Rector's Note: Preparing for a restful summer-6.5.25

It’s almost time for the summer slowdown.

Our program year typically draws to a close around Memorial Day weekend, followed by our Parish Picnic. Pentecost is a movable feast, and this year it marks our last big liturgical celebration until Homecoming Sunday in the fall. It’s this Sunday, so wear red and come ready to invite the Holy Spirit to blow through the place.

After the dust settles, what does a church do in these off months?

We plan for next year

Calendar Day this Saturday is our first stab at putting ongoing events and new ideas onto the calendar to help us shape the 2025-2026 program year. Our program leaders join parish administrator Charlese Freeman and myself for a half day of planning conversation so we can see how our events and programs intersect, be mindful of one another’s needs, and lift the energy for new ideas. And we feed everyone lunch in thanksgiving for their work in the past year and their dedication to what lies ahead!

Individual groups also meet during the summer to plan for the upcoming year. The Youth Ministry Team, for example, will meet in July to discuss how best to serve our youth and teens. Our forum planners will begin to think through our fall Sunday offerings.

Our Food Cupboard ministry will also meet to discuss how to best get the word out about this vital ministry. Heads up: our plans to host the Abington Community Fridge are moving forward, so you may see a new refrigerator on the back porch soon, stocked with produce and perishables that are free to the community. More news to come.

All of that means that if you have feedback from the previous year or thoughts on the new, or if you would like to jump into a ministry in the fall, now is a great time to reach out to ministry leaders with your ideas and questions. Their names and contacts can be found on the website, and are also available in the updated Ministry Catalogue and Parish Directory, which you can pick up in the entrances to the worship space.

Want some inspiration? Check out the sweet video that Charlese created highlighting our liturgical ministries, as one way to get involved at St Peter’s.

We rest

Churches, both their individual members and their collective endeavors, need to take a pause from the crush of ministry to refresh and regroup. Sunday attendance goes up and down as people head out of town for vacation. And we may encounter new faces on Sunday as people visit the area or quietly check us out. I love that our sense of welcome never takes a holiday!

I will be on vacation for a few weeks from June 21 to July 7, and am looking forward to a bit of staycation, as well as a trip with my family to Puerto Rico. That means there will be three Sundays where other clergy will preach and preside. On June 22, The Rev. Bob Brown, a retired priest who has been here several times, will lead worship. On June 29, The Rev. Laura Palmer, our beloved former Sunday assistant, will be returning to preach and preside. And on Sunday July 6, Fourth of July weekend, we will have our traditional Morning Prayer service, led by Deacon Bob Smith.

What will you do for your own spiritual rest and refreshment this summer? Some downtime allows an opportunity for prayerful musing on how the past year went for you and what God might be calling you to in the future. With the Holy Spirit of Pentecost newly invoked, it’s a great time to ask her for some guidance: what do I want to give more time to, or less time to? What personal spiritual needs are asking to be filled? What overflow of time or gift is asking to be shared? How might I reconsider my schedule next year to make more time for my relationship with God, more room for the Spirit to flow?

We keep the faith

All of this is to say that summer is not a time to take a vacation from St. Peter’s or from our faith lives, but an invitation to go lightly, explore, make gracious space to play with the Spirit. While vacation schedules can have their own hectic agendas, they can also be a great opportunity to check out other church communities, whether on a Sunday or a midweek visit in the quiet of the day. Bring me a bulletin if you see a great idea that we might consider here.

You might also put some spiritual reading on your summer reading list. The LIFT (Learning in Faith Together) book group is currently reading *How We Learn to Be Brave* by The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington. You’ll remember her as the bishop who preached on mercy and compassion at the prayer breakfast that followed the presidential inauguration in January. This year, LIFT also read *Learning to Walk in the Dark* by Barbara Brown Taylor, which would also make for a great summer read. Let me know if you have a book recommendation for me to take on my own vacation.

Have friends visiting over the summer? Bring them to church on Sunday, or stop by during the week for a little tour and to say hello.

Whatever you do this summer, may it be restful, meaningful, and brimming with the playful energy of the Holy Spirit!