As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:27-29).

I am very excited about Friendship Day and Hymn Sing that will take place on June 30th. Alex met with the St. Augustine choir director and Deacon Anthony and created a wonderful event. We will host the St. Augustine’s choir at the 10:00 am service on June 30th and they will worship and sing praise to God with the St. John’s choir and congregation. At 11:30 am, St. John’s will host a potluck brunch (Please sign up to bring a dish to share). The Puerto Rico Mission Team will then present a slide show about our recent trip. At 1:00 pm we will host a Gospel Music Workshop. There will be a bible study at 1:00 pm from chapter 16 in The Path. There will also be an opportunity for our guests to shop at the Thrift Shop or stroll Huntington Village. At 4:30 pm we would like our congregation to return to St. John’s for a Hymn Sing with the choirs that attend the workshop. We will have a brief reception at 5:30 pm and finish by 6:00 pm. 

Our relationship with our sister parish, St. Augustine’s, Brooklyn is a model for parishes in the Diocese of Long Island to follow. We have enjoyed worshiping in Brooklyn, exchanging rectors in the pulpit, hosting workshops and guests, and we especially appreciated the steel drum band from St. Augustine’s joining our Taste of the Caribbean Event to support our Puerto Rico Mission Trip. Your attendance is really important to our choir, Alex, your rector, and Deacon Anthony.   

Paul asks us to cloth ourselves with Christ. Today we will sing (at the 10:00 service), “In Christ there is no East or West.” In the third verse the lyrics are: “Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate'er your race may be. All children of the living God are surely kin to me.” Our Racial Reconciliation and Social Justice Committee is trying to break the boundaries of racism that most of us don’t even see. But if you stop to listen to our African American brothers and sisters you will hear that we still have a long way to go to eradicate racism. 

I ask each and every member of this congregation to treat all brothers and sisters in Christ with respect and to offer the hospitality that St. John’s is known for. We can be the new heaven and new earth that are promised to both rich and poor, black and white, north and south, east and west, high church and low church, and to us and them. 

Last week in my sermon I said, “The world is filled with brokenness and separation. When the distinction between us and them dissipates, we enter into the peace that passes all understanding. When their hope and prayers become our hope and prayers, something amazing is about to happen.” Next Sunday something amazing is going to happen and I am asking each of you to gather together to show your support for the relationship we have developed with St. Augustine’s, Brooklyn. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan