The Rev. Barbara Ballenger

In my Rector’s note a few weeks ago, I quoted the Rt. Rev. Rob Hirschfeld’s call for clergy to be prepared to lay down their lives in order to “stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.” Since then, hundreds of bishops have provided their own guidance on how to take direct action to protect people under threat of ICE arrest and detention. Last Saturday, 154 bishops, including our own Rt. Rev. Daniel Gutiérrez, released a letter calling for “people of faith to stand by...

Who is my neighbor? That biblical question is resonating with me as I shovel snow, watch the news, and pack leftovers for the community fridge. It’s the question that prompted Jesus to tell the story of the Good Samaritan, a title we now give any helpful person. Who is my neighbor? The one who helps you when the formal helpers walk by; it might even be the person everyone told you was your enemy. Snowstorms are a particular measure of neighbor-hood. As Jess and I walked our dog each morning...

Just as the dust settles on the Christmas and New Year holidays, our parish Annual Meeting is upon us. Our parish bylaws set the date as the last Sunday in January, with an allowance for the first Sunday in February if we get snowed out. This weekend we are invoking that flexibility as we anticipate record snow, leading us to not only move the Annual Meeting but to cancel in-person services and move to online Morning Prayer this Sunday. That gives us all a little more time to read the Annual...