The woman at the Well

This is one of my favorite stories, has been for a long time. Not only did Jesus sit and wait for her to come to him, she went back to her village and brought others to meet Him. The first woman "preacher"?? As a baptized Christians we are called to show Christ to others. We don't have to have extensive programs, a huge stage, or fancy lighting. We only have to say: Come, see the man who knows me. Not the man who knows about me, many people can know alot ABOUT someone, but that doesn't me they KNOW you. Jesus KNEW the woman and told her, he answered her need: Fresh, Living, Eternal, water long before she asked, or maybe even really knew herself. Christ waited for her, than let her bring others to Him.
I found the questions and observations below on a Lenten resource page, the link is below and I invite you to check it out and see for yourself

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/siteindex.html


The Woman at the Well
The Third Sunday of Lent - The First Scrutiny - John 4:3-42
Why did the Samaritan woman come to draw
water at noon, the hottest time of the day?

Did she want to avoid the times the other women
in town came to the well?

What are the places in my life where I am
embarrassed, where I avoid interaction with
others?

What are the noon day wells of my life?
Can I imagine Jesus approaching me there?

Jesus tries to reveal his thirst to her - perhaps
his thirst for intimacy with her - but she puts
him off. She's not worthy. It won't work. When
he offers to satisfy her thirst, she puts him
off. He can't satisfy what she needs, at least
with this well, and without a bucket.


From the Online Ministries, CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
Visit the Online Ministries site: Praying Lent.
In addition to this resource for Lent, there are many
others to support our journey through Lent.
And, there is a Lenten Daily Prayer for each day of
Lent.
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html

How do I put Jesus off, with excuses, with
problems, with barriers? I don't have time; I
haven't done this before; my stuff's too
complicated; I don't know how to find you in this
mess.

When he shows her that he knows her, she knows
she's in the presence of someone special - perhaps
the one she has thirsted for all her life.
Do I let Jesus show me that he knows and
understands me?

Can I find the words to say he is the one I have
thirsted for all my life?

The grace will come when I see that I have been at
the well a long time and have long been
thirsty. When I can name the new thirst, the
Water that now satisfies that thirst, I can
overcome my remaining resistance to trust. When
I see that Jesus reveals himself to me by revealing
me to me, thereby showing me my need for him as
Savior, I will rejoice and tell the whole world, too.

When Grace Strikes

"Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It happens; or it does not happen. Grace happens."
This quote from a sermon by Paul Tillich, the theologian is something I am taking to heart this week. Those of you with pets know of the great pain I speak of. We had to put our dear Wellington to sleep after a valiant battle with cancer. While he may have lost his battle with cancer in the end he truly won because of how he spent his last year. We were able to provide him with a loving home in his last year. A loving home full of dog treats, adventures in the woods, long walks and a nice big queen size bed to sleep on.
I'll repeat the quote. "Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness." It is now that I realize the grace I need is already within me sent from God above. All I need to do is tap into that grace. It's that simple. While I still have moments of profound sadness, the grace I have been given helps me to realize what a gift Wellington was for our family. And what a gift we were to him.
A sermon given at St. Stephen's a few months ago had to do with the subject of faith. I quite regularly ask for faith in my daily prayers as I'm sure many of us do. And I truly believe that when we ask for faith, God most willingly gives it to us. But how are we to know that we have faith unless we are tested? That was the whole point of the sermon and it's something that has been at the front of my mind whenever I ask God for anything.
A dear friend sent me an e-mail this week with her interpretation of faith. It's remembering that no matter what, God is in control of the situation. He loves us more than at times we can comprehend. Accepting the situation is called faith. Faith that God knows the desires of our heart and wants the very best for us. When you have nothing left, you have to trust God. While at times I may not fully understand why Wellington is no longer with us, God does. It's letting that grace in that allows God to take control and heal my broken heart. It is in my humble opinion that this faith and grace work hand in hand.
I will close with this final quote for you readers to think about: "Faith is like stepping off a cliff and expecting one of two outcomes - you will either land on solid ground or your will be taught to fly."*Barbara J Winter
Matthew C. Thomas-Malani
March 4, 2011
In memory of Wellington Brooks, beloved dog
May 2004 - March 2011

"What if outreach was welcoming in?"

This comment by Rev. Susan Richardson of Christ Church, Philadelphia stopped me in my tracks, my mental tracks anyway, think about it?
If instead of seeing someone as an outreach opportunity, we merely welcomed them in. In to a building, In to a relationship, In to a service, In to a conversation, In to _________fill in the blank. How than would we see them, how than would we talk to them, inter-act with them?
Does Wal-Mart have an idea how to do it right and have we missed the point, or have we just gone off track a little.


"Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." Romans 15:7


If for a week a month or just a day, Welcome, you belong here.




For the full video on the ministry of Christ Church; watch this video

Transforming Churches - Christ Church, Philadelphia from The Episcopal Church on Vimeo.

It's Bowl Painting time - well soon anyway

Bowl Painting 4th Annual on March 27
We are doing something slightly different - myself (Debra) and two friends(Jean Adams and Christine Pocono) will be hand throwing ALL the bowls to be painted by the kids and the adults - there will be 40 bowls done this way - come early to paint your bowl.
The auction will be held on April 10th,along with the painted bowls there will be other pottery pieces done by these and other talented ladies bring your family and friends to share in the fun and excitement of this event which will benefit REACH

Congratulations Brian

Fr. Pavlac's day job is that of the Heerve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the History department at King's College. I have just received a copy of his A Concise Survey of Western Civilization. I have read it in manuscript form, as have a number of our ordination track people, who would join me in saying that it is indeed concise, but also enlightening, well-organized, and not given to the pretense of relativism. That is, the author knows that perception is motivated by many things, and gives us not just data, but an account of human relating. The glossary is extremely useful and is a kind of mini-course in itself.

Now that this book is in printed form, we have a textbook for the pre-ordination process that not only meets the canonical requirements but is also a joy to read for everyone! You can find it on Amazon.

I think you will enjoy reading it.

Best,
+Paul

Keeping the Homeless in Memory

Posted: December 22
Times Leader
Keeping the homeless in memory
STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Losing his birth certificate in a house fire early in life and a paperwork mix-up when he was getting ready to retire led to Bob “Pinky” Shovlin becoming homeless at age 62.

Recalling the four years of his life that he had no home, while eating a cup full of chili in the hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday night, was easier for Shovlin than thinking about the other local homeless people who have died recently, people who were his friends and family.

Just last week, his friend Peter passed away. His friend, Christian, died recently of sclerosis of the liver. And about a year ago, his son, Wayne, was killed when he was run over by a train in Huntington, W. Va.

Shovlin, 69 and a Wilkes-Barre native, was among a few dozen people who either are or were homeless or who work to help the homeless who gathered for a memorial service in the church and, afterward, a candlelight vigil outside.

Bill Jones, of Volunteers of America, welcomed everyone to the fifth Luzerne County Homeless Memorial Service, noting it was intentionally held on the first day of winter, the longest night of the year.

“As children of God, we all have a divine nature. And because of this, we all deserve respect, love and compassion,” Jones said.

“Today, we remember the growing number of homeless individuals from our community who have died. Sadly, 13 more individuals have been added to the roll call of (56) names we celebrated last year. So we begin our service today knowing that all of us, those who have homes and those who don’t and those who have died because of the darkness of homelessness, are indeed children of God,” he said.

Psalms, scripture passages and prayers were recited and led by Rabbi Larry Kaplan of Temple Israel, Kristen Topolski of Ruth’s Place, Sister Mary Fellin of Catholic Social Services, Tony Brooks of St. Stephen’s Vestry and the Rev. Brian Pavlac of King’s College and St. Stephen’s.

Stefanie Wolownik of REACH and Mary Zack led a procession outside to a candlelight vigil. As they left the church, each participant picked up pieces of paper with names of the area homeless who died and formed a circle outside. As each person read one or more names, they blew out their candle.

When all the candles were extinguished, they filed into the church hall to share food and fellowship, thankful for warmth and the company of others on a cold winter’s night.

Subverting the Secular World - by Tony Clavier

Advent
Subverting the secular world;
beginning a new year.

We have to tackle a number of years.
There’s the school year, the secular year,
the shopping year, and the poor neglected
church year. In a sense we live in all of them, and
keeping our feet planted in each reality is no easy thing. All too often we only remember that the church
has a year when we look at the bulletin on Sunday and try to figure which Sunday after what we are in.
Of all these years, the Christian year presents the greatest challenge. It reminds us that we are citizens
of another place and owe our allegiance to another ruler. The early Christians were persecuted and killed
because they claimed that “Jesus is Lord.” Perhaps today we are regarded as rather eccentric when we
whisper the same words. They remind us that our faith is no private, personal thing, but that we are citizens
of the kingdom of God.
We are subversive. We seek to bring the love of Christ into the secular
world because we believe that ultimately the world will be restored
to God. In the meantime, we work and pray to transform what is into
what shall be.
Advent Sunday begins yet another year. It sets our sights on the miracle
of Christ’s birth, that God invaded this planet in the form of a helpless
child. This vulnerable God walks with us, takes our flesh, re-creates the
human race, suffers, dies and so is in all our sufferings and in our deaths.
He rises again giving us the hope of resurrected life in a new heaven and a
new earth.
We perhaps moan about a secularized Christmas that begins before
Thanksgiving and ends abruptly on the day after Christmas. Rather
than moaning, we can meet the challenge it presents. We can be subversive
by keeping Advent in holy preparation. We can keep Christmas by
observing the twelve days in joy, gratitude and compassion for God’s poor
and needy, rather than throwing out the tree on December 26!
Above all we can humble ourselves before the baby who is King, and
offer him our lives in obedience and hope.
The Rev. Tony Clavier is rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, La Porte, in the
Diocese of Northern Indiana.