Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

 (I Cor. 12:4-11)

Epiphany is a season that manifests the divinity of Jesus. It starts with the recent birth of Christ in the coming of the Magi on the day of the Epiphany. Last Sunday, we looked at Jesus as a young boy in the temple. The Baptism of our Lord was observed on the Sunday after Epiphany. The gospels for the other Sundays of the Epiphany season describe the wedding at Cana, the reading of Isaiah in the temple by Jesus, and the opposition to Jesus in Nazareth. On February 2nd, we celebrate the Presentation of our Lord in the temple. The Last Sunday after the Epiphany is always devoted to the Transfiguration. Jesus' identity as the Son of God is dramatically revealed in the Transfiguration gospel, as well as the gospel of the Baptism of Christ. We are called to respond to Christ in faith through the showings of his divinity recorded in the gospels of the Epiphany season. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the coming of the Kingdom of God in today’s lesson. He says that you will no longer be forsaken and you will no longer be desolate. This helps bring us from despair to hope in troubled times. You will be blessed and loved by God. So God sent his only Son so that everyone would know that God rejoices over them and brings about righteousness and justice so that we all will know that we are loved and blessed by God.

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).

I ask each member of our congregation to consider your own gifts and to share them with those in need in our community and at St. John’s. Please consider joining our Altar Guild or serving as a reader at St. John’s. You might also consider serving in the Thrift Shop. There are many opportunities such as a Lay Eucharistic Minister or helping out on Buildings and Grounds.

Most of all, we need you to be connected to one another. Joining a small group at St. John’s is healthy for your spiritual life. Praying with a group of folks and walking together in good times and bad is one of the greatest benefits of joining a church community. Morning prayer is at 9am every weekday. Sunday zoom is at 8am and 10am and each service has a coffee hour after the service. Spirituality Group meets every 2^nd Thursday. Thrift shop meets on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 12-3. Racial Reconciliation and Social Justice meets on the last Thursday of this month. Bible Study meets Monday night at 6:30pm and Tuesday at 11:00am. St. Hilda’s Guild meets on Tuesdays at 12pm. EfM meets on Monday nights. We have mission teams to Navajoland in Utah, Puerto Rico, and Border Ministries in Arizona. We are traveling for a spiritual pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland next year. Please use your gifts through a small group, serve on a committee, or pray with us.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:3-11).

I am asking our entire parish to read, study, and inwardly digest, Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Our bible study is on Monday nights at 6:30 pm and Tuesday mornings at 11 am. We are using video from N. T. Wright and the book, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters. One of the themes of this letter is to live as a single community. Although many of us are facing immense struggles, Paul says that we can give thanksgiving and celebrate with joy. This week, we will all be reading Phil. 1:1-11. The passage speaks of “koinonia” or partnership. Living in Christ means following a path that brings together all sorts of folks. Paul had this deep love for the people of Philippi, who had become partners in God’s mission with him. They prayed for one another constantly and with one another when they could. At St. John’s we show a radical hospitality to all those who walk through our door or view our services online. Paul tells us that the one who put a good work in us will complete it on the “Day of the Lord.” We are asked to work together and pray together until Jesus returns. We are transformed by the grace of God into an image of Jesus Christ. This passage is a particular challenge because these followers were of different races, worldviews, economic means, and backgrounds. Yet they all agree to follow Christ, who fulfills the promises of the prophets by making the world right one person at a time. The followers are overflowing with the light (love) of Christ that they can now share in a dark world.

But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God (Isaiah 43:1-3).

“The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace” (Psalm 29:11).

God is with us during all our struggles during this seemingly never-ending pandemic. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul tells his followers that despite their suffering they can receive thanksgivings and joy through the love that they share with one another. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a)

It is my prayer that you will have the “eyes of your heart enlightened.” Paul begins with a compliment to the Ephesians because he has heard of their faith. He assures them that God is working through them and has immeasurable greatness of his power. In the third chapter of Ephesians Paul said, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” This spirit of revelation and wisdom is the knowledge that God loves us and gave us God’s only Son that we might have abundant life in this world and eternal life in the next.

Love is a key factor in the world. Even though we all know the importance of love in the world, we often get distracted by all that is going on in our lives. At Christmas, we experience the eternal love of God in a crude manger in Bethlehem. Kings travel from the East to pay homage to Jesus Christ. God calls us to fill our hearts with this love and share it with others.

Our first act of love should be thanksgiving to God in heaven for the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to enlighten the eyes of our hearts. Our next act of love should be to those around us. When loving God and loving our neighbor are combined, our brain stops playing the fear and anxiety video that leads our reptilian brain to increased heart rate and stress. We play the hope video that leads our brain to a healthier pattern of rational, moral behavior. This in turn sends the signal to our reptilian brain to produce endorphins, lower our heart rate, and reduce our stress. Most of us are aware of that when we listen to music that triggers happy memories. When we laugh, exercise, have sex, or eat certain foods, our brain triggers the release of endorphins and other chemicals which gives us that sense of being in a euphoric state. Likewise bad experiences and traumas trigger feelings of pain, fear, and anxiety. Since we all experience these triggers to different degrees, we need to love one another in the knowledge that we have all been damaged by the actions of others and are all in need of love and comfort. We especially need to care for those who are most vulnerable and least likely to be loved and comforted.

Christianity leads us down a rational, moral path that helps us to feel good about ourselves and triggers that feeling of contentment and satisfaction in our lives. Instead of selfish, egotistical, controlling and sometimes hurtful behavior, we follow Jesus Christ in self-giving, humble, loving behavior. This leads our brain to a healthy pattern of releasing chemicals that give us a sense of wellbeing. A healthy diet, lots of clean drinking water, loving relationships, exercise, and good sleep contribute to a happy and heathy life.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

Love incarnate, love divine;

Worship we our Jesus:

But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,

Love shall be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and to all people,

Love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina Rossetti.

Nativity Prayer of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we

made in your image, conform ourselves to it.

In our own strength

we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder

nor is it fitting for us to try.

But Your mercy reaches from the heavens

through the clouds to the earth below.

You have come to us as a small child,

but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,

the gift of eternal love

Caress us with Your tiny hands,

embrace us with Your tiny arms

and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan

Earth stood hard as iron

Water like a stone

Snow had fallen

Snow on snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter

Long, long ago

Angels and Arc Angels

May have traveled there

Cherubim and Seraphim

Thronged the air

But only his Mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshiped the beloved

With a kiss

What can I give him?

Poor as I am

If I were a shepherd

I would give a lamb

If I were a wise man

I would do my part

But what I can I give him

Give him my heart

Give him my heart

Candle liturgy

Hope, peace, joy, and love. Four candles, four promises continually offered to us by God, and all of them manifest in this one we light tonight: the Christ candle. In Christ we find the hope of transformation, the peace that follows justice, the joy of self-fulfillment in community, and the love that encompasses us in all our diversity, empowering us to make our own unique contribution to this world. In Christ we find light and life, and the courage to be like him, answering his call and following in his footsteps.

We rejoice in God’s steadfast presence in our lives,

and in God’s unique presence in the life of Jesus of Nazareth—

born of Mary, growing through childhood into an adult ministry,

in all his life manifesting the peace, love, and justice of God;

his voice undimmed by the centuries

his call and his promise as clear to us as it was to his disciples so long ago.

Come to us, Lord Jesus,

Be born in us this night, in our hearts, our minds, our lives.

May the light of your life be kindled in us,

And lead us to the shining truth,

of God with us, God for us, God in us. Amen.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

Last week we looked at the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and informing her that the Spirit will come upon her and that she will bear God’s son. Mary does not fully understand God’s plan, but is open to be a part of it. Her reply is “Here I am a servant of the Lord; let it be according to your will.” Mary has a sense that she is a part of something really important and agrees to follow God’s plan. God enters the world as fully human and fully divine in the person of Jesus Christ. That is one of the foundations of understanding Christianity and it isn’t easy for any of us. But as good as all this sounds, the reality is that things were tough for Mary. She would have to deal with those who would judge her in her community. Having a baby out of wedlock could get you stoned to death. Mary was in a tough spot.

In a world besieged by fear and hate, God comes from heaven to earth through Mary to bring light into the darkness of the world. Jesus Christ comes again and again and offers wholeness instead of brokenness, hope instead of fear, love instead of hate, and life instead of death. In a time when some of us remember the loss of someone we love, when some of us are recovering from an illness, when most of us are tired of wearing masks, and when many of us do not feel as joyful as we should, Jesus Christ comes to offer us comfort. We are all offered the incarnational presence and love of our Lord. Last week I spoke of being open to God’s plan. This week, I am asking you to say yes to it. We can say, “Here I am Lord, May it be according to your will or no thanks, maybe next time.”

In today’s Gospel, Mary sets out for the hill country to Zachariah and Elizabeth’s house. Mary needs support from the rumors and judgmental pressures of her community. Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth is joyful about the news that Mary is pregnant. The baby in her womb, who will later be named John, jumps for joy in her womb. This prayer has been called the Magnificat or Song of Mary. Mary echoes the promises that were given by the prophets in the Old Testament and declares that God’s promises are about to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. I can’t even imagine the sheer joy and wonder of being given such an honor as to be the theotokos or bearer of God’s son. Elizabeth will bear a son in three months, fulfilling a promise made to Zachariah in last week’s Gospel.

Mary will soon bear a son that will be the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. This is Good News in difficult times. God comes to ordinary people and does extraordinary things. This time, God comes to a woman to bring hope to the world. Mary and Elizabeth are filled with joy because they believe in a dream in the scriptures that one day, things would be different. Maybe one day, those who are hurting will be comforted. God is about to send his Son to rescue the poor, the hurting, and the oppressed. For God so loved the world that God gave God’s only son that all who believe in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. God is coming soon to fulfill the promises that God has made. For the women, waiting for the birth of their childen is filled with joy, wonder and thankfulness. Mary shouts,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

  and holy is his name. 

His mercy is for those who fear him

  from generation to generation… 

He has helped his servant Israel,

  in remembrance of his mercy, 

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

  to Abraham and to his descendants forever”(Luke1:46-55).

May it be according to your Word,

Fr. Duncan

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Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your Word” (Luke 1:35-38).

Our collect for the third Sunday in Advent begins, “Stir up thy power, and with great might come among us.” In this week’s Old Testament reading from Zephaniah, we hear the words, “The Lord is in your midst.” In the letter to the Philippians Paul tells us, “The Lord is near.” John the Baptist says in Luke, “One who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

All our readings point to the one who is coming from the realm of the eternal to the realm of the temporal. We are asked to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. Last week we set the story in its historical setting that you might believe.

This week, the crowds in Luke’s Gospel ask, “What then should we do?”

I want to jump ahead a bit in the Gospel readings to use Mary as an example of the answer to this question. Mary was told that nothing is impossible with God. Although she cannot wrap her mind around the incarnation, she is willing to be a part of God’s plan. This is the key to spiritual development. It is natural to question what we cannot understand intellectually. Mary asks, “How can this be?” More and more folks today are spiritual and not religious. They do not understand the incarnation and close their mind to the possibility that Jesus came from the realm of the eternal to be near to us. We are asked to be part of God's “plan” (or Word). We need to be at least open to the possibility that Jesus is God incarnate. God asks us to be part of his “plan” (or Word). We only need to be open to the possibility that Jesus is God incarnate.

Today’s readings not only point to the existence of God, they point to God coming near to us. Jesus comes again and again that we might be in personal relationship with him. Timothy Keller helps us understand this in our December bible study book, Hidden Christmas. “What are the elements of a genuine, personal relationship with Jesus? It requires, as does any close relationship, that you communicate with him regularly, candidly, lovingly. That means not simply saying your prayers, but having a prayer life that leads to real communion with God, a sense of his presence in your heart and life. On the other hand, being in close relationship means he communicates with you. That comes from a deep acquaintance with the bible.” (Hidden Christmas p. 55)

John the Baptist helps us with the next step, “In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise’” (Luke 3:7). On Sunday, December 12th, we will share with the Huntington community, the fruits of the Harvest Fair. Fran and Chris will meet after the 10:00 service in the St. Hilda’s Guild Room and decide how we will support nonprofit organizations in our community. Please join us.

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid,

for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.

 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 

And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, 

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 12:2-6).

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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“May he whose second Coming in power and great glory we await, make you steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and constant in love. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you forever” (Advent Blessing).

In the Advent season, we wait in joyous expectation for the birth of Christ. We shift our attention from worrying about the problems that face us to a crude manger in Bethlehem, where all of God’s promises are fulfilled. We shift from thinking about scarcity to the abundance that we have from God. Please take time to relax in this busy season and journey with all of us at St. John’s to Bethlehem. Our theme this season is Joy. My blessing for you this Sunday is that you will be steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and constant in love. Last week we talked about being in right relationship with one another. In our vulnerability, God is able to show his love and mercy through the one born in a lowly manger. We need to just take a short rest from our worries and look away from the darkness into the light. Advent is a time when we realize the one who loves us deeply is coming again. It is a time when we deepen our relationships by calling others and listening to both their pain and joy. We take the time to visit with our family, co-workers and friends. We remember one another through cards, presents, and social media.

Advent is a time when we give of ourselves to others as Christ gave of himself to us. We bring about the coming of the kingdom of God by looking beyond ourselves. We pray for one another and help the poor and needy where we can. I have asked each member of St. John’s to draw closer to our Lord in the coming year. Please consider deepening your faith in Christ by loving God and one another. The best way to get started is to pray to God that your heart may be kindled again and that you will be steadfast in faith.

The St. John’s Youth Group will be delivering wreaths, flowers, and poinsettias on Saturday, December 4th, 10:30 am - 1:00 pm & Sunday, December 5th, 8:30 am to 12 noon. This fund raiser supports our youth on mission trips and youth events. The ECW is collecting money for the St. John’s Episcopal Hospital’s Adopt-A-Family Program for Christmas for the next two Sundays. Join us for an Advent Retreat "Four Advent Words from the Giver of the Gift" with Rev. Dr. John McGinty on Saturday, December 4th, 9:30 to 11:30 am on Zoom. Our Advent series, “Preparing the Way: Listening for God in the Borders of our World" will continue this Tuesda, December 7th with Jeanne Provenzano, Attorney. Please join us for Evening Prayer at 6:30 pm and our Advent Program from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Bible study continues with the Nativity in the Gospel of Luke and the book Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller. It will be held Monday nights at 6:30 pm and Tuesday mornings at 11:00 am. There will be a LIGMC concert on Sunday, December 12th at 7:00 pm and our Sing Noel Concert on Sunday, December 19th at 7:30pm.

Lastly, I want to make a special request from the Altar Guild. They are looking for a few new members to care for the altar. It is a profoundly rewarding ministry to serve preparing the Lord’s altar. Please contact me if you are interested in more information.

In Christ's Love,

Fr. Duncan

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Christ Our Servant King

Next week, we will be in Advent, where we wait and prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus, our King. But, just who is this Jesus, the King?

Daniel Clendenin tells us that the birth of Jesus signaled that God would "bring down rulers from their thrones" (Luke 1:52). In Mark's gospel the very first words that Jesus spoke announced that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (1:15). John's gospel takes us to the death of Jesus, and the political theme is the same. Jesus was dragged to the Roman governor's palace for three reasons, all political: "We found this fellow subverting the nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:1–2).

Jesus announced that He is King and that the rulers of the world are not. We know that as humans we are prone to sin and under those circumstances our own human leadership would be filled with endless political strife and rebellions, which, in fact, is what we see in today’s world. The Israelites yearned for God to provide kings to lead and protect them, and maybe just make things easier for them, but those leaders, always ended up falling short of the goal of bringing peace and justice to their world.

The visions that Daniel has in this week’s reading trace the rise and fall of some of the greatest political kingdoms known throughout history: Babylon, Persia, Greece and finally Rome. But Daniel foretells of a king whose kingdom is not ethnically, spatially, or temporally limited. God’s kingdom is an everlasting dominion, not destined to pass away. Daniel goes on to say in verse 14 that peoples of all nations and of every language are welcome to worship the one true ruler of all the kings of the earth.

Christ, our King taught the disciples how to pray in the Lord’s prayer when he said. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." People who live and pray this way have a very different agenda than Caesar's. They enter a kingdom, pledge their allegiance to a ruler, and submit to the reign of Christ the King.

Jesus is a prophet, priest, and king. When he walked this earth, he didn’t look like a powerful ruler, yet he modeled a much more meaningful and effective kind of leadership as a servant king – one who welcomes, loves, and cares for all people. May we, at St. John’s continuing to walk in faith, love, and service side by side all those we meet in our community, persevere in modeling our lives after Christ our Servant King.

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“Our church, which has been fighting in these years only for its self-preservation, as though that were an end in itself, is incapable of taking the word of reconciliation and redemption to mankind and the world. Our earlier words are therefore bound to lose their force and cease, and our being Christians today will be limited to two things; prayer and righteous action among men. All Christian thinking, speaking, and organizing must be born anew out of this prayer and action…It is not for us to prophesy the day (although the day will come) when people will once more be called so to utter the word of God that the world will be changed and renewed by it. It will be a new language, perhaps quite non-religious, but liberating and redeeming – as was Jesus’ language; it will shock people and yet overcome them by its power; it will be the language of a new righteousness and truth, proclaiming God’s peace with people and the coming of his kingdom…Till then the Christian cause will be a silent and hidden affair, but there will be those who pray and do right and wait for God’s own time.”

– Letters and Papers from Prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer-

Although some might complain, I feel that we live in a wonderful country and that we have a fabulous church. I give thanks for the freedoms we have and give thanks for those who have defended this great nation and for those who have kept the faith. Please join me in service on Sunday at 8:00 or 10:00 and give thanks to those who have served this country and defended our freedom.

My mom was born in Germany and her grandfather suffered persecution from the Nazis for refusing to give in to Hitler. He was taken into custody and tortured for refusing to reveal the names of the Jews that worked for him at the Berlin Broadcasting Company. He later died of a gunshot to the head. My grandfather was forced to give up the company and come to America or face the same persecution. The bad news in our lessons today is that there are forces of evil in the world ready to destroy us and what we believe in. The Good News is that if we have faith, we have the blessed hope of everlasting life.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples comment on the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. Jesus points to the temple and says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left there upon another: all will be thrown down.” Some of you might know that the temple at the time of Jesus was beautifully adorned. Josephus describes the temple as such, “whatever was not overlaid with gold was purest white” (Josephus, Jewish War 5.5.6). King Herod the Great had lavishly adorned the temple with gold. In the year 70 C.E. the Romans, under Titus, burned the temple to the ground and destroyed it. Not a stone in the temple was left unturned. Gold was removed from each stone before laying it to waste. Josephus speaks of these terrible years in Jerusalem as the Zealots fought against the Romans and at times against their own people. There was starvation and suffering and lots of grim stories. When Jesus spoke in front of the temple, it was beyond the imagination of the disciples that something so beautiful would be destroyed in their lifetime. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!”* And they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

I am thankful for this beautiful church at St. John’s and all the wonderful people that attend here. Yet I do not take for granted that all churches in America will survive. Attendance at church is in a steep decline in New York and in the Episcopal Church because folks have moved on to other priorities. Continue to utter the word of God that the world will be changed and renewed by it. Spread the language of a new righteousness and truth, proclaiming God’s peace with people and the coming of his kingdom. I urge you to continue to support this church and have faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. St. John’s will continue to thrive because we are doing God’s work in Huntington and you want that ministry to continue.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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