St. James Episcopal Church Cincinnati

Thank you! On June 11, 9 members of St. James, along with 15 other travelers, will depart Cincinnati, for warm and sunny St. Petersburg, Russia. OK, the warm part may be a stretch, but it will be sunny with 10 hours of direct sunlight and dawn/dusk lasting another 10 hours. The White Nights, as they are known, are beautiful to experience and make it hard to sleep. We could not have made this journey without all your support during our fundraising efforts! “Spaseeba”, Thank you!

But our travelers won’t be there to enjoy the panoramic scenery, the historical monuments, the splendid accommodations (this is a stretch); they are there to work, and work they shall. Of course, they’ll spend several days soaking up history and culture, but the majority of their time will be spent alongside their Russian peers improving the St. Nicholas Orthodox Youth Center, by painting, building, and landscaping. The Youth Center plays an integral role in keeping Russian youth off the streets, out of gangs, and clear of drugs and alcohol (the average age of drug users has fallen from 17 to 11, and 40% of school children regularly drink alcohol).

Besides the hands on dirty work, our travelers will be serving as mentors during a youth camp that takes up half the day. While they will be teaching and leading, they will also be positive role models of Christian youth, sharing Jesus’ love, and developing relationships with their peers that hopefully will continue upon our return.

Of course, I will be right alongside working on the projects and participating in camp, but more importantly I’ll be working to make sure each and everyone comes home on June 27th safely, with good memories and tired muscles.

I hope to be able to offer regular email updates on our trip, so if you’d like to receive them make sure the office has your email address.

Now I ask one more show of support. On June 8 we will commission all of our travelers at the 10 AM service. Please join us for worship on that day and pray for our travelers, by name, each day of the trip: Lisa Jacob, Will Holstrom, Eric Taber, Daniel Wilson, Rebecca Griffiths, Anne Griffiths, Zack Cornelissen, Amy Halt, and Fr. Dave Halt.

Da sveedaneeya!

Fr. Dave+

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I’m a big fan of Bear Grylls of the Discovery Channel’s “Man vs Wild”.  If you’ve ever seen the show it’s amazing to watch as Bear strives to survive in a different challenging environment each week.

You may know that Bear Grylls is a former British Army Special Forces officer and that by the age of 23 had climbed Mt. Everest, but Bear is also faithful Christian.  I didn’t know this until I read an article today in the Alpha Testimony newsletter.

“Bear recognizes that young people too often disregard the church. ‘People see it as either something that opinionated weirdos do,’ he says, ‘or that it is just boring.

‘It took me so long to find out that real faith is actually the opposite; it was finding out that I was held, forgiven and loved regardless.  Christianity is about discovering that in the business and struggles of life we are not alone.’”

“‘Whenever I turn to Jesus, whether I feel it or not, He is always there–on Everest or at home.’”

 I definitely have new respect for one of my favorite TV heroes, and while I harbor no illusions that I will conquer Everest or survive the wilds of Africa or the Arctic like Bear Grylls,I hope and pray we all have the “survival skills” of our faith.

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Our own Julie Murray, assistant editor of the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s Interchange, who traveled to Seattle in mid April to attend a Conference of Episcopal Communicators, came back a winner!

Julie won a Polly Bond Award, which is an award of Merit for her Video under the Liturgical category for her Audio SlideShow of the “Ordination and Consecration of Thomas E. Breidenthal.”

Julie was also named on the Award of General Excellence given to the “Interchange” a second year in a row.  Julie’s name was included as Communications Specialist and Assistant Editor along with Richelle Thompson, Director of Communications and The Editor, who also attended the Conference, and whose name was included on the Award.

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Last night we had our first (in a long time) community dinner at St. James.

From past experience we had hoped to have 10 of our neighbors join us for dinner, but our limited expectations were exceed by 390%!  Yes, 39 of our neighbors dined with us last night, a much needed filling and healthy meal was served, and a good time was had by all.

Many thanks to those who volunteered to be the hands and feet of Jesus for the supper last night.  Well done!

Our next supper will be held on May 22. 

Blessings,
Fr. Dave+

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 Leviticus 19:1-18

There are days when the words leap off the page and hit you between the eyes.  This was one of those days.   I grew up in a Holiness tradition, but that was most simply interpreted as avoiding certain controversial behaviors (dancing, smoking, drinking, and cards).  Today’s passage goes deeper than the traditions of my childhood.  It’s not about avoiding behaviors, but cultivating right behavior.  And the reason for this…we are called to be holy people, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of our neighbors.

This passage lists several behaviors we are to cultivate as we seek to live into God’s call for holiness.  One of these is to not harvest our fields to the edges or pick up the gleanings, these we are to leave to the poor and the sojourner.  Another major one, “do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great…”.

The first of these seems, at first glance, without application in our culture.  I don’t have fields, I have less than 1/4 acre of yard.  I do, however, earn a living and that is the key to meaning.  Part of holiness is not calling everything we earn our own and for our own needs.  We need to see it as a gift from God, and make certain that we don’t harvest to the edges of our bank accounts (i.e. meet only our own needs), but rather leave some available for the use of the poor and the strangers in our midst.  Cultivating an attitude of thanksgiving for our blessings and generosity for our neighbors is a holiness behavior.

The other behavior has to do with how we treat one another.  While this is a legal code and applicable primarily to the lawyers of Israel, I think it teaches us a great lesson in our interpersonal relationships.  Treat each other fairly, honestly, equally, and privilege no one based on income or social position.  In short, God’s call to holiness is about reducing that which divides and meeting each other on the same level.

I also think this is what Mary means in the Magnificat by, “he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.”

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During our Lenten Series we discussed various rules of life and their common elements with a view of creating our own for St. James Church. However, when we ended our sessions together we were unable to fully put flesh on our fledgling rule of life.  We agreed that our rule was not to become a legalistic document of checks and minuses for good and bad behavior, but rather that it should be a measure of our spiritual journey.  So our discussion continues.  This is what we have so far:

·        We are a community committed to caring for each other, the “least of these”, and growing in our relationship with God.

·        We agree to participate in regular public worship (the Eucharist).

·        We agree to spend time with God in private prayer daily.

·        We agree to spend time with scripture daily.

·        We will honestly examine our lives regularly to discover where we are and are not following God’s will in our lives.

·        We will use our time, talent, and treasures in service to build God’s kingdom in our church and in our community (inside and outside these walls).

So it’s a good start, with more discussion to follow, to flesh out the details, to unpack what this means for all of us, and how to hold each other accountable.  We invite each of you to join us in our continuing discussion, and in seeking to apply this rule of life as it develops to your own spiritual journey. 

 Blessings,

Dave+
St. James Church
“Credo ut intelligam”–St. Auggy
“Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni”–James T. Kirk 

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This is always a busy week at the Church, with all the services with their various liturgies that are being offered, and I do encourage you to attend as many as you can this week.

 
But, busy-ness is not always next to Godliness.  What is important is how you can best enter into the meaning of this week, as we contemplate the events of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.
 
So, take time this week to think deeply on what the Cross means to, and for, you.  Join your brothers and sisters in the liturgies that will speak to you and further you in your faith journey.
 
May you each walk with Jesus along the way of the cross this week, and be surprised by joy on Easter morn. 
 
Blessings,
 
Fr. Dave+
 
Holy Week Prayer 
Have mercy on us, O God the Almighty.
Jesus Christ Son of the Living God.
O Rock of strength.
O Cornerstone.
O heavenly Sion.
O Foundation of the faith.
O Innocent Lamb.
O Crown.
–O Christ crucified.
O eternal judge, have mercy on us.
 
Brendan O’Malley, A Celtic Primer

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Contributed By Julie Murray | St. James Episcopal Church

The Rev. Dave Halt, rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Westwood, will lead a group of youth from the parish on a mission trip this summer to Russia. The group of 5 youth and 3 adult chaperones need to raise nearly $16,000 for the trip, so he issued this challenge to kick off their fundraising effort: collect half of the money needed for the youth travelers by March 1, and he would dress up as a donkey for the annual Palm Sunday procession around the church grounds.

The group easily surpassed that goal. The young people have held several fundraisers over the last few months, including wrapping Christmas gifts, selling sub sandwiches, doing odd jobs for parishioners and holding a gift basket raffle. When Halt realized they had reached the goal, he held up his end of the bargain, despite the fact that the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Price, suffragan bishop of Southern Ohio, would be visting the parish that day.

Luckily, the bishop has a great sense of humor and Halt rented a costume for the March 16 procession. Parishioners followed behind Halt waving palms, singing “All Glory, Laud and Honor” and laughing as they processed around the church grounds and into the church. Halt did, however, quickly change out of the costume for the solumn Palm Sunday service.

The group traveling with Halt for two weeks this June to Sablino, Russia, include Lisa Jacob, Miami Township; Daniel Wilson, Delhi; Will Holstrom, Bridgetown; Eric Taber, Bridgetown; Lindy Gamble, Northside; and adult chaperones Anne and Rebecca Griffiths of Miami Township and Amy Halt of Forest Park. They are part of a larger group of youth and adults involved in the Miami Valley Episcopal Russian Network, a group created to foster a spiritual and personal relationship between St. Nikolas Russian Orthodox Church in Sablino, Russia, and participating Southern Ohio parishes.

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