>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

It’s been reported that we are entering into drought conditions across the New York metro area. I’ve been missing a damp fall, but it’s been nice not to have to worry about too much water for now. I know that it’s not going to last and eventually we’ll get some rain.

This weekend’s Old Testament reading takes place in the middle of a drought. Chapter 17 introduces the Prophet Elijah into the Biblical story. Preceding this were the stories of Kings David and Solomon, among other kings. Now we start to hear more about prophets rather than history. “The word of the Lord” came to Elijah and warned him of a drought.

What comes next is this week’s reading. A curious story of a widow and her cake meal. She is about to use up the last of her meal for her and her son and then, frightfully, starve due to famine. Recently, I’ve been watching an older HBO show from the 2000s, Carnivale. Set during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, it tells of a travelling carnival show and a young man who is a healer of sorts. It casts a deep, visionary imagery of religious sentiment during that time, one that is sticking with me. Because at the same time, through the other main character, a zealous minister, truly a charismatic Calvinist if I’ve ever seen one, we see the total depravity of man. At times in our lives we are spiritually inept. Blocked. Angsty. Think about times in your life where you feel spiritually dry. Physically you felt fine, in fact maybe life in the eyes of others was seemingly going well for you. But you knew you lacked something.

Who is there to feed us during our spiritual droughts, I wonder? Jesus Christ to be sure. But how does that sound sometimes? Like he’s a sort of technique? The word of the Lord is an ever-living and ever-refreshing source of life. How are we making sure to feed and drink on He who gives us life?

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Zachary

>>>CLICK HERE OF FULL EMAIL VERSION

Have you ever felt the weight of a love so profoundly and so encompassing that it simply makes your heart ache with its sheer beauty? That is the love Christ offers us – a love that sees beyond our flaws, embraces our brokenness and fills us to overflowing. This is a love that surpasses our ability to even find the right words – no words are adequate. It is the love that is always with us, even as we remember with sadness those who no longer walk this earth by our sides.

Our stewardship theme this year is Walk In Love – We walk together in the strength of God’s love for us individually and as a community. We are collectively bound– strong, perhaps like a chain link fence, or even like one of the knit prayer shawls that comfort us in times of loss or illness. When we walk together, we have a tangible experience of God’s love. We feel safe and protected. God’s got us!

This Sunday, we celebrate All Saints Day – a day commemorating all the saints of the church, both known and unknown. When we pray the Apostles’ Creed, we say, “I believe in…the communion of saints.” The communion of saints is made up of men and women who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ and through Baptism, are his adopted children and united in Christ’s love. This is a day where we remember our departed brothers and sisters whom we believe are already with God. For some of us, it can be a day of sadness as we reminisce about those who no longer have a physical presence in our lives.

Yes, we are a communion of saints here at St. John’s – a community of faithful followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are knit together in Christ’s love and are stronger because of that love. Knowing that Christ loves us and never abandons us strengthens our trust. It frees us to be generous in our giving – because our God will never abandon us. We will always have enough – we will never be without because our Lord loves us and God will always make a way. In the words of Don Moen:

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

Our Stewardship campaign is coming to an end this Sunday. Please search your heart – how much could ever be enough when we have been loved and cared for by Christ? Trust that our Lord, who loves you beyond your imagination, will always make a way.

Thank you for returning your stewardship promise of support for St. John’s!!

In God’s abundance and love,
Deacon Claire

>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2, NRSV

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

As we are in the midst of our annual Stewardship Campaign, I am writing to invite you into prayer about the journey you make with our St. John’s congregation – our spiritual home. We are companions for each other as we navigate the ups and downs of our shared lives. It is a walk of love that we make with each other.

Throughout this year, I have been inspired by the ways you accompany each other. I have witnessed the way you care for the sick and shut-ins in our congregation through our various ministries including the Prayer Shawl, HANAH, the thrift shop, and the community garden. I have eaten at the table with you at coffee hour, the parish picnic, our community meals, and potlucks. I have watched as you supported each other when you were struggling or needed a hand or a shoulder. You have also helped me when I needed it.

This is what it means to be in community with each other – this is what walking in love looks like. During these next few weeks, you will hear witness testimonials from various parishioners on what ministries give them meaningful purpose and resolve to walk in love as God’s children.

Here at St. John’s Huntington, we have so many gifts to share, gifts of time, talent, and treasure that we freely give to support our ministry and to do the work of mission in our neighborhoods and communities. Our intention is to serve, not be served by others. We do this not out of a sense that we will get back what we give, but because we are motivated by love. When Paul wrote to his friends in the Church at Ephesus, he reminded them that the very spark of love that founded their community of faith was one of giving. God showed God’s love for humanity by giving us a part of the Divine.

Certainly, this is what we do when we place our gifts on the altar – we bring our whole selves and share the best part of our love and labor. Every gift matters this year, and each gift will be accepted, brought to the altar, and blessed before God and our community. Please mail or bring your pledge card to church and place it in the giving basket on October 27^th or November 3^rd. As you to prayerfully consider what you will share with the Church this year, I invite you to give thanks for the many people who have walked with you in love, supported you in your faith, and shared their gifts with you.

Walking with you in Love, 
Sean Butler, Warden

>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2, NRSV

As we begin our annual Stewardship pledge appeal, I am asking you to pray about your annual financial giving. Please consider increasing your pledge this year. As costs rise around us, our church expenses are also rising. I appeal to you to increase your contribution amount to help us sustain this church, our church. When you bring your pledge card to the altar at St. John’s on October 20th, I invite you to Walk in Love.

Generosity is a journey, it’s a practice that we learn and nurture within our hearts. It just isn’t in our nature to give away what we have worked hard to acquire or to donate our precious time without compensation. It takes something as radical as Love to inspire us to share our time, talent, and treasure with others. This is a journey we make together, a Walk in Love.

As we have lived with the Gospel this year, we have been brought into a world turned radically upside down. The laws and customs that had been in place for centuries were challenged, power and dominion have been questioned, and a culture hemmed in from all sides by oppression and subjection desperately seeks a way forward. 

As it turns out, it is not cultural pluralism, political polarization, or social media that causes the change in society, but the simplest concept of Love. Jesus causes a revolution of thought and heart by daring to reach out to the outcast and teach others to do the same. He walks in love with the marginalized, with the poor, with the sick, and brings us along with him on his journey. 

The most miraculous gift of Love is that it was there within us all along, all we had to do was find it, tap into it, and begin growing it. And look what happened? We learned to share, to give, to volunteer, to accompany others, to feed, to pray, to visit, to strive for change. Our Harvest Fair supports many charities in our community that need our love. I ask you to fully support the fair on October 19th. Help us to help others. 

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

An old adage goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!” Recently, I was listening to an interview on a podcast and the person being interviewed decried this phrase. She reminded us listeners that words have meaning and they have power. We also have meaning. We also wield power. Thus, when we use our words wrong, we can have the power to hurt someone else. Surely, we have been on each end of this experience. But on the flip side, we know the words we use can help someone, comfort someone, or make someone laugh or think.

The readings from Hebrews and Mark show us the effect of Jesus’ words on our life. It may seem a bit dramatic that the word of God is “sharper than a two-edged sword”, and yet many times Jesus speaks, people are left confused, angry, and like the rich young man in Mark’s Gospel, he runs away grieving. In Acts 2, when Peter is preaching his first sermon, the listeners, we are told, are “cut to the heart”. We, as Christians, believe in a God who is alive and active in this world. His Word still has power and meaning that is fully realized in the person of Jesus Christ. It is also revealed to us in the Holy Scripture, where we go when we wish to reflect, meditate, and pray on the activity of God in each of our lives.

God’s Word is life. It has the power to create and to revive the soul. It is the power that seeks to comfort, to aid, to strengthen each of us so that our words may be used to His greater glory. Are our words aligned with what God wants for us? It could be as simple as curse words. Perhaps we find ourselves being too cynical or too complacent (meaning we need to speak up!). Words are a powerful tool in which we need God's assistance and guidance in order to use this tool well.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach

>>>>click here for full email version

>>> click here for full email version

Wild Geese (by Mary Oliver)



You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees 

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. 

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

I love to stare out over the blue water near my house in Centerport. There is something about watching bald eagles in the trees and the sky and wild geese on the lawn of Queen of Martyrs church. Wild Geese are even more fun to watch when they are flying home. They often start out in one direction and then get their bearings and all head in another direction. As the summer changes to fall, they are often on the move. Today’s Gospel is about getting salted with fire and then finding peace with one another.

For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. (Mark 9:49-50)

Jesus is telling the disciples that they need to re-focus and turn in a new direction. After hearing that Jesus was headed for the cross, they argued about who was the greatest among them. Today’s words seem a little harsh, but they remind us to check and make sure we are headed in the right direction. The world is not at peace at this moment. We need to be salted with fire so that we are not at war with ourselves in this country and do not expand the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel to other nations. In the reading from James we are simply asked to pray. Please pray for peace with me at St. John’s, be salted by the words of Jesus, and live in peace with one another.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
 (Mark 9:30-37)

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

For all who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)

therefore, the prisoner in the Lord,
I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another in love, (Eph.4:1-2 I)

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Col. 3:12)

But he gives all the more grace;
therefore it says, God opposes the proud,
 but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other;
for all who exalt themselves will be humbled,
but all who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18:14)

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8).

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

    Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. 
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:26).    

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” (Mark 8:27-29)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do they say I am? Peter says, “You are the Messiah.” The message, “You are the Messiah,” is simple and profound. The entire Gospel of Mark pivots on the passage that we read today. This passage begs to ask all its hearers, “Who is this Jesus?” Now lots of people believe that Jesus was all sorts of things. If you believe he was a prophet, you are not alone. If you think he was a healer, you are not alone. But at the moment when you truly believe that he is the Messiah, the son of God, your life is just about to undergo transformation. This pivot often brings us in directions that we had never even imagined and require a letting go of our own expectations. The Good News of the Gospel is simply that God loves us and that we should love God and our neighbor.  Life becomes one continuous blessing when you finally realize that everything comes from God. Jesus was God’s showing forth of God’s loving kindness. I’m not one of those prosperity preachers that says that God rewards the faithful with material goods. God loves us deeply and wants us to love one another deeply. It is by the expression of love that we bring others to Christ. We are putting a focus on community involvement in our Thrift Shop and Harvest Fair. Outreach is a sign of God’s love and we need to team up with our community. Right now we are stock piling our Thrift Shop for fall and the Harvest Fair. We need your slightly worn fall clothes, hand bags, household goods, and jewelry. Giving to the Thrift Shop not only cleans out your closet, it helps those who cannot afford the high price of new goods today and supports St. John’s and our ECW. Corporate gifts for the Harvest Fair go directly back to the community through donations to nonprofit organizations. Donations of items to raffle off and baskets help both our community and St. John’s. Please pitch in this year by putting a sign on your lawn, asking restaurants for coupons, and purchasing raffle tickets. 

Our other priority this week is connecting with our children, youth, and young adults and their families. Our clergy will be going out of our way to meet and talk with you. Many folks from St. John’s, Huntington and St. John’s, Cold Spring Harbor worked together on the music that the children and youth will perform “Step Right Up" on Sunday September 15th. My thanks to Bryce, Alex and all those who gave of their time this summer for two weeks in August. Our Christian education program (Sunday school) begins on September 15th at 9:40. We give thanks for Christine and all our teachers. First Communion, Confirmation, and Youth Group are also starting up in September. Youth group meets on Sunday from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Confirmation retreat day is Saturday, September 21st at St. John’s, Huntington. Classes are for 7-12 grades. Please touch base with Fr. Zach, Christine, or Noelle if you are interested. We urge all families with children and youth to attend this Sunday. Next week on September 22nd from 12-3, St. John’s will have a family barbeque at Centerport Beach. The Youth Group will provide activities for the kids! The ECW provides the drinks and our breakfast group provides the hamburgers and hot dogs. Please sign up at church if you would like to bring a salad or dessert. 

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

>>>>CLICK HERE FOR FULL EMAIL VERSION

The Work of Our Faith

The Lectionary in September has us reading through some of the Letter of James. It is, quite frankly, an underappreciated letter in many Christian circles, because some of it seems to fly in the face the theology found in Paul’s letters. Namely, the theology of sola fide, or that through faith alone we are saved, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” And this weekend, it is a glaring example when James famously quips, “Faith, without works, is dead.” 

What the role of works is in our Christian faith is a well-known and discussed topic of our faith. But the two, faith and work, are not in contradiction. Indeed, Jesus connects these two when he says in Matthew, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father, who is in Heaven.” We may also remember the Gospel of John reading from August 4 when, after the disciples asked him what they must to do perform the work of God, Jesus respond, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 

“Well, wait Fr. Zachary! Which one was is it?!” Our ultimate work is the belief of the saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This then leads us to do all other work, even the work of our secular careers because it is a sustaining faith that leads us through good and bad. Our faith gives us our true purpose and identity and drives us to know Christ more and heed the call to minister and act in a world that so desperately needs to know Christ better.

I encourage you to read the full Letter of James. It’s found right after the Letter to the Hebrews and is only 5 chapters long. It has great practical wisdom for you today. 

In Christ,
Fr. Zach