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Advent conjures up lots of words, thoughts and questions. As I spent time pondering what to write for this week’s Chalice my mind was overrun with many questions Perhaps you have some also:

·       What do we most need this Advent?

·       What are we waiting for?

·       Who are we waiting for?

·       Where is our wilderness?

·       In the busyness of our lives, are we able to hear the voice that cries out to our hearts?

·       If God is coming to bring us peace, how and where can we find it?

·       How do we prepare a home in our hearts for the one to come and come again?

So, we come to church – a place where we can worship God, to be inspired and grounded, to be part of a community, to be blessed and find support in the timelessness of Holy Scripture, maybe even to become better people. Church can also be for many of us a place of peace – a respite from our daily challenges – a place to retreat from the world and slow down as we search for answers that will endure.



As I looked at the word art that is at the top of this message, it took a long time for me to find the one word I was desperately looking for – something I need: Peace. I know I am not alone in this need. See if you can find it! It is barely noticeable. Yet, peace, comfort, patient waiting and even a call to turn our hearts to God, to seek forgiveness, are among the many themes found in our lectionary for this Sunday. Psalm 85 verse 8 tells us:

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

    for he will speak peace to his people,

    to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

Where is this peace to be found? Henri Nouwen tells us, “The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there, our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there, we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest, the peace which is not of this world is hidden.” (emphasis added)

I pray that you will all join us this Sunday – for a time of peace – perhaps to get some answers to the deeper questions that are challenging you. Maybe even to find peace.

Shalom,

Deacon Claire

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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” (Advent Blessing).

Advent is a season of faithful action, as we wait in joyful expectation for the coming of Christ in the world. As we heard in last week’s Gospel, we can look for Jesus in the oppressed of the world. We see Christ through caring for the sick, feeding the poor, and welcoming the stranger. We give thanks for all who gave to our Thanksgiving Baskets. To some of us, this year has had its share of difficult times and we ask the Lord to come into our hearts and sustain us. Please join us for Blue Christmas Healing on December 14^th at 7 PM. To others, like the persecuted church of the first century, we just hope that God will help us endure to the end. Regardless of where we are right now, we know that our redeemer will come one day and put things right. Since we do not know when, we want to always be alert and ready. We come to church each Sunday to thank and give praise to God. In this Advent season, let us with steadfast faith, open our eyes and hearts to the coming of Jesus.

This Advent, let us keep awake, to see what really matters. In the words of Isaiah, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…we are the clay and you are the potter; we are the work of your hand.” Let us be clay in the potters hand on that day when the sky darkens, so that we might not fear that day, but be ready for it. Isaiah tells us that we will all fade like a leaf and wither like the grass. While we are here, let’s focus on the eternal, the things that shall not pass. Let us give testimony to the Gospel. Advent is a time when we wait for the revealing of Christ. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Advent is a time when we align our lives with the will of God.

Last week in my sermon, I spoke of bringing friends, family, and our community to all the wonderful events we have at this time of year at St. John’s. Please keep a holy Advent and plan to come to church these next four Sundays. Worship and prayer are what we all need to do in these troubling times as we prepare for the coming of Christ.

Our Advent calendar is a little different this year because Advent IV happens on Christmas Eve. We will have our Christmas Pageant rehearsal and the greening of the church on December 16^th. On December 17^th we will have a Rite I service at 8 AM and our Christmas Pageant at 10:00 AM. On Sunday December 24^th we will have our Advent IV service at 9:00 AM. We will have Christmas Eve services on Sunday, December 24th at 4 PM, 7 PM, and 10 PM. Christmas morning service will be at 9 AM. I am so thankful for the dedicated folks at St. John’s that will be giving a little extra this year to make this happen.

This weekend, our youth group will be selling Christmas wreaths and flowers. Please contact Fr. Zach or Ford ASAP to reserve your wreath. Please join us on Tuesday, December 5^th and 12^th at 6 PM for Evening Prayer, supper, and our Advent program. Bishop Wolf will join us on December 9th at 9:00 AM for an Advent Retreat. 

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan 

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I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, 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 perceive 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, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come (Ephesians 1:16-21).

St. John’s, Huntington has something that you need, your family needs, your friends need, and your neighbors need. It is the love of Christ in your heart. This love starts by realizing who Jesus is and what he did, does, and will do for anyone that believes in him. With the “eyes of our heart enlightened,” we can bring the peace “that passes all understanding” to our inner circle. Have you felt the tension that folks are feeling on social media, on the roads, and at your workplace? We are headed into an election year again and we all know this divides us as a nation. The world is divided by war and unspeakable evil. Many churches are dying. Paul tells us that there is hope in Jesus Christ. It begins with a thankful heart. Please give thanks for everything that you have been given.

This week’s Gospel asks if we have fed the hungry, given a drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. We need you at St. John’s, and perhaps the love of Jesus Christ and the peace of God is just the remedy that the world could use right now. We would love for you to fill out a 2024 pledge card and catch up on your 2023 pledge. These are difficult times financially for churches. Let’s carry on the tradition of the last 278 years at St. John’s. We ask for you to volunteer or bring in some gently used winter clothing for the Thrift Shop. We ask for you to support our Adopt a Family. We need you not only to come to church, but to invite others for Advent programs, Christmas Concerts, and services. We stand at the crossroads and we need everyone to make a choice. Will we accept the love of God or will we be sucked into the division and hatred that has enveloped our world?

There will be Advent Wreath Making after the 10:00 AM service on Sunday November 26th at the coffee hour.                                                                                          

Join us for our Advent Series from 6-8 PM on Tuesdays, December 5th and 12th and on our Advent Retreat with Bishop Wolf from 9 AM-12:30 PM on Saturday, December 9th.

Please order your Youth Group Christmas Wreath and Flower by November 28th. Our youth will hand out your wreath and flowers on Saturday December 2nd from 10:30-1 and Sunday December 3rd until noon.

Please fill out your Altar Guild Christmas Poinsettia Memorials and Thanksgivings forms ASAP!    

Please attend our concert, Peace on Earth on December 10th at 7 PM and our St. John’s Christmas Concert on December 17th at 7:30 PM with Leslie, Christine, and friends.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan 

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In the Blink of an Eye

“Time is endless but goes too fast.
You long for the future, then yearn for the past.”
By Ebony Black

Sermon preparation takes time. It is about allowing the scriptures to settle into my brain and heart – to whirl around a little – alas, in my case, a lot. I can’t even tell you how many hours it takes after I read the lectionary, do the appropriate research to be fully grounded in the intent of the passages for the whirling to stop so I can finally put pen to page.

Time is a funny thing. When we are children, time seems to go on forever: “When will I be old enough to stay up until 9:00? -- to stay out until 9:00?”  Perhaps you have experienced a period in your life, or even in your career when you marked off each day on your calendar – thinking that it might help speed up time – to get to the end of something tedious. Can’t wait until this school year is over, says one teacher – me too, agrees the student. That seems rather sad. Trying to rush through a year without considering the joy in teaching – in learning – not to mention some of the fun activities school can offer both children and adults!

As we age, time sweeps by in the blink of an eye. We are reminded of the frailty and brevity of life. It isn’t comfortable to face what we cannot control and time is certainly one of those things.   Have you ever noticed how our culture fights aging? More wrinkle creams or hair dyes line the shelves of our stores as we struggle with the natural signs of the passage of time. Our independence is so precious that it becomes traumatic to give up the car keys when age lessens our vision or judgment. How we struggle with letting go!

Our lectionary this week includes portions of Psalm 90 – a Psalm frequently used at funerals. It has been attributed to Moses. We are offered comfort from the very first line: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” God has been home to the Israelites, throughout their entire forty homeless years in the desert in search of the promised land. But alas, it is not to be for many on that journey, including Moses. He is left only to view the land of milk and honey from afar. And we learn that our time is not all there is to measure. We are being encouraged to reflect on God’s time – not just our own. “A thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes”

Most importantly, however, we are being encouraged to live each day – day by day – not dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. Moses’ prayer ends with a plea for God to teach us – help us to see and receive each of the days we are given as a gift from God. May we each strive to make each day count to the glory of God!

Let us make each day count!
Deacon Claire

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I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream (Amos 5:23-24).

Today’s Gospel from Matthew asks us to keep awake. To be awake in the Lord is to love God and one another. Be generous with your love to God, to your family, and to your neighbor. Celebrate the diversity of our community with a thankful heart and a steadfast faith. Every kind act you do for one another gives praise and thanksgiving to God, whose steadfast love for us overflows from our hearts. Be aware that folks come to our church each and every week hoping to connect with our community. 

“Henri Nouwen spoke about ‘hospitality of heart.’ At its core, hospitality is an opening of the heart. It really has very little to do with having friends or strangers over for dinner. Indeed, we can invite the poor into our homes for a meal three nights a week, but if our heart is not open, we have not offered hospitality. This is what makes many of us avoid hospitality as a practice. We hesitate to open our hearts to the degree that hospitality calls for. Providing a meal or shelter seems more manageable than opening our hearts. Opening our hearts means we really have to gather others in… to know the hopes that lie hidden in their souls, the joys that have taken them to heaven’s doors – all these become a part of our own heart when we engage in hospitality as a spiritual practice. The challenge of this, of course, is that the contents of our own heart merge with those of our guest. This means that what is in our heart is no longer front and center. It’s no longer all about me. It becomes, instead, all about us” (M. Renee Miller).

Love is not just treating folks well, but listening to how they feel. If we are ever to break the bonds of racial injustice, we must listen to the voices of others. What we often find out is that others are gifted in ways that we never saw before. As I listen to the joint choir between St. Augustine’s and St. John’s on our website, I feel the passion in the choirs singing. That passion penetrates our hearts and makes us overflow with love like a stream after it has rained for several days. Justice and righteousness are a gift of the Spirit when a heart is overflowing in love. Too often we are hung up on the little things that bother us and we are distracted. I ask you to awaken and arise in the love of Jesus Christ. Justice and righteousness begin to roll down when we listen to the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the oppressed, and the naked. I ask you to join our HIHI homeless ministry, give a donation for the thanksgiving baskets, knit a prayer shawl, help in the thrift shop, join the breakfast group or St. Hilda’s Guild, give a gift to our Adopt-a-Family, and pray for peace in the Middle East. God’s only hands and arms are yours. 

Finally, I ask you to turn in your pledge card by Sunday, if you have not already done so. Our Stewardship Committee will be making calls and visits next week to follow up, but they would prefer if they didn’t need to make any calls. Please also check if you are up to date on your pledge for 2023. Thank you to all members of our congregation who have already pledged. Your generosity allows us to continue the faith and love that have been shared for the past 278 years and to let God’s justice and righteousness roll down from St. John’s into our community.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan  

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This Sunday, we are transferring All Saints Day from it’s traditional day of November 1 to the following Sunday, as we are allowed to do. This week has been a time to remember both the saints in our lives and our church and also those who have departed from us, with the commemoration of All Souls on November 2.

We remember both saints and souls who have gone before in church history. As we conclude St. John’s stewardship appeal, I hope we can take a moment to remember that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. It is important to remember that our church and her works and our faith are always on the move and the church temporal is not and will never be finished until that last day. This is the third iteration of St. John’s church, the Episcopal Church was once an east-coast establishment that now finds itself throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond, and as we prepare this church for the 21st century, we are making it ready to be a spiritual beacon for Huntington and all of Long Island.

This doesn’t mean simply building and grounds, how many activities you volunteer for, or how much you give, but also how you live in light of being a Christian and worshipping as a Christian here at St. John’s. I do not mean to say we strive for perfection, but, as I touched on in a previous sermon of mine, we do strive to be saints. We are called down a path of holiness in our Christian lives. This is something I would like to touch on this Sunday, what is our stewardship of holiness? How are we stewarding our call to holiness in this place? And how does this stewarding of holiness help the future here at St. John’s?

Remember, holiness is not perfection, but it is the way in which we follow God and God in Jesus Christ closely, that can help us care for a place like St. John’s and our community so that they will be here not only for the next generation, but show right now, right here why St. John’s and her message of making Christ known is so desperately needed in the world.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach

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What an amazing fair we had this past weekend! I thank God for all who coordinated, helped and attended. The rain brought us indoors where we were able to experience an intimacy in fellowship that is often not as easy when we are outdoors and spread so far apart. Yet the rain was a deep reminder of God’s abundance – that our earth has been sustained, fed, and indeed loved. What a beautiful picture – a tree that is deeply rooted – a tree that will not decay as it receives God’s loving water. It will bear fruit and prosper. Its leaves are the source of the fresh air we breathe. A deeply rooted tree offers us shade and even shelter from the rain and the sun that nourish it. I wonder how we can each be a tree like that? We know that God’s desire is that we bear fruit and prosper. God gives us a pathway in Psalm 1: When we delight in the law of the Lord, we too become like the trees planted by streams of water. We bear fruit. Our leaves do not wither because our roots are deep. This week’s Gospel contains the summary of the law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all lived and loved like that? We often think of love as simply an emotion – something soft, huggable and often subject to change. This, in fact, is a diminished view of love. Today’s lectionary places “loving God” in the context of a command. We not only feel love in our hearts, but we are commanded to love in the fullest measure. Wholehearted love comes from our minds and our souls as well as our hearts. The "love" that is being called for is not emotion; it is not "liking," "getting along with," "desiring," or "feeling warm about." The "love" Jesus is talking about here is trust, loyalty, enduring devotion, being attached to. Loving in this way becomes a decision. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is indeed everlasting and abundant. We become rooted in God’s love as we grow in our relationship with God and with others through worship, prayer, community and connections.  God’s love becomes an extension of our very selves. As we nurture our relationship with God and each other, we will see that, despite worldly beliefs, we will always have more than enough to share. In God’s Abundant Love, Deacon Claire

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There are so many exciting things happening at St. John’s right now. Twenty one of our folks just returned from pilgrimage in Iona, Scotland. This weekend is our Harvest Fair! There will be concerts, vendors, great food, raffle baskets, St. Hilda’s Guild crafts, baked goods, Vermont cheese, Thrift shop clothes, lots of white elephant items, and much, much, more. Please attend the St. Augustine/St. John’s Choir concert at 4PM.

We are called to be generous in giving of our Time, Talent, and Treasure at St. John’s. Generous living is much more than what we do with our money. We are called to be kind to one another, to all living things, and to God’s earthly creation. We are called to deal with each other honestly and to be humble. Stewardship is a call to action to each of us as followers of Jesus. Jesus showed us the way to live generously: by welcoming the outcast, by overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple, by dining with the poor, by healing the sick, by teaching, by forgiving, and by ultimately giving his life so that all might have life abundant.

Each year, I am asked to preach and teach on stewardship. The fact is that if you put God first in your life, everything else will come in line. Of course we want to keep the building in good shape, hire a sexton, and give to the poor, but what is really important to me is your spiritual health. When your heart feels the redeeming love of God, you will naturally love others. When you feel the forgiving grace of God, you will naturally forgive others. When you realize that everyone is welcome in the Episcopal Church, you will want to show hospitality to everyone you meet. Stewardship is so much more than money and it is what makes St. John’s such a special place. We are like one big family and although we can be a little dysfunctional at times, our greatest gift is our hospitality. Please know that this is the greatest gift you can give to St. John’s. Before you put one dollar in the plate, please give of yourself that others might have life abundant.

We make a pledge each year to help the wardens and vestry make a budget for 2024. You will receive a pledge card in the mail this week and I ask you to prayerfully consider the gifts that you receive and ask you to make a pledge to St. John’s. If you have not received a pledge card yet, they are available on the table in the back of the church. We will collect pledge cards for the next three Sundays and bless them at the altar on November 5th on Loyalty Sunday. Each week, you will hear parishioners witness about what they love about St. John’s.

We are thankful for whatever you can pledge. In order to hire a sexton next year, we need to increase our pledges by about 5%. Please consider raising your pledge this year so that St. John’s may continue to grow and flourish. Another way you can help is to invite someone to St. John’s. Perhaps they can come to the Harvest Fair or join you on Sunday. It is a hard subject for most of us to bring up, but many people are frustrated with their own church and now is the perfect time to invite people to St. John’s.

I am so grateful for you. Your faithful membership at St. John’s and your generosity sustains our ministry and is a source of encouragement to me. I am always proud of the fantastic turn out at Harvest Fair and all the outreach and mission that we do. God bless you!

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9).

I would like to thank Leslie, Rob, Sean, and every member of the team that made the pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland so amazing. We faced some obstacles, but we worked together in the beautiful space where Saint Columba spread Christianity throughout the region. We heard about and practiced Celtic Spirituality and learned about the history of the island. I found Iona to be filled with the presence of God and left with an experience of a deeply welcoming community that prioritized welcoming their guests, the care of the created world, and justice issues. They preached the love of Jesus, and they practiced what they preached. I was deeply moved by the sermon of the warden at the Sunday service and will try and share her thoughts on being gentle with one another and the land that we live in. Many of you know that we are deeply committed to the environment, outreach to those in need, to our children, and our vestry is working on ways to be even more meaningful in Huntington.

Please support our thrift shop by volunteering on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 12-3, bringing donations to the church, and shop at our thrift shop. We give a special thanks to Mary Beth who works tirelessly with her volunteers to make St. John’s Thrift Shop one of the best on Long Island. We need lots of help working in the Thrift Shop for the Harvest Fair.

St. John's Annual Harvest Fair will take place on Saturday, October 21st from 10AM to 4PM. This is an “all hands on deck” event. Join us by just coming down and lending a hand. New members are especially encouraged to join in. If you don’t know where to go, just head for the kitchen and you will work with lots of familiar faces. Please invite your friends and neighbors to attend. Our ECW will give a substantial portion of the proceeds to local charities. Help us to help others. God’s abundance is a feeling that what you do matters and that your life has meaning. God’s abundance includes our worship, our music, our community, our pastoral care and our physical buildings and property. In a time of despair and worry, God offers hope and contentment. In a time of enmity and separation, God offers love and unification. In a time of uncertainty, God offers us eternal life. By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that God’s unending love for us is real and that God’s promises are true. I urge you to see your life as a precious gift from God and to give of your time, talent and treasure accordingly. Come to the Harvest Fair, and if you are able, come to the gospel concert at 4:00PM. St. Augustine’s Church will provide fabulous music and we should welcome them with open arms. 

I am so grateful for you. Your faithful membership at St. John's and your generosity sustain our ministry and are a source of encouragement to me.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan

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Something that was emphasized for me this week was the importance of seeking encounters and experiences in the world today. Travelling and music festivals are just two of the ways in which I feel my generation most popularly seeks encounters (and neither are wrong). Then again, the lax attitudes towards and legalization of marijuana and psychedelic drugs points to a need in our society to experience something “real” or mind-altering for the sake of self-improvement. 

Of course, none of these things are new to the world, but their continued popularity points to the larger fact of human experience that we are always seeking out meaning, purpose, and contentment. We tend to also seek experiences that might already confirm what we think and know, hence the creation of echo chambers both in real life and on-line. Our faith in Jesus Christ presents us with an encounter with the one who made us and loved us first before anyone else. This is a very real encounter because we believe that He is still living.

This importance of encounter was talked about in the context of evangelism and the fact that we Christians have a history of evangelism through information. In this age of both mass information and needed encounters, how does a Christian get a word in edgewise? Perhaps we need to encounter Jesus Christ once again ourselves. The Gospel, while it is information as good news, is news about the encounter of God Incarnate with His people. This is life-changing news because it confronts us with an encounter that should motivate us more than any trip, abroad or in the home, can provide. It is the fullness of what is real and true and beautiful in this world offering us a very personal relationship, because it comes from the One who knows us.

Some questions to leave you with to meditate on: When was the last time you encountered Jesus Christ? What do you believe about what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do in your life? How can I best witness to my encounter with Jesus to others?

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Zach