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Copyright © 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee | March / April 2004 |
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| ST.
COLUMBA, BRISTOL
- Seen in the "Iona" parish newsletter: After 25 years alone on a deserted
island, Joe was being rescued. As he climbed into the boat, the crew noticed
three small huts. “What are those?” they asked him. “The first is my home,
and the second is my church,” he said. “What about the third one?” they
asked. “Oh, that,” he said, “is the church I used to belong to.” ST. STEPHEN, OAK RIDGE — Excerpt from a sermon on the widow’s mite by the Rev. Claire Keene, printed in the “Evangel” newsletter: “When the widow in the temple deposits her last cent to the work of God, she gives up all pretense of self-reliance. Somewhere deep in her soul she knows that emptiness is the capacity for God. … [Scripture challenges us] to seek our empty places — our loneliness, our strained relationships, our socioeconomic uniformity, our pride, our need to be right, our blindness to Christ’s presence in persons who don’t fit our parish profile, our pain, our fear. Emptying ourselves takes a new way of praying. If your prayer is like mine, you anguish over your empty places … what if, instead, we list our empty places as gifts? What if we offer our weakness for God’s service? … What if we put our praise and thanksgiving on the altar and reach out empty hands for God’s grace? What do we have to lose?” ST. ANDREW, MARYVILLE — A Celtic prayer seen in the parish newsletter: “You are above me, O God, you are within, you are in all things yet contained by no thing. Teach me to seek you in all that has life that I may see you as the Light of life. Teach me to search for you in my own depths that I may find you in every living soul.” ST. PAUL, ATHENS — Seen in the parish newsletter, with a credit to Christian Clippings: Prayer is the interested amateur saying to the Inventor of the universe, “If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.” ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, OOLTEWAH — Seen in the “Hoot” newsletter: Dear God: Did you really mean “do unto others as they do unto you”? If you did, then I’m gonna get even with my brother. Signed, Bill. ST. JAMES, KNOXVILLE — Excerpt from the “Rector’s Corner” message by the Rev. Joe Ballard in the “Shepherd’s Voice” newsletter: “There is serious stuff going on in this world of ours. As St. James reminds us ... we must ‘be doers of the word and not hearers only.’ We must be serious about following the example of Jesus. ... There is so much to do. And we can only do it well if we take the work seriously while not taking ourselves too seriously. Laugh often, laugh long and laugh loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store or the theatre or the church by your own distinctive laughter. These are serious days. Do this serious work God is calling us to do joyfully, happily and with a smile.” |