Rector's Blog
September 16, 2011, Church (77), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
Blessings to all of you who participated in "Moving Forward Together - In Remembrance of 9/11" at St. Paul's last Sunday and joined in our prayer service on the eve of September 11. It was a weekend of moving memorials and remembrances. I was especially uplifted by how many individuals, of various ages and faith backgrounds, came together at the forum we hosted at St. Paul's.
As the Rev. Jim Somerville said, "I think we can really begin to see that we have so much more in common than those things that divide us."
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Tags: interfaith, september 11
September 01, 2011, People of St. Paul's (41), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Kimberly Allen
While sometimes wandering aimlessly is good for perspective, sometimes it's also also good to be able to plug in your phone or laptop and read email from family and loved ones.
We welcome you to visit the church or parish house as a resting space when we are open. Our electricity is also working and we are set up for wireless Internet access for those who would like to bring in your laptop to check your email. For wireless access, you will need to visit Reception and give your name to receive the password. If no one is at the Reception, please call (804) 246-9384.
(Hat tip to ImageCPR for capturing the above tweet from Chad Ochocinco)
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Tags: hurricane irene
August 26, 2011, Christianity (85), In the News (Richmond) (74)
by the Rev. Kate Jenkins
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks. The looming threat of Hurricane Irene. We often hear about earth quakes in California and hurricanes devastating island nations, but these events are in far away places with other people. This week, we experienced that vulnerability first-hand in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake.
To date, we have not heard of any parishioners that were hurt and the building had minimal staff at the time of the earthquake. Immediately afterward, St. Paul's Parish Administrator Mike Koschak (a former resident of California who has actually lived through a number of earthquakes) did a thorough review of the church and parish house with the sextons. They checked from roof to basement and found no sign of damage, structural or otherwise, that they could detect. The church bells were not even thrown off, which was pretty amazing. Not all churches have been as fortunate. The Diocese of Virginia issued this update about the impact of the earthquake throughout the diocese.
This earthquake, so close to home, reminded me that this earth we walk upon daily is still in creation and there is a fragility to everything that we take for granted. I'm still digesting the experience, but the words of our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori come to mind:
"May we all be reminded that we live on a fragile earth, in continual process of creation and destruction, and that we share a common responsibility for healing wherever we are able."
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Tags: creation, earthquake, hurricane
August 16, 2011, People of St. Paul's (41), Church (77), City & Commonwealth (63), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Kimberly Allen
You may have seen the news that the First Fridays Art Walk has been canceled for September. However, many galleries and sites are choosing to remain open and St. Paul's is one of them.
Bob Wynne (whom many of you may have met at church) will show a new exhibit of paintings and photos of the Western United States and Western Europe. He will host an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Parish Hall and free guided tours of the church will be available. His Facebook invitation is available here.
This week, the church issued the following statement about our decision to remain open and our ongoing support of the art walk:
"St. Paul's Episcopal Church will remain open as scheduled on First Friday, September 2 from 5 pm to 8 pm. We helped launch 'First Fridays East' in spring 2010 in part to support a vibrant downtown community and we continue to believe in the importance of welcoming all those in the area to visit the heart of the city. We invite you to visit us on Grace Street where we have been proclaiming Christ since 1845; take a guided tour of the church; and enjoy a new exhibit of paintings and photos by artist Bob Wynne."
Visit www.stpauls-episcopal.org/firstfridays for details about our upcoming 2011 - 2012 season.
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Tags: arts, downtown, first fridays
August 01, 2011, Church (77), City & Commonwealth (63), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
If you haven't seen the Style Weekly article on river baptisms, it's a must read.
And, by the way, I'd love to baptize someone in the James. Let me know!
Pictured: Photo by Scott Elmquist, Style Weekly. Leah Mei Ward, 8, is baptized in the James River on July 17 by the Rev. Jim Somerville.
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Tags: baptism, jim somerville, style weekly
July 19, 2011, City & Commonwealth (63), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
Following up on yesterday's post, two items in today's RTD keep the question before us: how do we, as people of different faiths, live together?
M.P. Williams has it right. Of course Henrico should OK the mosque. Likewise, the editorial page has it right, the President should do as President Bush did and meet openly with the Dalai Lama. Granted, that's easy to put in a web post, and hard to execute foreign-policy-wise; nonetheless, it's the right thing to do.
In only a matter of weeks, we will arrive at the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. With this mind, may each of us, and may each community of faith, do all that we can do to promote respect and compassion for people of all faiths. It's the right thing to do; and it's the holy thing to do.
Amen, amen.
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Tags: 911, interfaith, michael paul williams, richmond times dispatch, september 11
July 18, 2011, City & Commonwealth (63), Equality (12), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
Today's RTD editorial, "Say yes," is excellent.
And let us pray for a day when this sort of "yes" is as obvious to Americans as, say, voting rights for women, or desegregation of the schools.
God's will be done.
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Tags: interfaith, richmond times dispatch
June 20, 2011, City & Commonwealth (63), Faith & Politics (33), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
Laura Lafayette's RTD Marketplace column today is stellar. The following words lifted off the page as I read them:
"In fact, I would suggest that people of faith who are leaders in the business world have a theological imperative to recognize that the world is not as it was created and intended to be, to identify the changes needed to bring about healing and wholeness, and to work without ceasing for change that transforms lives."
Amen, sister!!!
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Tags: richmond times-dispatch
February 15, 2011, History (23), In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
The February 2 edition of Style has, as its cover story, the first in a five-part series on the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War & Emancipation. This installment in the series is an interview with U of R's Ed Ayers and it's well worth a read. My favorite lines, an Ayers quotation, are as follows,
"The Civil War is woven into all the hard questions about American Society...The sesquicentennial gives us a way to see that this is all part of the same story."
Yes, indeed. As Dr. Ayers says, "History never stops."
May God give us the patience and the courage to attend to the hard questions, the hard questions of our day.
Amen, amen.
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Tags: civil war and emancipation, ed ayers, sesquicentennial
February 09, 2011, In the News (Richmond) (74)
Posted by Wallace+
I hope you saw the Reverend Bill Sachs' Faith and Values column on Saturday, "Who Will Heed Call for Unity?" In the words of the United Nations General Assembly last fall,
"In a world of hatred and mistrust, only the world's religions can help."
In his column, Bill references an interfaith group of clergy that have been meeting and making plans for the establishment of a Faith Forum in Richmond, to help bring together people of all faiths and to help deepen understanding and a sense of shared community. That group of clergy met today, as a matter of fact; and we are looking at this fall, with the 10th anniversary of September 11th, as a natural and fitting time to hold the first annual Faith Forum. While we are still in the early stages of planning, I am a strong sense that we're working on something that will be important for the Richmond community. Please join me in praying for God's guidance and blessing as we continue in our planning.
May God lead us, his children; may God help us to love one another; and may God help our community become more fully the community that he would have us be.
Pictured: Flag at Ground Zero, photo by "snickup" at stock.xchng.
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Tags: interfaith, reverend bill sachs, richmond times-dispatch, september 11
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