Home with God

18 Pentecost/Year C

October 13, 2019

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17: 11-19 

It is good to be home again and to be here with all of you again. I had the opportunity to travel to MA and NYC to be with family and old friends when I attended my high school reunion. It was good to visit new places and old places…. I attempted to recall what it was like growing up in Cape Cod, MA…trying so hard to re-capture the familiarity and comfort of growing up in a place where I was surely blessed by family, friends, a beautiful landscape of oceans, and endless opportunities that I was given throughout my life there. I am grateful for the people and this place that I called home for so many years. And in my heart, will always be home.

 My time in NYC with my son and his wife, was also a blessed time, and at the same time there were those moments of uncomfortableness, and being overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of a city that is not familiar to me, in a city that I’m not sure I could ever call home. But my son, his wife, and millions of others…thrive in their city…love their city and call it home. And they are grateful.

 I also had the opportunity to attend the diocesan convention in Anchorage, for a few days after my vacation. It is always a blessed time to gather with others from across the state, to hear about what’s going on in their homes, neighborhoods, and worshipping communities. It’s always a reminder to me, of the diversity of God’s people, and the places we call home, and the comfort we receive, in being welcomed into a circle and a community of love, that we had not yet intimately known.

Travelling is a joy, but it can also be a mix of joy and anxiety in not being in our usual place of comfort. We miss the comfort of our own beds, the foods we like, the familiar smells in the air we breathe, the places and people who give us joy in our neighborhoods, and our own routines that keep us grounded to this place we call home. We count ourselves blessed to have a place we call home. And we are thankful.

But, after a time, once we are back home, we fall back into our routines and back into our circle of comfort….and perhaps forget….the uneasiness of what it felt like to be an “outsider” for a time…what it felt like…to be on the outside of a community, looking in…what it felt like to live with some uncertainty and uncomfortableness for a time… and perhaps, we forget…to give thanks to God… for the blessing of being in relationship with God, and others, who see us, invite us, welcome us and ground us in this place…we call home.

In today’s gospel reading…we hear about the 10 lepers, outsiders, untouchables,  who approach Jesus when he comes into a village…but, they keep their distance…they are used to being on the outside…looking in…on the outside, perhaps…just waiting for someone to notice them, and invite them, to be part of the community gathered….

And they summon up the courage to call out to Jesus…I wonder why? What had they heard about him? Maybe they have been following Him, and watching him closely from a distance…from a perspective that others on the inside could not have known? Or perhaps from a perspective that others had forgotten…what it meant to be an outsider…

The 10 lepers call out to Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus sees them…he hears them…he understands them…he responds to them… “Go and show yourselves to the priests”.  And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

He was not only a leper, but a Samaritan. He was a foreigner. He was made clean. He was healed. And he turned back to thank Jesus. No one else did. Just the Samaritan in this story.

In Jesus’ time, Samaritans were the natural foe of any story because they were considered as Gentiles. This Samaritan’s behavior is a reversal, where the outsider expected to behave poorly becomes the model disciple. (Helena L. Martin)

It is the outsider who reminds us of who it is that loves us, welcomes us, heals us, makes us whole, restores us, and reconciles us to God, and one another…into a community of love, God’s love…God’s home. It is the outsider, the leper, the Samaritan, who reminds us all…to return to God to give thanks for everything…and in doing so…our faith makes us whole and well…

It is by the Samaritan’s example…that we get a tiny glimpse of what God’s kingdom, God’s beloved community looks like…a home, a community for all God’s beloved children….where there are no more outsiders looking in…where there are invitations extended, welcomes celebrated, love shared among everyone…and when we remember to give thanks and praise to God, for welcoming us all into God’s forever home.

In Jesus’ time, and in this story, we know the outsiders as lepers…

What about in our time now…who does our society label and treat as outsiders now? The poor, the homeless, the addicted, those with behavioral health and mental health disorders, those with physical conditions that are hidden from our eyes, those who don’t act like us, or believe what we do, those who are in prison, those who are tucked away in facilities, the children who are caught up in a system of abuse and neglect, those who are foreigners and refugees…

We have a long list of people that live on the margins, and on the outskirts of a welcoming and loving community…

We’ve been on the outside, looking in, too…many times…and we’ve been called to return, many times, to give thanks to God, for welcoming us home once again…we know the comfort and joy in this…

Might we tap into that remembrance of being on the outside, looking in and tap into our thankfulness and gratitude for God’s blessing, often -  and offer and share the same love, comfort and joy and assurance of our faith that has made us well…and invite others to know the same?

Might we reach out, not in fear, but with love…join hands with one another…and welcome someone home, once again….and with all of our hands joined together – lift them up, praising God together:

Song: My Tribute (the Purple Maranatha Praise Chorus Book)

To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory for the things He has done!

With His hand He has saved us, with His pow’r He has raised us, to God be the glory for the things He has done!

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Sunday sermon

Pentecost 16 Proper 21 September 29, 2019

I'll pray for each of you tonight. Blessings! Be bold! Be alive! Be honest - would you want to be doing anything else.

When I found out I’d be leading today’s service, I looked at the lectionary calendar and noticed there was a feast day that had been moved from today to tomorrow – the feast of Michael and All Angels. There are only a few feast days celebrated on the assigned date if that date happens to fall on a Sunday, and this was not one of them. The readings for both days intrigued me, but I focused on today’s readings.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to shred the junk mail atop my shredder. I glanced through the return addresses and checked the thickness of the envelopes, then began to feed the mail into the machine – until I came to the last envelope, upside down in my hand. I paused, turned it over and looked at the return address again – Catholic Relief Services. Hmmm, how did they get my address? I wondered, as I bent over to place the envelope into the slot. Something made me pause again; I turned it over and in the lower right corner saw: Angel Medallion Inside – DO NOT SHRED. Sure enough, there was a medallion glued to a card inside. I remembered the upcoming feast day and saved the envelope and medallion.

Whether you believe angels move among us or are the things of myth, most of us have our own ideas about them. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘angel?’ Beautiful beings with shimmering wings and flowing tunics hovering overhead? Halfcovered cherubs with tiny wings? Adoring creatures gathered singing around heavenly beings? Maybe you think of your children or grandchildren in the Christmas pageant, or as tiny babies, sound asleep. Do you imagine little beings perched on your shoulders advising you to do one thing or another? Are angels generous patrons here on earth? Helpers? Loved ones? Guardians? Do you think of Roma Downey in Touched by an Angel - or John Travolta in Michael?

Scriptures speak of angels as created intelligences who worship God in heaven and act as God’s messengers and agents on earth. There are references to angels protecting and guiding humans, as well as carrying out tasks on God’s behalf. In today’s gospel, we heard a hint of that as we read that the angels carried the poor man away to be with Abraham after he died.

The parable in today’s gospel tells of a poor man lying hungry and dying at the gates of a rich man’s house, a man who ignored the poverty right outside his front door. When both men die, one was taken to be with Abraham while the other was buried and went to Hades where he suffered greatly, begging for mercy for himself and his family.

Today’s parable stands out among all the parables for one reason. When we read it, we heard the rich man described simply as ‘the rich man.’ Sometimes he is given the name ‘Dives,’ pronounced ‘dee-ways’ in Latin. This isn’t a name – it only means ‘very rich man’ in Latin. But there is a name in this parable - the only name I could find in all the parables. Jesus names the poor man ‘Lazarus,’ which means ‘God Has Helped.’ Naming is important – the act of naming creates an intimate relationship between the ‘namer’ and the named one. In giving the poor man a name, Jesus was letting his listeners know there was a deep connection between Jesus and Lazarus, a bond that demonstrated how people should relate to and treat others, no matter their social standing. Lazarus was not simply a beggar; he was a child of God, important and beloved.

As I thought about the words of the parable, I realized that even before he died, the rich man was, in effect, dead to the world around him. All that mattered was his wealth and feeding his hunger for more. He couldn’t see the need outside his gates because he was blind to all but his own needs. Not even the sight of starving Lazarus covered with sores could move him. As humans, we are hardwired to feel love and compassion; when we see others in need or suffering, it’s normal and natural for us to respond with emotion, with empathy, with a sense of sadness or a desire to make right whatever is wrong. It’s also part of our nature to share happiness and joy. When we deny ourselves those feelings and emotions, we are denying our own humanity - and dying to the world.

In this parable, Jesus reminds us there is so much more to life in this world than wealth. The world we inhabit has many similarities with the world of Jesus’ time. We, too, have war, hunger and disease. Many need shelter, clothing, medical care, help with addiction and mental illness. This parable reminds us that those who suffer have names. They are real. They exist in very real and horrifying conditions. Unless we open ourselves to see and feel the world outside our own existences, it will be as if we are dead to that world - and to our own humanness. With all the means we have at our hands to feed, clothe, shelter, protect and care for all who are named and loved by Jesus, there is no reason whatsoever for these conditions to exist. There is no reason for children to die of curable diseases, or for wars to rage on. We could fix these problems and right these wrongs.

So where do angels fit into the picture? If angels are God’s messengers and agents, is it possible for us to be those messengers of hope and agents of change? When our words and actions align with the words and actions we embrace in our baptismal vows, the answer is ‘absolutely yes!’ Ask yourself: When was the last time my words or actions changed the life of another for the better? When did I go out of my way to help someone in distress or need? Do my words build others up and offer hope? Have I smiled at a stranger or shared a giggle with a person standing near? What about the time I paid it forward at the coffee shop or restaurant?

When you were serving Christ in others and working for justice and peace, was there an angel guiding you? Were you an angel for someone else? How did you feel? Maybe a little more alive?

Let’s not forget that medallion. I wonder if an angel stopped me from shredding that envelope. Hmmm.

Thanks be to God.

Written by Kit Allgood-Mellema

Climate Changed

Sept 20, 2019

Climate Change

Dear Editor: Kathryn Hayhoe, a climate scientist, a professor in the department of political science at Texas Tech University, director of the Climate Center and evangelical Christian, was just named Climate Champion of the Earth by the United Nations. Here’s what she said yesterday. “The award offers real encouragement to those of us working every day to spread the message that climate change is real and that we need to act now to deal with it. Together, keeping up the pressure, we can prevail, because we already have the technology and knowledge to make the necessary changes; all we’re missing is the will,” Hayhoe said. (https://youtu.be/CptBBAxd928)

I had the opportunity to hear Kathryn twice last week while attending the ONE PLANET, ONE FAMILY conference sponsored by Alaska Interfaith Power & Light. 

She spoke at UAS to an audience of community members, faculty and students and then again at Chapel by the Lake to people of faith wooing both packed facilities. I had listened to her before on a Citizens Climate Lobby education call, and I wasn’t disappointed. She’s a powerful advocate for the planet and a force to be reckoned with. She persuasively used the metaphor of our planet as a human body when addressing what’s the big deal of a 2 degree increase in temperature on the planet. Well for us humans, it’s the difference of a 98.6 and 100.6 temperature. It clearly indicates that we are sick; it’s not different for our planet. The planet has a fever, it’s going up and she’s getting sicker the longer we go without enacting policies that effectively bring down carbon emissions and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Kathryn also talked about the Genesis passage (NRSV verse 1:28) in the Bible which reads ... God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Kathryn pointed out that the word dominion comes from the Greek word, radah. It means to be responsible for; it’s a ruling or rule. The words, abad – to cultivate and shamar – to protect, keep, guard – also come up in the passage depending on the version you are reading. So basically, the Maker is directing humanity to take responsibility for, to cultivate and care for the Creation. We’ve fallen terribly, terribly short and now, planetary health and human health are in jeopardy. As she so eloquently said, “It’s climate changed not climate change.”

So what to do? We’ll here’s a short list:

Support youths striking for the climate today and on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Sitka High School at 11:30 a.m.

Call Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and ask them to join the newly forming Climate Solutions Caucus in the Senate that Sen. Coons (Democrat from Delaware) and Sen. Braun (Republican from Indiana) created.

Call Rep. Don Young and ask him to sign on to the bipartisan, HR 763 – The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act – the best first step to curb carbon emissions.

If you are a business owner or congregation, endorse HR 763 at https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/.

Look at your own carbon footprint at www.footprintcalculator.org. What changes can you make? Collectively, all our actions add up.

For the love of Creation,

Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Sitka

(In the Sitka Sentinel today Sept 20, 2019)

God will not give up on any of us

14 Pentecost/Year C

September 15, 2019

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14;1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

I came across a very old gospel hymn this past week in the hymnbook we use at the Pioneers’ home for the Wednesday morning communion service. I’ve been spending some extra time there the past couple of months due to a couple of their regular pianists being out on medical leave. They usually play every week for the Wednesday morning service, and the gospel music time afterwards, and on Thursday nights.

When I was looking through the hymnbook to choose the 2 hymns to sing this past week at the Wed service, the title of a hymn, The Ninety and the Nine caught my eye. When I returned to my church office, I looked up the hymn to check out the lyrics and music, and I listened to a few recordings of it. And as music almost always does for me, it brought home the message of today’s gospel for me, reminding me, yet again, of God’s never-ending and relentless, outpouring of love, compassion, and mercy for me, and for all of his beloved people.

I was reminded while reading the lyrics of this old, old hymn, written in 1868 and put to music in 1874, that no matter how many times I have messed up, sinned, and wandered far away from trusting in the love and mercy of God, God never gives up on me. He never gives up on us. He will do whatever it takes to find any of his flock who have wandered off from the Shepherd’s care and find themselves lost for a time… He will keep looking and searching for those who are lost, and when he finds them, he will bring them back home, rejoicing, “I have found my sheep!”

Sometimes, we, ourselves may not even know we are lost…it’s often easier to point out others who appear to be lost, and label someone else as a sinner…but we are not so ready to admit to ourselves, our own sin, our own shortcomings, our own failure to fully trust and believe that God calls us beloved.

When we repent, we free ourselves to be loved by God, and we free ourselves to go out into the world to seek those who are lost, or feeling alone, …those who God sends us out to love, and welcome them home….our family, our friends, our neighbors, our enemies, and strangers….

God will not give up on any of us:  He will keep looking and searching for those who are lost, and when he finds them, he will bring them back home, rejoicing, “I have found my sheep!”

This is good news, indeed! Good News that has been proclaimed for over 2000 years in the scriptures, and in the lives of those who believe in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… In Jesus, we have a Shepherd who has shown us what it means to be relentless in love, compassion and mercy…In Jesus, we have a Shepherd, who has given us hope and strength to follow him, in seeking out ways to love and care for one another…never giving up hope, never giving up on someone else’s worthiness, never giving up, on listening for their voice, never giving up on the dream of God’s beloved community….where all will know the love and power of God’s love, to bring healing and hope in all of our lives again, uniting us and reconciling us to one another…as a community, a family…where all are loved and welcomed home, where we will all rejoice together, in the presence of the angels of God, in this life, and in the life, yet to come.

By our Baptism, as followers of the Way of Christ, The Way of Love, we are being called to be part of the search party now…

"How many of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

In God’s kingdom, in God’s family…every person is loved and valued and of worth. Never give up, in remembering that about yourself….and never give up, in searching for his beloved and bring them home.

God will not give up on any of us:  He will keep looking and searching for those who are lost, and when he finds them, he will bring them back home, rejoicing, “I have found my sheep!”

Hymn: The Ninety and Nine (words by Elizabeth C Clephane, 1868;  Music by Ira D Sankey, 1874)

1 There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold,

but one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold —

away on the mountains wild and bare,

away from the tender Shepherd's care, away from the tender Shepherd's care.

2 "Lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine; are they not enough for thee?"

But the Shepherd made answer: "This of mine has wandered away from me,

and although the road be rough and steep,

I go to the desert to find my sheep, I go to the desert to find my sheep."

3 But none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed;

nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed thro' ere he found his sheep that was lost.

Out in the desert he heard its cry —

sick and helpless, and ready to die, sick and helpless, and ready to die.

4 "Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way that mark out the mountain's track?" "They were shed for one who had gone astray ere the Shepherd could bring him back."

"Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn?"

"They're pierced tonight by many a thorn, they're pierced tonight by many a thorn."

5 But all thro' the mountains, thunder-riv'n, and up from the rocky steep,

there arose a glad cry to the gate of heav'n, "Rejoice! I have found my sheep!"

And the angels echoed around the throne,

"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own! Rejoice, for the Lord brings back his own!"

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Recovery Month Sermon

13 Pentecost/Year C

Sept 8, 2019

Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33

Opening prayer: Loving God, as we come before you this morning, give us open hearts and open hands. Make us eager to hear your voice and seek your guidance. Open our minds to your ever-present spirit that is always moving within and around us. Open our spirits to your nudging and open our lives to your love.

. ~ posted on The Minor Keys.   theminorkeys.blogspot.ca

Sometimes Jesus’ words come off sounding quite beautiful and lovely…nudging us gently to follow him….Other times…not so gentle…and beautiful sounding…

Today’s gospel reading…is one of those “not so gentle” messages about what it means to follow him. Jesus has some harsh words for those who say they want to follow him, and be his disciple. "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. …none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Jesus certainly has a way with words sometimes…words that always manage to catch one’s attention…he has a way about him…that brings us uncomfortably close to the truth…his words can be pretty shocking at times, sound pretty radical, sound impossible, and pretty much turn upside down, anything we thought we understood about him, and what we really think we are doing, when we say yes…to following him…

Jesus always seemed to have a large crowd gathering around him…There seemed to be plenty of people who were travelling with him from place to place…eager to hear what he had to say…

But every once in awhile…he stopped what he was doing…turned around and looked directly at those who were following him…and questioned them…

He wanted to know, if they realized fully who it was they were following…where they thought he might be leading them…

He wanted to know, if they realized…that following him…meant going all the way to the cross with him…he told them more than once…that the Son of Man would be killed, and on the third day He would rise again.  But the disciples…didn’t seem to understand these words…or perhaps they didn’t want to hear what he was saying… when he began to talk about his death…

They couldn’t get past the harsh words. They seem to stop there. And then go back to their own version of what it is they were doing, in following Jesus. And perhaps, just brush it off.

But Jesus’ invitation to follow him, and be a disciple means that we trust in Him enough…to follow him all the way to the cross…and stay there with him, face the hard stuff, acknowledge the death, be there in the quiet and unknowing of what’s next…Trust in his hard words of truth…because as we have the benefit of knowing now…death does not have the final say…because Jesus did rise to life again on the third day…so that all of us…could also be transformed into new life with him.

Following Jesus is hard…but, in considering the cost and the value of all of God’s beloved children…striving to love one another as Christ has loved us….every step with Jesus, with our brothers and sisters is so worth it…

I am particularly thinking of our brothers and sisters who are struggling with mental health and substance use disorders….it can often be a long and difficult road to recovery…but with the support of people along the way…hard and difficult is not impossible…

September is National Recovery Month. It is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is a national observance held every September to educate the general public that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. This observance celebrates the millions of people who are in recovery from mental and substance use disorders, reminding us that treatment is effective and that people can and do recover.

 It also serves to help reduce the stigma and misconceptions that cloud public understanding of mental and substance use disorders, potentially discouraging others from seeking help.

The 2019 Recovery month theme: “Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Are Stronger,” emphasizes the need to share resources and build networks across the country to support recovery. It reminds us that mental and substance use disorders affect us all, and that we are all part of the solution.

https://recoverymonth.gov/about-recovery-month

There are several things happening in Sitka as part of recovery month. This past weekend, was a walk in recognition of suicide prevention efforts…and many people walked, to remember a loved one who has died by suicide.

Next weekend, Sitka counseling is inviting the community to come out and walk for recovery…a chance to celebrate those in recovery from mental health and substance use related issues…and to spread the message that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover. (SCPS)

St Peter’s will hold a special prayer service on Sept 18, in recognition of Recovery month.

At the end of the month, there will be a community Recovery Month Potlatch…

Every day, here in Sitka, there are AA/NA groups, and other support groups available to those in recovery and for their families and circle of support…

Those in recovery need support from the whole community. (not from just the counselors, the medical establishments, the mental health practitioners).  They can’t do it themselves, their family cannot support them all on their own…it takes all of us to seek to be educated, and seek ways that we can walk with people on the long road to recovery.

Following Jesus is all about community. It’s all about finding ways to walk with each other through the hard times, and the joyful times. It’s all about trusting Jesus to know, that when he walk with him, he will not only lead us to face the difficult issues in our lives, but he will lead us beyond that into a new life…transformed by the love of God into a new creation

I could imagine Jesus walking right alongside with all those on the road to recovery as they face the very hard stuff…and go through the difficult period of transition and transformation to a new life ….

And as brothers and sisters in Christ…I imagine Jesus is inviting us to follow him…to really think about what it means to be a disciple of Christ…trusting in Him, going wherever he leads us…going all the way with him….doing whatever it takes…to love one another, as Christ as loved us….but not only following Christ alone, but in community with one another.

That’s where the fullness of life begins and ends and begins again…in following Jesus, all the way….walking together with our brothers and sisters…all the way….trusting in the way Jesus is leading us…into newness of life…and God’s everlasting grace and glory….

Lift Every Voice and Sing II - #144 Where He Leads Me

1          I can hear my Savior calling, (x3)

            "Take thy cross and follow, follow me."

            Refrain Where He leads me I will follow,(x3)

            I'll go with Him, with Him all the way.

2          I'll go with Him through the garden, (x3)

            I'll go with Him, with Him all the way. Refrain

3          I'll go with Him through the judgement, (x3)

            I'll go with Him, with Him all the way. Refrain

4          He will give me grace and glory, (x3)

            And go with me, with me all the way.  Refrain

Rev Julie Platson, St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK

Recital to Inaugurate Gift Piano at Church

Recital to Inaugurate Gift Piano at Church

By SHANNON HAUGLAND Sentinel Staff Writer (Sept 3, 2019)

A topnotch classical musician, a 100-year-old Steinway and the beautiful acoustics of a historic Sitka church will share the spotlight Thursday at a recital to celebrate the donation of the piano to the Sitka Summer Music Festival – and the community.

“For 100 years old, it’s really definitely a good piano,” said Alfredo Oyaguez Montero, who will be a guest pianist at the upcoming Autumn Classics series. “The keyboard is great, responsive. The acoustics of the church help.”

Oyaguez will play a recital 5:30 p.m. Thursday as St. Peter’s Episcopal church welcomes the Steinway Model 0 to its new home. The recital is free and open to the public.

The piano was donated to the festival by Linda Kumin, a festival patron from Anchorage, who had it crated up and shipped to Sitka in June. Festival Executive Director Kayla Boettcher said the gift presented the organization with the opportunity to partner with St. Peter’s to provide it with a permanent home.

For the 45-minute program, Oyaguez plans to select pieces that show off the beauty of the instrument, helped by the acoustics of the historic church at 611 Lincoln Street. As he spoke to the Sentinel today Oyaguez said he was still fine-tuning the program for Thursday, but that it should include some standard German fare as well as pieces by Spanish composers, including Astor Piazzolla. Oyaguez’ home is in Mallorca, Spain.

Oyaguez gave solid reviews to the instrument, which was built about 100 years ago at the Steinway factory in New York. Pianos are affected by age, but Oyaguez said the New York Steinways have a reputation of being more resilient than those manufactured in Hamburg, Germany.

  As to this particular piano, Oyaguez commented, “I found it very comfortable and rewarding to play on it.”

Since its arrival this summer the Kumin piano has been played at special programs as well as at regular Episcopalian church services. The church is a popular venue for amateur as well as professional musicians, and community concerts.

 “We’re grateful we have this space for the piano, and to share it with the community,” said the Rev. Julie Platson, rector of St. Peter’s.

Oyaguez was a guest artist at the Sitka Summer Music Festival in 2018, and will perform this fall at Juneau Jazz and Classics in Juneau Sept. 7 and 8, followed by a SSMF concert in Cordova on Sept. 9. He will perform on the first weekend of the Autumn Classics Sept. 13-15 and Sept. 19-22 in Anchorage.

Oyaguez has a master’s of music from Yale University and master’s degrees in conducting with Professor Heiichiro Ohyama and Piano Performance from University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been associate conductor and general manager of the UCSB Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater and a lecturer for the Conducting Department at the UCSB Department of Music.

Oyaguez has a “High Degree in Music” and the “Piano Professor Diploma” from the Madrid Royal Conservatory where he studied with Professors Almudena Cano, Consuelo Mejias and Josep Colom. He is on the faculty of the Palma de Mallorca Conservatory in the Balearic Islands and is artistic director of the Deia International Music Festival and the Palau March Chamber series, and director and founding member of the Camerata Deia. He is a professor at the Folkwang Universitat der Kunste in Essen, Germany, and the “International Music Seminars “Musica en Compostela.”

 This season, he performed at El Paso Pro Musica, and the Northwest Bach Festival, where Zuill Bailey (Sitka Festival artistic director) is artistic director. Oyaguez also played at a festival in Mesa, Arizona.

During his nine days in Sitka, Oyaguez been visiting schools, and talking to the kids about music, music history and culture.

“He really enjoys being in Sitka and it’s great he’s willing to share his experiences with the community,” said Boettcher.

Kumin said today from Anchorage that she decided to donate the instrument after she was unable to find a buyer, and is happy her gift will be appreciated by the Festival and community.

  “It needs to be played,” she said. “I’m glad someone’s going to play it.”

World Day of Prayer for Creation

12 Pentecost/Year C

Sept 1, 2019

Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16;  Luke 14: 1, 7-14

September 1st is the World Day of Prayer for Creation, which kicks off the start of the Season of Creation that continues through October 4th.  It’s a time for people of faith to be intentional about living out one’s faith in caring for creation, by praying, advocating, taking action that calls our attention to the web of life and our interconnectedness to God, one another, and all of God’s creatures and all of God’s treasures in the world around us…the good earth, the trees, the mountains, the oceans and the rivers, all of this…that nourishes and sustains us all.

In today’s scriptures, we are reminded that there are so many times throughout the ages, including now, in our present time, that God’s people have forgotten who has created them,  who they belong to, who has blessed them, who has given hope to their hearts, who has brought them time and time again, into a land of plenty, and abundance, with more than enough to share with one another…People have forgotten, the One, who created them, out of love, to love one another, and all of creation…and have forgotten, that the care of this sacred earth and all of its people, have been entrusted to each one of us. We have forgotten, at times, that we were created out of God’s love…as a message of God’s love to the earth…and as a prayer from the earth back to God.

And we have argued and have disagreed, about who knows God and who does not; where God is, and where He is not; who should and should not be invited to the dinner, who should sit in the place of honor and who should not; who is worthy, who is not… as was evident in our gospel today; we have neglected to show hospitality to one another, and neglected to love one another, as God has so generously loved us.

The good news is this: that today is a new day…a new day to turn our hearts once again towards God, remembering that we were created out of God’s love…as a message of God’s love to the earth…and as a prayer from the earth to God...

It’s a new opportunity to do good, as we heard in our Hebrews reading…and to share the love and blessings we have received… to give thanks to God, in ways that show that we love one another, and share with one another, and encourage one other to care for all of God’s beloved creation…a gift from God…and extravagant gift from God…

When we get back to these basics…the very beginnings and purpose of creation…we are reminded…that we are all connected and united by the love of God, in this web of life that nourishes and sustains us all….and welcomes all to the table of God’s love, the festive banquet that has been spread out for all to enjoy… an extravagant gift from God..

Let me share a short story, about a wise old turtle…who reminds us of our interconnectedness with all of creation…and teaches us about seeing God and loving God, in each other, and in all of creation.

STORY: OLD TURTLE, by Douglas Wood

Once, long, long ago….yet somehow, not so very long…when all the animals and rocks and winds and waters and trees and birds and fish and all the beings of the world could speak….and understand one another…

There began…AN ARGUMENT.

It began softly at first…

Quietly as the first breeze that whispered,

 “He is a wind who is never still.

Quiet as the stone that answered,

“He is a great rock that never moves.”

Gentle as the mountain that rumbled,

“God is a snowy peak, high above the clouds.”

And the fish in the ocean that answered, “God is a swimmer, in the dark blue depths of the sea.”

“No,” said the star, “God is a twinkling and a shining, far, far away.”

“No,” replied the ant, “God is a sound and a smell and a feeling, who is very, very close.”

“God,” insisted the antelope, “is a runner, swift and free, who loves to leap and race with the wind.”

“She is a great tree,” murmured the willow, “a part of the world, always growing and always giving.”

“You are wrong,” argued the island, “God is separate and apart.”

“God is like a shining sun, far above all things,” added the blue sky.

“No, He is a river, who flows through the very heart of things,” thundered the waterfall.

“She is a hunter,” roared the lion.

“God is gentle,” chirped the robin.

“He is powerful,” growled the bear.

And the argument grew louder and louder and louder…until…

STOP!

It rumbled loudly, like thunder.

And it whispered softly, like butterfly sneezes.

The voice seemed to come from…

Why it seemed to come from……Old Turtle!

Old Turtle hardly ever said anything, and certainly never argues about God.  But now Old Turtle began to speak.

“God is indeed deep,” she said to the fish in the sea; “and much higher than high,” she told the mountains.

“He is swift and free as the wind, and still and solid as a great rock,” she said to the breezes and stones.

“She is the life of the world,” Turtle said to the willow. “Always close by, yet beyond the farthest twinkling light,” she told the ant and the star.

“God is gentle and powerful. Above all things and within all things.”

“God is all that we dream of, and all that we seek,” said Old Turtle, “all that we come from and all that we can find.

“God IS.”

Old turtle had never said so much before. All the beings of the world were surprised, and became very quiet. But Old Turtle had one more thing to say.

“There will soon be a new family of beings in the world,” she said, “and they will be reminders of all that God is.”

“They will come in many colors and shapes, with different faces and different ways of speaking.”

“Their thoughts will soar to the stars, but their feet will walk the earth.”

“They will possess many powers. They will be strong, yet tender, a message of love from God to earth, and a prayer from the earth back to God.”

And the people came.

But the people forgot. They forgot that they were a message of love, and a prayer from the earth.

And they began to argue…

About who knew God, and who did not; and where God was and was not; and whether God was, or was not. And often the people misused their powers, and hurt one another. Or killed one another.

And they hurt the earth.

Until finally even the forests began to die…and the rivers and the oceans and the plants and the animals and the earth itself…

Because the people could not remember who they were, or where God was.

Until one day there came a voice, like the growling of thunder; but as soft as butterfly sneezes,

PLEASE, STOP.

 The voice seemed to come from the mountain who rumbled, “Sometimes I see God swimming, in the dark blue depths of the sea.”

And from the ocean who sighed, “He is often among the snow-capped peaks, reflecting the sun.”

From the stone who said, “I sometimes feel her breath, as she blows by.”

And from the breeze who whispered, “I feel his still presence as I dance among the rocks.”

And the star declared, “God is very close;” and the island added, “His love touches everything.”

And after a long, lonesome and scary time….the people listened, and began to hear…And to see God in one another…and in the beauty of all the earth.

And Old Turtle smiled. And so did God.

This is God’s dream for his people…and all of creation. That we remember we are a message of love from God to earth, and a prayer from the earth back to God.”

Let us pray: (season of creation prayer 2019)

Creator of Life,

The Earth is full of Your creatures, and by Your wisdom you made them all. At Your word, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit, the waters teemed with swarms of living creatures of every kind, and world was filled with every kind of winged bird, walking animal, and creatures that creep upon the ground.

Mountains, plains, rocks, and rivers shelter diverse communities, and through the changing seasons Your Spirit renews cycles of life.

During this Season of Creation, open our eyes to see the precious diversity that is all around us. Enlighten our minds to appreciate the delicate balance maintained by each creature. Inspire us to conserve the precious habitats that nurture this web of life.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Instrumental Music after sermon: All Things Bright and Beautiful

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Free at Last

11 Pentecost/Year C

August 25, 2019

Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13: 10-17

Sequence hymn/Hymn before/after gospel reading today

The Hymnal 1982 - #8 Morning has broken

Morning has broken like the first morning,

blackbird has spoken like the first bird.

Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!

Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,

like the first dewfall on the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,

sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning

born of the one light Eden saw play!

Praise with elation, praise every morning,

God's re-creation of the new day!

This hymn we just sang…makes me think of the woman in the gospel story today…who Jesus noticed, called her over to him, told her she was set free from her ailment, laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God…

I could imagine this morning hymn, being sung by her, with exuberant praise in thanksgiving for her newfound freedom…and her gratitude for the gift of a new day…

And what it really calls my attention to…is how all of us, who are gathered together, could join in this song too…rejoicing with her…that she has been set free from whatever physical, emotional and spiritual bondage that has kept her from acknowledging, and claiming her own worth and dignity…for 18 long years…

But, I’m not sure that always happens…we have our own lives to worry about…we don’t always notice the others in our midst who are not in our circle of friends….or if we do notice them…we don’t feel the need to make it our business, to get to know them…all we might see…is that woman bent over…that woman who could not stand up straight…that woman who we have seen every week, for the last 18 years…It is easier for us to tell our own stories about her…and not acknowledge her, or ask to hear her story, in her own words…and we just let her be…she doesn’t seem to be bothering anyone…she’s just there…there’s nothing we need to do about her…

But, what happens when something does change for her…something good! Do we jump to conclusions and start sputtering out words of condemnation and ridicule like the leader of the synagogue today, when Jesus dared to heal her on the sabbath day…

Or do we choose to rejoice with her, that the love of God, through Jesus, his words and his touch, has brought healing and reconciliation, not only for her, but all of us…if only we were to acknowledge her worth and dignity and belovedness as part of God’s family… we would all be truly free…

What about in our own lives now…there are people among us, who have lost their health and freedom, and are often overlooked…

Do we choose to support those who through addiction, have lost their health and freedom, and rejoice with them, in their work of recovery?

Do we choose to support those whose declining health has put limits on their freedom to live as they once did, but still look to us for signs of hope and reasons to rejoice?

Do we chose to support those whose daily lives are marked with violence, and rejoice with them when they have been set free, and empowered  to live a life, in which they are valued and respected for who they are…

Do we choose to support those who are grieving the loss of their loved one, and rejoice with them, as they reclaim their freedom to love and live again…

Do we choose to listen to the stories of those who cry out for help, when they are being held hostage by a system that has taken away their freedom to love and care for their family and their children? Can we imagine a new way forward with them, helping them to be set free, to love and be loved…and will we rejoice with them when the day finally comes…

What a day of rejoicing it would be…if the most vulnerable people among us, could be set free…could be set free to wake up in the morning, like you and I, singing and rejoicing that a new day has come…a new re-creation…a new day to praise God…

What a day of rejoicing it would be, if all of us, could sing this song of freedom together…a song that has been placed in our hearts, by the love of God, made known to us, through the gift of Jesus Christ…the one who came to live among us, to teach us, to set us free…to love ourselves, to claim that freedom for ourselves, and to eagerly share this love with others…so that they too will be set free to love and be loved….

***What a day of rejoicing it would be, if today we would recommit ourselves to the continued work of racial healing and reconciliation…and look forward to rejoice together on that day when all of God’s people will finally be set free…

Free at last, free at last, I thank God I'm free at last.

Lift Every Voice and Sing II - #230 Free at Last

Refrain: Free at last, free at last,

I thank God I'm free at last.

***As a part of Healing Day events happening nationwide today, We rang the church bells for 1 minute today at 11am (3pm eastern time zone) to join others in commemorating and remembering the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans who were brought to the Americas…and to recommit ourselves to the work of racial healing and reconciliation***

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/commemorating-400-years-african-american-history-and-culture-invitation

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

St Peter’s by the Sea Weekend Announcements - August 23

*Sunday Services - 8am & 10am

Sunday scriptures

 Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17

*Wednesdays: Bishop’s Tea House 11am-2pm (last week)

            Scripture Walks in Totem Park - 5:30pm (last week)                                  

*Thursdays: Bishop’s Tea House 11am-2pm (last week)                   

*Fridays: St Simeon & St Anna Prayer Service @ 10am

*Saturday Aug 31: 8am-12pm – Rummage Sale @ St Peter’s

Pearl of the Week

Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he that created you has sanctified you, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be God, for having created me.  - Clare of Assisi, Monastic

“Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”

Back to School Sunday/Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday

August 18, 2019

10am service

Proverbs 3:1, 5-6; Psalm 25: 4-5; Philippians 4:6-7

Mark 10: 13-16 (from the Children of God Storybook Bible)

The kids are getting ready to head back to school this week…

Lots of excitement in the air for some…maybe a tinge of worry for some…but for most kids…they are probably dreaming of a wonderful year ahead…

Next week will mark the beginning of a whole year of new adventures, experiencing new things, learning new things, meeting new friends…doing things that they haven’t even imagined or dreamed of yet…

It can be a wonderful time of life, for children…to be free to wonder and dream and play and laugh and sometimes cry…but mostly to love and live freely, trusting in the world around them…trusting in the adults who love and care and watch out for them...in their homes, and in the arms of their extended family members, in their schools, in other places in the community, and here in the church…

Do you and I remember what it was like to get ready to head back to school? Can you go back in time, and look through the lens of your five year old self…and remember what life was like back then and how you viewed the world around you?

It is difficult to do…we’ve learned and lived through so many things throughout our lives, good things and bad things, joyful times, and times of suffering and heartache…we have so many responsibilities now, that we are adults…

Something else can happen along the journey to adulthood… we forget to live and love and laugh and play and dream…we give up on a dream of a world where all will know and believe that God loves all of us…and of a world where we can show each other the same care and love we have received…and that really…there is enough love to go around, for all of us…really…there is…

IN God’s family…there is enough love to be shared…with God, one another, and all of creation…It’s a dream that can come true…with faith and hope…and through the eyes of a child…

In our gospel reading today…we are reminded of this, through the words of Jesus to his disciples,

 “Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”

So, as we turn to the start of a new school year, let us dare to dream again with the young people, and look to life again with faith and hope, through the eyes of a child…because everything we really need to know about life and loving God and one another, we learned in Kindergarten…

― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

1. Share everything.

2. Play fair.

3. Don't hit people.

4. Put things back where you found them.

5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.

6. Don't take things that aren't yours.

7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.

8. Wash your hands before you eat.

9. Flush.

10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.

12. Take a nap every afternoon.

13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.

16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”

Look…look for signs of God’s love wherever you go…Look and remember that God loves us all…           

Voices Found - #68 We bring our children

We bring our children, Lord, today

as once they did in Galilee,

embrace them with your love, we pray,

and bless each home and family.

On their behalf and in their name

our own commitment we renew

with them we die to sin and shame,

with them we live again in you.

Help us in all our ways to show

these growing souls your truth and grace,

till they shall come themselves to know the beauty of our Father’s face.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peters by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

 The Gospel Reading (from the Children of God Storybook Bible) Mark 10: 13-16

Jesus spent many hours teaching people about God and how he loves us all. One day, when Jesus was tired and resting, some parents arrived with their children. The children were giggling and laughing and running around making noise while their parents asked the disciples if they could speak with Jesus.

“What do you want with the Master?” asked the disciples.

“We want him to bless our children.”

“The Master is resting,” the disciples said. “You can’t bother him now. Go home.”

But Jesus heard them. “Do not chase away the children!” He called. “Let them come to me. God loves children, and when they smile, he smiles; when they laugh, he laughs; when they cry, he cries.”

Jesus went to the children, and they laughed and played together for awhile.  He took them in his arms and hugged them. He placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Then he told the disciples, “Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”