I have been thinking alot lately about collaboration. There are probably several reasons why. First, was the hugely successful East of the River Lenten Series collaboration. As 9 priests representing 10 parishes came together to eat fabulous soup and crusty bread, pray sing, talk, dance, explore, discuss, worship and celebrate together, the Holy Spirit was alive and our baptismal covenant with Our Lord and with each other was illuminated and renewed. About 16 members of St. John’s participated, traveling from Vernon to Broadbrook, East Windsor, Stafford Springs, Manchester and Glastonbury. It was an excellent Lent!
Second, I attended a PMC cluster meeting this week. It was good to see members of our three year group and to talk about the ongoing journey of missional outreach and partnership that is winding and wending its way through our churches towards the Kingdom of God. All the parishes in the original cluster continue to use the structure and process of PMC to discuss mission initiatives and to try on and implement new ideas and relationships. The key to success in these endeavors is collaboration, with other faith communities and with community partners. Our own PMC group is working on the Relay for Life Team effort, the expansion of our organic garden, and the growth of our relationship with St. Vincent’s in Port au Prince. All GOOD!!
Finally, I see the ways inside our parish that different groups, fellowships and commissions are finding common ground and working together on worthy projects and initiatives. For example, the Youth Group and the Mission and Outreach Commission are collaborating on May 6th on the spaghetti supper and Haiti night. The Knitting Fellowship, the Environmental Committee, the ECW and the Mission and Outreach Commission are working on an evening program (June 10) devoted to exploring the stubborn and extreme poverty and the extent of the environmental disaster on the Lakota Indian Reservation in So. Dakota. The Youth Group, the Environmental Comm., and members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew will be gardening together on May 12th. Again, all GOOD!!
We are invited to ground our faith in Prayer, Scripture, Sacrament and Service. The good people of St. John’s are both grounded and taking off!! As we journey together, asking what God is doing in our personal lives and what God is up to in the life of our community of faith, we are venturing out of our comfort zones and further out on the limb. Which is terrific, because new life begins where our comfort zone ends, and all the fruit is out on the limb!
The Lord is Risen Indeed!!!
Love,
Virginia