Feeling the power of prayer - Rector's Rambling for October 13, 2019

It is wonderful to be back home.  I feel that way whenever I return home from travel, but this time it has special poignancy after my adventure this past three weeks.  After emergency surgery in Finland and then having to travel back a week after surgery, it is nice to back at home.

My recovery is not complete by any means, and the chance of my making an appearance today at the 10:00 AM service is probably 50/50 as of this writing on Tuesday afternoon.  And even then it is “light duty” for a while, while I heal and regain my stamina.

But what I do want to do is commend the people of St. John’s for your love, concern and prayers.  At times while lying in the hospital I could palatably feel the prayers of the faithful lifting me up!  Parishioners, social media friends, and neighbors spread the word that Fr. Kelly needs prayer and they ascended with a vengeance.

E-mails, text messages, and Facebook posts of support and encouragement popped up on my phone at random times and made bright a dark time of early recovery.  And how fun it was to even FaceTime with people here all the way in Finland!  Isn’t technology wonderful?

By the way, in the 1860s, our Founder, Henry Porter Baldwin, and first Rector. Fr. Armitage, made a pilgrimage to Israel – not an easy journey in the 19th century.  Governor Baldwin fell deathly ill in Istanbul and the parish found out about it weeks later, by mail, when he was on his way back.  His illness was reported in the New York Times.

I look forward to getting back into full swing in the coming weeks, God willing.  Thank you to all who are pitching in during this time of my recovery.