Weekly Clergy Letter from Mother Anne Turner

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

The past few Sundays, I have noticed that people won’t leave church, and I have been wondering the reason.

 

When I say that they won’t leave church, I mean the nave more specifically. The dismissal is given, the postlude concludes, the healing prayers draw to a close, and there are still little groups all around the room, talking with one another. They are too engrossed even to move to coffee hour. Connections of this kind are not surprising, but the number and tenacity of them is unusual.

 

Why are we all hanging around together?

 

The conclusion that I have reached is that the people of Grace Church are seeking one another out because we need one another. The last few weeks have been difficult for this community that is made up (in part) of Federal workers, immigrants, and LGBTQ people. When we need solace, comfort, and especially hope, we seek those things not only in God, but also in the body of Christ that is this church.

 

My encouragement to you this Lent is to continue to seek hope here, both in the nave and beyond it.

 

During this season, we offer opportunities not only for individual spiritual reflection but also for shared growth. We pray together on Sunday, at our noon eucharist on Thursday, and on Friday at the Stations of the Cross (noon) and Viacrucis (6:00 p.m.).

 

Most especially, I encourage you to come to our Wednesday night Lenten series on Holy Imagination. You are welcome to come for whatever part of the evening speaks to you. Come early for dinner (which starts at 5:45), with time for connection and conversation. Come at the tail end for compline (7:15), to be close to one another amidst beauty. Engage with our sessions on imagination (6:30) and learn how to dream of a future in this moment of peril and doubt. Cultivate hope.

 

We need one another. Your community needs you.

 

Yours in Christ,
Anne+