Episcopal Church Response to Crisis on the Border

Released by the Episcopal Church yesterday:

July 2, 2019

Over the past several weeks, The Episcopal Church has responded to the reports of inhumane conditions for children and other asylum seekers in government custody in a number of ways. This response includes calls for donations and goods from Episcopal dioceses on the border, prayers for those seeking safety, efforts to engage in advocacy, and pastoral messages from bishops around the Church.

“We are children of the one God who is the Creator of us all,” said Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. “It is our sisters, our brothers, our siblings who are seeking protection and asylum, fleeing violence and danger to children, searching for a better life for themselves and their children. The crisis at the border is not simply a challenge of partisan politics but a test of our personal and public morality and human decency.”

Read more here

To Remember

June 26, 2019

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.  Luke 22:19-20

 

A mother shared with me recently, the words that her child said to her during a church service…

He leaned over to me, out of the blue, “These people know God is in here, right?”

 

“These people know God is in here, right?”

We need this reminder, at times…don’t we?

 

That’s why we gather each week in church. To remember.

To remember God’s love is in here.

To remember God love is in here (place your hand over your heart).

To remember Jesus’ words.

To break bread together.

To share the cup.

To give thanks.

To be joined together as one body, one Spirit, in Christ.

And to be sent back out into the world, by the grace of God: as a people forgiven, reconciled to one another, fed, nourished, strengthened and renewed for the work we are all called to:  To go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia!  Alleluia!

 

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

 

Luke 22:14-23 (NRSV)

In Jesus, we will always find life

(The Disciples) They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

 

I wonder if the disciples were surprised or amazed that they found everything Jesus had told them?

Or I wonder if they were a bit hesitant or worried that they wouldn’t find everything Jesus had told them?

Why would they doubt or worry about that? Hadn’t Jesus already numerous times, showed his trustworthiness to them? Hadn’t he always followed through with an action that affirmed what He was teaching them, or telling them?

Yes…but let’s think about that for a moment…We are human…we have doubts…we have moments of weakness…We hesitate often in making decisions about the unknown…

If the disciples were feeling any sense of doubt..they didn’t let that influence their decision…

They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

But, Judas, in today’s gospel…that’s a different story…

I think about how many times, it takes just one solitary moment of doubt, and insecurity, to set us down a road of denial and betrayal that consumes our lives…just as we heard in today’s reading… when Judas, one of the disciples, in a moment of human weakness…was seized by Satan, and chooses to betray the trust of not only Jesus, but his fellow disciples…

One moment of weakness…could have been any one of us…

Will we choose this day…to build a solid foundation of trust in the Lord, so that in moments of weakness, we will rely on the love and guidance of Jesus…trusting, that in Him…trusting in His Words…trusting when and where he sends each one of us…that everything we need…will be there?

This day, I pray, that we will choose trust in the One, who gives us life.

They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

 

Luke 21:37-22:13

Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple. Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

 

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it." They asked him, "Where do you want us to make preparations for it?" "Listen," he said to them, "when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, 'The teacher asks you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there."

 

So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

 

 

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

God Has the Whole World in His Hands -June 23, 2019 - 10am service

Special Family Service today 

Genesis 1 (from Desmond Tutu Childrens Storybook Bible); Matthew 6:25-34

 

We listened to the beautiful and beloved Creation story, as told to us in Desmond Tutu’s Children’s storybook bible. We listened to the beautiful and beloved scripture from Matthew, that is often read on Thanksgiving Day, and is often a go to – when one needs to be reminded to not let worry consume you…and to take one day at a time…

To take one day at a time…to stop, pause, notice…and remember…that it is God who gives us life…and in the gifts given in creation…we can’t help but be reminded of this Good News for all of Gods people…

God loves to delight us and surprise us, and give us reasons to be joyful! 

And God sends us signs and reminders of this every day. Especially, when we can stop worrying for a moment…stop, pause, and take a look at the beautiful world that is right outside our doorstep.

A good friend I knew, back in Nevada, had a wonderful gift for reminding us to do just that. In a conversation that I had with a mutual friend, the day after her death, I was reminded of this special gift of hers. She shared a story about when she was leaving the facility where our friend spent her final days. She noticed the flowers and the shrubs, and how beautiful they were, and she remembered that our friend loved to share her love and knowledge about flowers, and shrubs, and birds…and knew them all by name….

….and that she would always pause and make sure to point them out, wherever they were, and call their attention to them…perhaps reminding them and all of us…to stop worrying for a moment…look at what God has created and how he cares for them…the birds of the air…the lilies of the field…the grass of the field…look at this beauty in the world that He has created for us to enjoy…look at the beauty of His created world…that has been entrusted to our care…look, pay attention to their cycles of life and death, and resurrection….

Day after day, year after year…they have so much to teach us about the love of God, for all of creation…the birds, the trees, the oceans, the rivers, the stars, the animals (the elephant and giraffes, cats and mice, and bees and bugs)…and yes…we…his beloved children…who He has created all of this for….

We just need to pause, notice, and remember this…

We need not worry…

For it is God who gives us life… and in the gifts given in creation…and in Jesus, we can’t help but be reminded that it is abundant life, we have been given…

On the Seventh Day, God laughed and rested, and enjoyed his glorious creation. (from Desmond Tutu Childrens Storybook Bible)

May we pause today, rest in God, laugh with God and rejoice with God, by honoring God with our care of creation and celebrating with God, this glorious creation that reminds us of the abundant gift of life given to us, in Christ Jesus.

 

Let us pray: All things bright and beautiful – H405

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. Amen

 

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Gods love is amazing

June 18, 2019

Luke 20:19-26 (GNT)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/gnt/luke/passage/?q=luke+20:19-26

Reflection:

God’s love is amazing…

As often as human beings may try to find a loophole in Jesus’ proclamation of the Good News of God’s love….there’s no way the truth and power of God’s love can be tricked into being something other than God’s radical love for all of humanity…even the so-called enemies… and those who spy on Him seeking to corrupt his message of love in the world…

Spying on Jesus?

Really?

What was he doing that was so awful?

Loving those on the margins…

Loving and caring and feeding the poor…

Loving and caring for the lonely…

Loving and caring and healing the sick…

Loving and caring for the outcasts…

Loving and caring for all God’s people…

 

Did they hear him telling people not to pay their taxes or pay their bills?

Of course not…And he saw right through the spies intention to trap him and trick him…

These spies said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is right. We know that you pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people.  Tell us, is it against our Law for us to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and said to them, “Show me a silver coin. Whose face and name are these on it?”

“The Emperor's,” they answered.

So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”

The message is clear…God is love…and His love is amazing…nothing can keep that truth from being proclaimed…

Go ahead and be a spy today…but be on the lookout for all the ways you see God’s love at work in the people around you…

Trinity Sunday/Year C

Trinity Sunday/Year C

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16: 12-15

 

Opening Prayer: Come and seek the ways of Wisdom, she who danced when earth was new. Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true. Wisdom clears the path of justice, showing us what love must do.  Amen. (vs 1 from Come and seek the ways of Wisdom)

 

On the church calendar, today is the 1st Sunday after Pentecost…Pentecost was the Feast Day we observed last Sunday…on which we celebrated the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, another advocate, being sent to God’s people, after Jesus’ departure from this world… The gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us everything…and remind us of all that Jesus has revealed to us about God’s love…through his words and actions….

Today is also referred to as Trinity Sunday…a day set aside to acknowledge the glory of God’s love revealed to us in “three persons”…Father, Son and the gift to the people of God: The Holy Spirit…

There is so much information out there on this Doctrine (this teaching) of the Church: theological discussions are happening across the board, new teachings emerging, old teachings being questioned, new and old ideas taking place in conversation among the religious scholars…a lot of discussions, but we are still left wondering and with no one clear answer or no one clear understanding of what the Trinity really means…for all of us…

But, there is one thing that many can agree on lately...and that is the acknowledgement…that the Trinity…might be best explored through the lens of mystery…an open-ended journey of discovering where and when and how we see God’s love at work in us, and in the world about us…an open-ended journey of discovering where God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

And as I stop for a moment, to imagine what that journey of discovery might look like…I imagine that I would need to make time to sit with God, getting to know Him through the stories found in the scriptures…and just sitting quiet, surrounded by His presence...

I imagine, that every day, I would have lots of questions…and days that I don’t understand anything that I am reading…days that I have no clue what I’m supposed to do with these words I am hearing…I imagine, the smile, and the joy, and the hope that arises in my heart at times…as I connect with some past words that I recall from an earlier time in conversation with God...words that I didn’t understand then…but on this day…some new meaning is revealed to me…and His love is revealed to me, in the stillness, in the scriptures, in my prayers..

I imagine some moments of doubt…or really, I should be saying…many moments of doubt…as I spend time with the Gospels, considering Jesus’ teachings…and how seemingly impossible it feels like at times, to entertain the thought of following in his footsteps and The Way of Love he proclaimed to others…through his radical love, compassion, mercy and grace that he shared so abundantly with everyone… And in other moments, when I consider these seemingly impossible teachings of Jesus, I catch myself wiping tears from my eyes, as I remember those times, when I have been on the receiving end of this radical love and compassion, through others, who perhaps doubted as I did…but instead...through their words and actions, did reveal, that with God’s love at the root and heart of all that we do…He lives and moves in each one of us today…

I imagine other moments, in the quiet of the morning by myself…or in the noisy activities and interactions with others throughout the day…

I find myself wondering…where is God in all this?

When I think about the violence happening all over the world, the divisions between people that seem to widen with each passing day...I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?

When I think about the overwhelming grief that afflicts people throughout their lives, when a loved one is suffering or dies…I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?

And at those times…when I feel anxious…I want to know...I need to know now…I need to know when all this violence is going to stop…I need to know how all these divisions will be healed…I need to know when all these tears will be dried up…

And then, right then, in the midst of my exasperated cries to the Lord…God’s love comes around full-circle to give me that moment of peace and trust in Him again….I am reminded, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He is right here, right now…in all the messiness of the world…He has been there from the beginning…and will be there to the end of the ages…

Where is God in all of this? He’s right here…and will always be…

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus said to his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

We still have so many things to learn…there is so much more to this life than what we have yet to imagine…

As I consider the mystery of the Trinity today…I am especially drawn to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, and its role in bringing us around full-circle, ever-turning our hearts towards God and his love…and ever-turning our hearts towards others, and encouraging each one of us, to reach out to love one another, as Christ has loved us…thereby reminding one another…of the hope we all share in the glory of God: as Father, Son and Holy Spirit….

The hope that does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Keep wondering, keep asking questions, keep listening, keep seeking God in all the ways you can…keep praying for Wisdom to teach you and guide you..

 

Closing Prayer: Voices Found - #60 Come and seek the ways of Wisdom

Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,

she who danced when earth was new.

Follow closely what she teaches,

for her words are right and true.

Wisdom clears the path of justice,

showing us what love must do.

 

Listen to the voice of Wisdom,

crying in the marketplace.

Hear the Word made flesh among us,

full of glory, truth, and grace.

When the word takes root and ripens,

peace and righteousness embrace.

 

Sister Wisdom, come, assist us;

nurture all who seek rebirth.

Spirit-guide and close companion,

bring to light our sacred worth.

Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.

 

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Gracious Visit

Reflection

“If only you knew on this of all days the things that lead to peace.” Luke 19:42 (CEB)

 

If only: I had slowed down, and spent more time in silence

If only: I had stayed there longer to listen more deeply

If only: I didn’t turn the other way, when the Spirit was leading me into a new place

If only: I had laid down my burdens and worries, trusting in God’s guidance

If only: I could open my eyes, my ears, my mind and my heart to acknowledge the peace of Christ, right there in the midst of my life…

“You didn’t recognize the time of your gracious visit from God.” Luke 19:44 (CEB)

No more “if only’s” for me today…

Today, I begin anew….I will open up the doors and windows in the temple of my heart…to be a place of prayer, a place of welcome, a place of hope….a place where I will recognize the love and peace of God, when she makes her gracious visit.

SERMON for 7 Easter

7 Easter/Year C

June 2, 2019 

Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17: 20-26

 

A Prayer of Invocation (based on John 17)

~ from One in Love and Mission, written by Rev. Susan A. Blain (adapted).

 

Mysterious God, You reveal yourself in Jesus, your Beloved Child who gives us a glimpse of your glory and invites us to share in the unity of all that is Holy: the holiness that is You, your creation,  your people, united in the Spirit that breaks through all boundaries of fear and injustice.

Meet us here today, O God, and teach us to be one:One in love for each other, One in understanding with all who find in Jesus the Way to You, One in peace with all who find other paths to your Truth. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, whose fervent prayer was ever: “May they all be one.” Amen.

 

When you hear that prayer, Jesus’ fervent prayer, “may they all be one”…what does that bring up for you?

What words of hope and promise do you hear in these simple words of prayer?

How does this prayer challenge you in envisioning this oneness that Jesus is praying for?  Especially, when you look at all the daily news that keeps focusing on how much we are all so divided and disconnected from one another…

Is it possible for you to hear these words of prayer, afresh and anew…as a song and a prayer that has the power to unite us in love for one another?

Is it possible for you to imagine a world, in which there would be no more hunger, no more divisions, no more hatred, no more, “us vs them”?

Is it possible for you to imagine…and hope in Jesus’ fervent prayer: “May they all be one”?

I believe with all of my heart and soul and mind…that prayer has the power to open a way for us, to become this one, diverse family, united by the love of God, revealed to us, in Jesus Christ, and in his fervent prayers for us….

I believe with all of my heart and soul and mind…that prayer has the power to set people free…from the things of this world that makes us fearful, and afraid….the things of this world that hold us hostage to anger, and violence as a way of life…

I believe with all of my heart and soul and mind…that when we believe and hold fast to the hope and prayer of oneness in Jesus’ fervent prayer…that nothing…can separate us from the love of God….nothing can keep us from singing the songs and praises of God…whose love has the power to unite us, all…and open up a way of freedom…that sets us all free to love one another, as Christ has loved us…

This past week, those gathered for the Book group, finished up the last 2 chapters of The Way of Love: Pray…

Chapter 5 focused on the question: How can I pray when I’m angry? It was noted that for some people, anger and hurt and grief can draw some closer to God, and the desire to pray fervently for God’s help and comfort…

For others…the anger and hurt and grief drives them away from God and other people who care for them…These are the times, when the fervent prayers and faith of others, has the power to carry them, and hold them close, in the abiding presence of God…when they may doubt that God is there…or that others really care…

Chapter 6 was entitled “Becoming Prayer”. The chapter spoke about prayer and imagination. In the first pages of this chapter, the author reflected on an excerpt from “Through the Looking Glass”.

Here is that excerpt: The Red Queen in Through the Looking Glass said that she had learned to imagine six impossible things before breakfast every day and wanted Alice to try it.

We might want to argue that, because nothing is impossible, her statement was a contradiction of itself. Imagination is a door to adventure, and never limited by numbers. Even if you were chained to a wall in a dungeon, you could, in imagination, run through a field of dandelions. Or juggle flaming swords. Or talk to God face to face. Or any number of amazing events; why stop at six? A few things may have been enough for the Red Queen, but the person who longs for God and is learning to “do” prayer uses imagination in every second of prayer, done or spoken.

Christian hope is one of the most important virtues your imagination can capture.

And once we capture it, this hope, in our prayers, what will we do with it?

Do we dare to imagine and believe in the fervent prayer of Jesus, that we all may be one?

Do we dare, to become this prayer, and go out into the world to proclaim this good news…through our words and actions?

·        By praying for and supporting the grieving widow

·        By praying for and supporting the lonely

·        By praying for the survivors of abuse, and working to support a way forward, encouraging healing, healthy and respectful relationships among all people…

·        By praying for those struggling with addictions, and supporting them in their work of recovery

·        By praying for an end of the way of violence as a solution to our divisions and struggles to understand one another…and to pray for justice and a way of peace that builds bridges of understanding and a way forward together…

Do we dare to be as bold and hopeful with our prayers as Paul and Silas were in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles’ today…when they continued to pray and sing hymns, in the midst of their being beaten and thrown into prison….

Do we dare to become that fervent prayer of Jesus, for all the world to see, sharing it freely and abundantly, in hopes of spreading the good news that all may be one…that all may be set free to love God and one another…

Jesus prayed on our behalf, and on behalf of all those who may not yet have captured the Holy imagination, the promise of hope in a different way of being in the world together… and for those who have yet dared to hope in a world where all may be one, diverse family…united by the love of God….

 

We pray every week…thy kingdom come, thy will be done…on earth as it is in heaven…

Come, Lord Jesus…Come…

This is our fervent prayer, too…

Jesus promised, before he left this earthly place, that we would not be left without  a prayer, without help, without a comforter, without an advocate…we were promised…that the Holy Spirit would be sent to us…to keep that fervent prayer and song alive in our hearts and imaginations…for us…and to be shared with all the world…

That’s a good reminder for us…that we were never meant to navigate this world alone…We were created out of God’s love for the world and his people, to love one another, and all of creation…it has always been about being one family, uniting us together as one…one family under the banner of God’s love…

IN the hope and promises fulfilled in the hearing of this good news today – Let us continue to pray and sing our hymns to God….Let us use our Holy imagination and faith, in daring to believe and hope in Jesus’ fervent prayer: “May they all be one.”

 

Let us pray: My Life Flows on in Endless Song

My life flows on in endless song; above earth’s lamentation, I catch the sweet, though far off hymn that hails a new creation.

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to the Rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing. It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to the Rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

What through my joys and comforts die? The Lord my Savior liveth. What through the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to the Rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing! All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to the Rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

 

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

 

 

 

 

 

WORSHIP: TRAVELING THE WAY OF LOVE

In worship, we gather with others before God, hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ, giving thanks, confessing, and offering the brokenness of the world to God. But what does it mean to worship in a non-traditional setting? How can we be responsive to neighbors who might never walk through the red doors? St. Lydia’s shows us how to worship in the language of their neighbors.

This video was produced The Episcopal Church Office of Communication in partnership with the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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