You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things (Mary Oliver).

Please join us at 9:00 AM, Monday-Friday to pray the office of Morning Prayer. The discipline of praying every day draws our heart deeply to God and one another. When we share our deepest vulnerability with our family of St. John’s, God draws us together. Everyone is suffering right now in one way or another. When we watch the media, we become angry and polarized. When we pray together, we become one heart because Jesus dwells with all of us deep in our soul. It is in our pain and vulnerability that it is easiest to relate to one another. We pray in thanksgiving for the nurses and doctors that are caring for those who are sick. We pray for our police, fire fighters and every essential worker that puts their health on the line for our wellbeing. We give thanks for Coral, Claire, Alex, Jen, Fr. John and for the generosity of our parishioners through this crisis.

Please join us on Sunday morning at 10:00 am. We will be live streaming the Holy Eucharist from St. John’s. Alex will be playing our hymns on the piano in our church. I am sorry that we can’t be together, but I hope our service gives you hope that it won’t be long until we are together again. After the service we will have a time for sharing on our coffee hour. At 11:30, Alex will be playing a concert to benefit local charities helping those in need in Huntington. So far Christine and Alex have raised over $10,000. It really helps to share the link on your Facebook page.

We celebrated Earth Day this week very quietly, but maybe that is the best thing we can do for the environment. Although people are suffering all over the world, the earth is healing through the reduced carbon emission. The air, land, and sea are all on the mend because we have been forced to slow down. Please consider reducing your own carbon footprint when this crisis is over. God can heal the creation from generations of harmful pollution if we could only make this a priority. I can’t think of better stewardship than caring for the earth for our children and the generations to come.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan