To the family of Christ at St. David’s,
I am simply abuzz with the energy of forward motion pulsing through the church right now!
As we look forward to the return of fall programming this Sunday, including Sunday school, a brand-new youth group, increased opportunities for weekday worship and Catechism, it is hard not to get swept up in it all! Not only that, but we continue to regularly pull in new members and visitors, who are curious as to what all the buzz surrounding St. David’s is all about.
Change is in the air at St. David’s, and all of it is pointing towards a new and engaging season of life. I look forward to the celebration of three upcoming Baptisms (including my own child’s), weddings, pet blessings, and further on into 2024 – Confirmations. We also will be celebrating the return of the Common Cup during Eucharist on Sunday, November 5th – a move which will place us back within the realm of Diocesan best practices and is theologically important as a unified body.
This all being said, there are a few things that I am frequently asked about which are probably worth addressing forthrightly here. The first of which is that as things stand right now, I don’t see the return of the Wednesday evening service in our future. With increased opportunities for mid-week worship during the daytime, and the introduction of regularly celebrated feast days, I as your priest have decided that the best use of our evening hours is in proper Christian Catechism.
I once had a clergy mentor tell me that “Sundays are like cucumbers, and Catechism is like brine. You really need both if you want something worth chewing on.” Additionally, we’re about to be a two-child household, and I have a feeling that Stefanie would really enjoy my help with parenting in the evening hours. If you’ve met my two-year-old CJ, you know what she’s up against. (God help us all!)
Secondly, my focus will be moving away from time spent in-office, shifting instead to time spent making visitations, sharing communion, and learning about the spiritual needs of my flock on an individual level. It’s taken a few months, but I’ve found my established balance of administrative time and ministerial time. I am blessed with the best of the best office staff which makes this moving around possible. It is increasingly likely that you’ll see me in my collar at Sharp park praying with community members, or at city council meetings, or offering anointings to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. These things are life giving to me, are encouraged in Scripture, and will undoubtedly add to my longevity as your priest.
So, things are changing, we’re in a whole season of change. But for now, it’s all additive change, and that is a sign of a Spirit alive and working among us. I have nothing but gratitude for all the good that I’ve witnessed at St. David’s thus far, and nothing but excitement for what good things await us. God has surely blessed this place.
– Joe Kennedy +