Homecoming 2017 - Rector's Rambling for October 22, 2017

A hearty welcome to all our friends and visitors here at St. John’s for Homecoming Sunday!

This tradition began in 2001 as a desire to have a Sunday outside of Christmas and Easter when we invite our former members back to worship with us and enjoy a good meal.  It has expanded and morphed into another opportunity to invite those who are not yet members of St. John’s to join us for worship.  The sharing of a good meal has remained the constant, with both visitors and old friends and members joining us as well.

Throughout most of the history of St. John’s she has been a transient parish.  Not since her earliest years has the parish been a residential neighborhood parish, surround by large homes.  Within a short time the neighborhood became more commercial and the large houses demolished to make way for “progress” or converted into shorter term rental housing.

With the changes happening in the neighborhood we are seeing more housing being built, but again it is mostly rental housing with a few condominiums interspersed in the mix.  Unlike the suburban parish with relatively stable housing ownership, St. John’s will continue to be a place where those who deeply value her will attend and even drive from a great distance to do so, as well as being a local place of introduction to the fullness of the faith to those living near here for a period of time.  We are grateful that we have this opportunity to do so.

One of my great sadnesses is to have parishioners announce they are moving away, and then to discover there is no Episcopal/Anglican church near their home that propagates the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3)  But we continue on, ever faithful, ministering to those God draws here.  May we be faithful in attending, inviting, and sharing that which God has freely given us!