ANCHOR LINES UPDATE

Anchor Lines Update January 9, 2021

ANCHOR LINES update
We are a community anchored in Christ, seeking God, sharing His love and serving others.

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In light of recent events in our nation’s capital, I hope you will all do your part to hold our nation in your prayers each day. Since January 6, this has been my prayer of choice:

Heavenly Father you have given us this land of wonder, prosperity, and glory: keep us mindful of the gifts you have given us so that our hearts may be joyful in carrying out your will. Bless our nation with healthy industry, sound learning, and robust kindness. Save us from violence, dissension, and confusion; from our pride, arrogance, and all our evil ways. Help us to defend our liberties, and in spite of our differences in color, creed, and political expression, unite us as one people, harmoniously living together in this land. Bless our leaders with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may rise above trivialities in order to serve the common good, so that there may be justice and peace on our streets, in our cities, and in our neighborhoods. Above all else, help us to remember that in our times of prosperity and even in our days of trouble, our hearts should always be thankful for your unfailing love; all this we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I know you probably have feelings of anger, embarrassment, frustration, and the like. I know I do. I think we are all experiencing some unpleasant thoughts and emotions about what has taken place. It isn’t only this one occasion that has brought us to where we are now. We can all be honest about this. We have watched as pressures have been rising. Many of the feelings we share can be attributed to this pandemic and the way our lives have been changed. Our splintered political landscape has also done its part to cause us further fragmentation. It is as if we are seeing a world where multiple realities exist. Not that there ever really was more than one reality, but because truth is seemingly only understood through a lens of our own particular beliefs. The lens through which we see reality and truth is colored by the information we choose to believe.

It is not really new. Jesus once said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responded famously with his question from the darkness “What is truth?” Like Pilate, we assume we are right, so we speak from those places of darkness in our best and most righteous voices.

Remember to remain strong in your faith, especially when emotions call for a swift and visceral reaction. Remember that in the hierarchy of who you are, you are first a child of God, and so too are we all. More of the common good comes from civility than any harsh words that may ever be spoken. Strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. Pray for God’s help. Seek and speak the truth, but speak only from a place of love. From the depths of our divisions is now an opportunity to lean into our faith. May we all be reminded that as citizens we strive to be “one nation, under God with liberty and justice for all.” Do what you can to stop the hatred building up between us.

De +

“So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” -John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address 1/20/1961

WORSHIP

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MORE NEWS & EVENTS

Call the parish office at 928-2912 if you would like to attend virtually. You will be emailed the ZOOM link the week of the meeting.

New Directory Coming this Spring!

Send your individual or family photo to Jennifer by clicking the Instant Church Directory graphic above. If you would like to use the same photo you used for the church pew back in the beginning of the COVID shut-down last year, click the graphic above to let Jennifer know.

If you would like to participate via ZOOM, click the image above, and parishioner and yoga instructor, Stacy Reckeweg, will email you the link for next week's class. You may log in anytime after 5:30 pm. Class starts at 5:45 pm. Classes are for all ages and all levels, and are of course free. We hope to get back to Green Hall soon!

The office remains closed to visitors. Please call 251-928-2912 if you would like to speak with clergy or office staff during regular business hours.
If you have an after-hours pastoral emergency, call 251-928-2912 and listen to the prompts. The on-call priest will return your call.
Pick-up reserved sacrament (to be consumed during the 11 AM Sunday morning live-streamed service) on Thursdays between 9 AM and 5 PM. Call the office at 251-928-2912 when you arrive at the front of the church and one of the priests or staff members will deliver the blessed wafers and bulletins to your vehicle.

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The JANUARY SCHEDULE is AVAILABLE ONLINE!
THE DEADLINE to ENTER YOUR "CAN'T SERVE DATES" for FEBRUARY is MONDAY, JANUARY 11 at 8:30 AM.
PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE OR EMAIL INFO@STJAMESFAIRHOPE.ORG IF YOU ARE NOT RECEIVING AUTOMATED EMAIL REMINDERS FROM THE MINISTRY SCHEDULER APP.

If you have been scheduled at a time when you are unavailable, please request a sub on the ministry scheduler pro website or app. Click on the image of the Ministry Scheduler logo above and it will take you straight to the Ministry Scheduler Pro website.

If you have any concerns and wish to continue worshiping from home, we understand and look forward to the time when we can all worship together. Please call the office and let us know that you wish to be inactive in your ministry at this time.

2021-2022 OPEN Enrollment is going on NOW. Next fall we will offer Pre-K 2 through second grade. Help us spread the word. An easy way to do this is to follow our school on Facebook and share the school's Facebook posts. Thank you for your help!

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