the only son of a widow to his grave.

Jesus sees what is going on; as he enters the place, a woman, a widow with only one child, a son, is there -- and she is already bereft of him, and of her future, her hope, embodied in that child of hers. Jesus knows -- and we know -- what that means. He stops the procession. Hold it right there!

The funeral march comes to a halt.

Then there came an extraordinary collision; the encounter of the power of life and of resurrection and hope with the power of death and anger and despair.

Jesus says to the woman, do not cry.

And then Jesus comes up to the bier and says: Young man, rise up!

And he does.

And the young man lives, and the Lord restores him to his mother.

A great prophet has arisen, the people say -- and well they might. You can hear the echoes of Elijah's story in this miracle of our Lord.

What is this about? Who is this that has such power over life and death -- and life beyond death? It is the Lord.

It was the Lord; the Lord before his own crucifixion, his own glorification, his own resurrection.

After Easter, His appearing to the disciples, the women at the tomb, the apostles, and many others, is the beginning of something new. He is the first born of the new creation, the first fruits of the resurrection. He tells us that there is something beyond life under the powers of this world, that life lived in God is life that lasts.

The Lord is Lord of life and death, and of life that lies beyond death. The hope of the resurrection, in the risen Christ, is not for the restoration of what was but of the beginning of what will be.

Even in death, we believe, life is changed, not ended. Changed. (Not a tape or a film rewound in the projector and played again, but the mounting of a new reel altogether.)

We are transformed in the newness of life.

Resurrection is not a return to the old life, but the creation of something new - it is moving forward, not back.

What we have to pass on is a living faith in a living God. It is renewal, it is new, it is life itself: it is life in Christ, not the old way of law and sin and death, but the way forward into life in Christ, into the kingdom that begins now, that indeed is all around us.

Bill Lewellis, a friend of mine, once explained that in the Celtic way of looking at things there is such a thing as a 'thin place', a place where the veil between this world and the next, the earthly realm and the heavenly, is thin and easily passed through. It is as if there were a membrane between the everyday and the eternal, and it is permeable somewhere, sometimes.

Then Bill went on to explain that the 'thin place' is really anywhere we are open to the Spirit, and anytime our hearts are open to Christ. That is where the eternal breaks through to the everyday, and transforms it: where our hearts are open and when we are present to the abundance of grace.

The widow in Sidon and the widow in the village of Nain, separated by many years and miles, both were facing scarcity and the end of their own resources, and yet both responded with a morsel of hope and received the gift of abundance.

They did not have much left, and what they had was being taken away from them. And yet the Lord acted, and their lives were changed.

So what was it they had to pass on? It was not their physical comfort or success. It was something that lasts. Something that abides.

What it is might not be abundantly clear right now. It may not be clear until we too share in the resurrection, when our hope is fulfilled in the kingdom of Christ.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

But we have a pretty good idea, of what lasts: the things we have spoken of, the word, the sacraments, the fellowship, are things that bring us closer to God and carry us forward together in God's mission and God's purpose.

All of these things come to us in the gift of the Spirit. And it is the abiding promise and presence of God that shows us what really lasts, what really gives life meaning. Some things will pass away, good things as they are, for when the time for them is over, they will fade away.

We know that; we look for the things that last, that are our greatest gifts to pass on to those coming along in our midst and coming after us.

What are these lasting gifts?

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

May we live by faith,
walk in hope and be renewed in love,
until the world reflects your glory
and you are all in all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24)
Psalm 146
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17

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for all things come from you

“All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”
~ 1 Chronicles 29: 14

Dear friends in Christ:

Look around you – we live in a world of abounding wonder. Where did all this come from? Who can we thank for what we have?

What can we offer in thanksgiving for all that we have received from God’s abundance? How can we participate in God’s ongoing work in the world?

These questions come to mind as we begin to contemplate our giving plans for next year.

When we give to our church, we participate in God’s ongoing work in the world. When we give, we are giving thanks – and that expression, that freewill offering of what we have, is made possible by God’s own gift of himself to us through his incarnate Son.

Way back when King David gathered together the people of Israel and led them in making offerings for the building of the Temple – a building to be completed by his son – he first acknowledged the source of all being, of all that he and they had to offer.

“All things come from you, and of your own have we given you…” (1 Chronicles 29:14)

It is with thanksgiving for God’s many gifts and blessings, and with a desire to further God’s kingdom here on earth, that we give to the church in our offerings of what God has first given us.

The house of prayer we build together, and continue to maintain – the physical structure – is a visible, outward sign of what God is doing within us: building us up together into a worthy temple, a people after his own heart, who work together for his purpose, looking to a future with hope in the promise and gift of God.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:17)

All giving, at any level, is a worthy expression of thanks. By giving we participate in the continuing mission of God in this world, carrying forward the holy work begun by Christ in his church.

Quite simply, your gifts make the church’s mission and ministry possible. With your help, with your part in this work, our church can express our common faith to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world.

Consider prayerfully your gifts and offerings to God through the church. Think through the gifts we receive from God – the faith that sustains us in good times and bad, the love that redeems us in moments of need, the hope that assures us of a future with wholeness and peace; indeed, the whole of our lives and the world and all that is in it, all made by God – and what in particular brings you joy, peace, comfort, sustenance. And then, pray:

Guide me, Lord of grace, to give, as you would have me give, of what you have given me.

Ingathering Sunday will be November 8th. I encourage you to make your pledge by this date, so that your financial gifts may be reflected in the 2010 budget. During worship on that day, we will celebrate the gifts God has given us by offering together both pledges of future giving and thanksgivings for gifts received – so that God can fit them together for the building up of this place dedicated to his worship and glory. Please make prayerful use of the enclosed pledge card – and drop it in the mail or put it in the collection plate.

Above all give thanks to God in all things – God is faithful to the promise he has made, and guaranteed through the gift of his love: to give us all, together, a future with hope.

Yours faithfully in Christ,



(The Rev.) John Leech
Priest and Rector
St Alban's Episcopal Church
Edmonds, Wash.

October 2009


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ANSWER JUST AS YOUR HEART PROMPTS YOU

October 2008

Dear friend in Christ and fellow worshipper:

On my telephone is a place to slip in a piece of paper: usually you put your telephone number there. Instead, I have a message from a fortune cookie:

ANSWER EXACTLY AS YOUR HEART PROMPTS YOU.

That, in a nutshell - or a cookie - is our stewardship message this year. Put more elegantly, by the apostle Paul, it goes like this:

Each of you should give as you have decided for yourself; there should be no reluctance, no sense of compulsion; God loves a cheerful giver. And it is in God's power to provide you with all good gifts in abundance, so that, with every need always met to the full, you may have something to spare for every good cause; as scripture says: 'He lavishes his gifts on the needy; his benevolence lasts for ever.' (2 Corinthians 9:7-9)

We are blessed. We are blessed with each other, with the presence of the Lord, with all God's gifts. At Saint Alban's Church, we know that God works together with us in unexpected and generous ways. The Holy Spirit has brought us together as a community, like a household under one roof, to be the people of God in this place at this time.

We are called. We are called to share the blessings we have received, to pass them on to the generations to come, and in thankfulness to praise God for all we receive.

We are chosen. We are selected to receive from others the gift of the knowledge of grace, to receive the gifts of difference and similarity, to join together in common purpose - to praise God, to show forth the Good News of Christ in our words and in our lives.

And we are encouraged. We are given new hearts, living each new day in the knowledge of the grace and glory of God.

Let us share with one another, with the community around us, and with the world beyond, the gifts we have received from God. Some of those gifts are tangible, and measurable - but the most profound gifts are beyond price: the grace that comes to us from the hand of friend or stranger, the peace that is communicated to us in the Word of God, the hope that is ours through the Work of Christ. These gifts are intangible, even inexpressible.

As you contemplate your giving to the church of Saint Alban for the next year, be encouraged to give with a cheerful heart - seeking God's guidance as you make your pledge, confident in your mind that what you have to give is honorable, and assured that with gratefulness and generosity you can give what you know in your own heart is right to give.

Our economic times are uncertain; they always are. Know that the Rock on which our Faith is built is steady, and safe: in the love of God you will always have a home.

Together let us resolve to give thankfully, rejoicing in the richness of the grace that God has given us. Let us with gladness present the offerings and oblations of our life and labor to the Lord. Thanks be to God for his gift, which is beyond all praise!
(2 Corinthians 9:15)

Have a blessed day.

Yours faithfully in Christ,




The Rev. John Leech
Rector

St. Alban's Episcopal Church
21405 82nd Place West, Edmonds, WA 98026




Scripture quotations taken from the Revised English Bible.

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