Weekly Clergy Letter From Mother Anne Turner

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.”  Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote these words from prison.  They have been on my mind as we engage in our visioning work, and I think they tell us the next step in the process.

 

As we think about our future, we naturally think about our identity—our characteristics and our traditions.  But our identity is incomplete if it is only inward-looking.  There can be no understanding of church without understanding the people and communities church serves.

 

This Sunday, May 25, I hope we will work on just this understanding.

 

The Sixth Sunday of Easter (which it is) sits at the beginning of Rogation Days.  During this time, parishes traditionally “beat the bounds,” walking the geographic edges of their lands.  These walks developed into full scale processions, and the season became a more general celebration of industry, harvest, and our common labor.

 

This Sunday from 9:00-10:00 a.m., I invite you to join me in walking the bounds of our parish.  We’ll meet at the tower doors and walk through the Chirilagua neighborhood and Four Mile Run Park.  We’ll stop along the way to consider what God is doing close to us and to pray for God’s purposes.  We’ll also think about how we at Grace Church can be a part of God’s mission in the context of this particular time and place.

 

We exist for others.  I hope you will join me as we learn more about the neighborhood that has been given to us to love and serve.

 

Yours in Christ,

Anne+