Greetings, Friends, I want to introduce, more thoroughly, the book for our first October 14th meeting (7pm, in the meeting room near the parish offices, changed from the library), Poverty, by America by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Matthew Desmond. A few years ago, I read his book, Evicted and was moved by his candid, often heart-breaking, account of how our neighbors come to be put out on the street. I recalled, from personal experience and those of friends, as to how clo

"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving." Mother Teresa's most famous quote on giving speaks to recent good news. Paul Mortimer and Bertha Hepworth Mortimer were prominent members of St. Peter’s Church during the 1950’s. They witnessed much change in their time, including the building and consecration of the church building we know and love. Their legacy to St. Peter’s lives on today. For one example, next time you are in church, look up to bo

I just got back from a bath in the forest. Well to be honest, as full immersions go this was more like a sponge bath in the woods. Still, I had a bit of time in the middle of my day today and thought I’d try out forest bathing, which sounds a bit more romantic than taking a walk after lunch to reduce my glucose levels. Forest bathing is a ritual of presence and awareness done among trees, the farther removed the better. I opted for Edge Hill Woods, which has an uphill path th

We remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001. Jess and the kids and I lived in Cleveland Heights, OH, at the time. My friend Pat called to tell me to turn on the television. How did he know I hadn’t yet tuned in? On every station were the images of the burning buildings in New York City, the news just starting to unfold. I watched in horror as I waited for my ministry partner Bob to pick me up. We were headed to a local school to offer storytelling and music for a back-to-sch

I marched in my first Labor Day parade shortly after starting my first job as a newspaper reporter for the Rochester Times Union in 1988. I was 21 years old, had just graduated from journalism school and was getting my first taste of the power of organized labor. In the four years that followed, I would encounter my first experience with contract negotiations. I would become a grievance chair at a time when the fast and constant typing required of newspaper staff was causing

Deacon Jeannie to Join St. Peter's in Early September Greetings St. Peter’s Community! I am so happy to be among you very soon. Sometimes, I call myself a ‘Garden Evangelist” as the other half of my bi-vocational life is as a landscape garden designer. You will come to see my love for the garden when I preach about seeds, trees, green things that grow. I am also an avid knitter and textile artist, and I love to read. I look forward to being part of your beautiful ministries.

The phrase “the glory of God is the human being fully alive” is often attributed to St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Whatever he originally meant by the phrase, it’s an idea that rings with its own truth when we encounter people that are unabashedly themselves, who are true to their deepest nature, and are unashamed at how God made them. When such a life is lived with open gratitude to the God who fashioned it, it especially rings with divine glory. As the nation mourns the death of co

The College of Congregational Development that Rector’s Warden Deborah Way, Rosalinda Ibañez-Memba and I attended this summer set a lot of wheels spinning in our collective heads and left us with numerous models that we plan to share with you this year. One theme that was especially interesting to us was that of identity. Our understanding of who we are and whose we are as a parish shapes what we have in common, the work that flows out of our mission and vision, and our sense

As I was gathering data to help plan our programming for children, youth, and families this year, I found that we have 40 children in our parish from toddlers to 17-year-olds. That number has been growing gradually since I got here five years ago at the close of the COVID pandemic. Of those, about 16 are from preschoolers through grade five—eligible for our Godly Play for Everyone program. Another 21 are old enough to be in youth ministry, for kids in sixth grade and up. That

Have you noticed that the outside of the building looks a little brighter these days? If you were around when the church was built in the late 1950s, the hues might look a bit familiar as well, as many of the color choices reflected the original colorways. This summer we completed an exterior painting and repair project that also addressed a number of spaces in need of repair, which you can’t see from the ground. We freshened the exterior finish, which hasn’t gotten a compreh

My retreat time the other week gave me time to really sink into some practices that I find little time for in my regular schedule. Last week I wrote about the gift of sitting with birds and allowing them to serve as my spiritual directors. I also made some time to start reading a book I’ve been trying to get to: Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, by Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann died last year after a storied career as a New Testament scholar and an int

Last week I spent five days on retreat with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA. Their monastery is located in a beautiful patch of woods a stone’s throw from Lake Erie. I stayed in a little hermitage on the edge of their property, prayed with the sisters twice a day and ate my meals with them as well. The sisters are a Roman Catholic order; Joan Chittister was a former prioress. I followed her work in Catholic feminist writing for many years. She is 90 now and not making ap

It will take some time to process all that we learned a few weeks ago at the College for Congregational Development training in Maryland. Rector’s Warden Deborah Way; postulant and parishioner Rosalinda Ibañez-Memba and I spent five solid days learning numerous models for enhancing and facilitating parish life. This is a good space to introduce some of this thinking. You’ll also see some of this wisdom showing up in parish forums, leadership trainings and Vestry meetings this

Summer has arrived at St. Peter’s. It snuck in quietly with the solstice last Sunday when the length of day reached its longest stride. Now incrementally, our hours of sunlight are inching in the other direction. Still, we are promised a season of long days, a break from busy schedules, perhaps a vacation or two. Here at St. Peter’s, the regular program year has drawn to a close. We had the final Lunch Club of the season last week. Godly Play and Come 4th Sundays and the LI

I recently attended a session of the College for Congregational Development (CCD) sponsored by the Diocese of Maryland. Rev. Barb and Rosalinda Ibañez-Memba also attended. I had only an inkling of what this experience would be. I imagined it would expand my knowledge of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It did. I hoped to learn some common language shared by leadership in our Church. It did. I expected I would meet some people that loved God and the Episco

As most of you probably know, if you pay much attention to the news, the people of Cuba are hurting right now. As a result of U.S. government policies, they have been placed under an oil embargo. That means energy, transportation, food – so many of the essentials of life – are in very short supply. As you may know, I am a life professed member of a religious order (the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis). We are an international Anglican (Episcopal) order, and we have

Last week at this time I was making my way home from Boston to Philadelphia, after a really great week away. My husband Jess had to fly on to a conference in Buffalo, so I made the drive back by myself with the help of a long-recorded book and my GPS. Both served me pretty well until I hit New York City. That’s when several things went sour, and I came face to face with a feeling of vulnerability and helplessness that I’ve been thinking about all week. As I was trying to make

Churches are not simply places of prayer and worship. On any given day at St. Peter’s you’ll find preschool parents bringing kids to or from Kid View, community members visiting the food pantry or Community Fridge, volunteers assembling meals in the kitchen, people attending recovery groups. Those are the places where the community and the church come together. We’re a neighbor, and part of being a neighbor is taking an interest in what is happening in your community. That’s

My Siblings in Christ, I shared this with diocesan governance, and believe it has relevance for the entire diocesan family. At our recent clergy conference, I discussed the idea that we are conditioned to move fast and break things to make progress. I encouraged us, as the church, to do the opposite: go slow, repair, and restore, always with reverence and respect. This is who we are as a people of God. As Pentecost (Whitsun) approaches, we remember its gift: a diverse group o

This Sunday our celebration of Pentecost coincides with Memorial Day weekend. Typically, on the Sunday before Memorial Day, we recall those who have died in service to our country, and we list our own beloved deceased in the worship leaflet. Dave Kipphut often sets up a visual “Missing Servicemember Table” recalling those fallen, missing or imprisoned in war. Finally, our sacred music often includes the hymn America the Beautiful. This year, given the primacy of Pentecost, a