Thursday, April 14: Laura Gregg

Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” - John 10:19-42

Why listen? Because God is always speaking to us through the people he puts in our paths — the people we love and respect, and more to the point, the people we hold of little account.

This puts me in mind of verse 44 in Matthew 35 where Jesus warns us about the sheep and the goats. The “goats” are shocked to be rejected, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” As long as we think we see Jesus in our brothers and sisters, we are happy to respond with love and caring. But if we think we see adversaries we have demonized, or the undeserving poor, or the sick or imprisoned who deserve the consequences of their actions, we might miss an important message from God: at the very least a reminder that we are called to love — first, last, and always.

God, open my eyes especially during this season of Lent, so that I truly see through your eyes everyone you place in my path. Amen.

—Laura Gregg

Wednesday, April 13: Susan Shevlin

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. - John 10:1-18

I am drawn to the comforting image of an attentive shepherd calling his sheep one by one, holding open a heavy gate leading to an abundant, protected pasture. But I am also struck by less idyllic images of thieves, wolves, and unreliable hired hands. How do I, or we, make sense of these seemingly contradictory visions? The answer lies, I believe, here:

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Jesus calls not only the sheep who hear His reassuring voice, who come running to the safety of His pasture lands. He also seeks those who do not recognize His voice, who have not come to see Him as the source of peace. He calls the misguided thieves, wayward laborers and wild beasts. He seeks to unite them all in one flock. The great challenge of this task becomes apparent when reading the Gospel stories immediately before and after this passage; they are stories of confrontation, division and exile. It is no coincidence that Jesus pauses to describe “one flock, one shepherd.”

This Lent, we, the sheep at St. Thomas, might reflect upon how we contribute to creating one flock under one shepherd. Do we simply follow one another dutifully through the gate into green pastures? Or do we turn about to seek out those who have not joined the flock, who may seem to be wolves or thieves? Do we do more than feed or clothe or shelter? Do we also extend the invitation to walk through our gate, our doors? Do we, like our Shepherd, call all into one flock?

—Susan Shevlin

Thanksgiving @ St. Thomas: Many ways to help!

For the sixth year, St. Thomas is partnering with Hopelink (http://www.hope-link.org/) to prepare and deliver dinner for hundreds of hungry people in our community. We don’t just deliver meals, though – we provide a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, using the same food you would eat at home. We cap the project with a celebratory Thanksgiving dinner, for the parish and the community, in the Great Hall.

Each of us has many opportunities to pitch in and help. You can sign up any Sunday between now and Thanksgiving  to volunteer in many meaningful ways. These include:

Roast a turkey at home. Pick up a turkey that we will supply, roast it at home, and deliver it hot to the Church Thanksgiving morning. Turkeys will be distributed the Sunday before Thanksgiving, or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week if necessary.

Bake a pie. Pumpkin, pecan and apple pies are a signature part of Thanksgiving. Sign up to bake or buy a 9-inch or larger pie. Pies should be delivered in a non-returnable pie pan to St. Thomas on the day before Thanksgiving.

Cook and portion side dishes. The day before Thanksgiving, the kitchen and Great Hall are abuzz with activity making mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans and yams. Sign up to help cook or portion these side dishes in containers ready for deliver the next day.

Box up dinners for delivery. On Thanksgiving morning we put the complete dinners in boxes and bags ready for pickup by our delivery volunteers.

Deliver Thanksgiving dinner to families. Our most crucial – and most rewarding – task is delivering three to five dinners to hungry families on the Eastside. Pre-set routes make it easy and convenient, and you get to see first-hand the impact your work has in our community.

Share Thanksgiving dinner with parishioners and community. We open the doors of St. Thomas to anyone to join us in a celebratory Thanksgiving dinner after all meals have been delivered. Plan to join us for a great deal of fun and fellowship!

Clean up and send leftovers to Seattle to feed the homeless. Each year, we have had enough leftovers to help provide additional meals to homeless people in Seattle. This final, critical activity gives you one last opportunity to help make Thanksgiving better for folks in our community.

No matter what your Thanksgiving plans may be this year, you will find an opportunity that fits your schedule.  Sign up soon to join us in this fun and meaningful effort!

- Tammy Waddell and Bill McSherry

Take Comfort ... But Don't Stop There

A couple weeks ago we had a conversation going here about the new Starbucks slogan, "Take Comfort in Rituals." Here's the original post.

It got me thinking a lot about the Eucharist, and I was especially reminded of the convoluted but beautiful passage we hear in Eucharistic Prayer C (Book of Common Prayer, p. 372):

"Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name. Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread."

If we take comfort and stop there, we are guilty of hoarding.