April 16, 2020 Dear Saint Matthew’s, Blessings to you this Thursday! There are blessings to be had when we have the eyes and ears and hearts to recognize them. Even now. As our good Presiding Bishop wisely reminded us last Sunday, despite the changed and painful reality of the human world all around us, “It’s Easter anyway.” Christ is risen, and in his risen body is the final reminder of God’s desire for you and me and every human person. That is still worth an Alleluia! Listening with an open ear to the various updates from government at all levels, and what the news media offer as well, it seems that we are in for a long haul of a changed style of life. Even as - we pray in good time when the data indicates it is as safe as we can know - things begin to open up again around us, some elements of social distancing and other safety measures will be with us for longer. Christianity, as it learned from Judaism, always faces reality head-on (even when it’s ugly), because in the end, God who is Real is found in the reality of each time and place. So we will have to be vigilant about, among other things, the possibility of a resurgence of infection in later seasons of the year. To give but one example; As your priest, my first intention in terms of our life together as Christ’s church is to make sure that you are safe when we are together again at church, whenever that will be. Right up there with that concern is that we find ways to be solicitous, (no, more than that!) loving in the name of Jesus to one another in our faith community and to the community around us where we have been placed to serve in Christ’s name. This is not simple, but it is at the heart of our mission. As a little step toward our talking about how we continue to be the church throughout this time, I created last evening an online bulletin board dedicated as a place where we can raise needs and ideas around how we are to live faith, hope, and love during the time of the pandemic. I encourage you to be present and active in that conversation. You can click to it through a posting on our Facebook page. It is also found on a new dedicated page on the church website. The page is entitled Saint Matthew’s Cares Covid Response. Finally, you can also arrive at the same bulletin board from your web browser by entering https://tinyurl.com/StMatthewsCares. What might appear there? It could be as simple as a parishioner noting that they could use help getting groceries or picking up a medication at the pharmacy. Then offline and in private, another member of the parish could be in touch and help. Or, someone might raise an idea, or encouragement, about how we as a parish could be of more support right now to the South Worcester Neighborhood Improvement Center or another organization, or how we might be of encouragement to some of the groups who usually meet in our hall but cannot do so presently. The possibilities are many. I would ask you to let your imagination be led by your heart. Visit the bulletin board and participate actively. And in the end, as noted above, all will be done only with constant planning and concern for the safety and health of all. Two more things in this (excuse me) long note! Now that there is wifi connection in the Rectory (thank you Tim Rossi and all), I am working on the parish website. Check it out and email me your suggestions. One thing I am going to add is another bulletin board, like the Saint Matthew’s Cares one described above, which will be solely for the gathering of prayer intentions in one place. There will be a password for this page for the sake of privacy, which will be sent to all on the parish email list. You may note also that on the homepage of Saint Matthew’s site there is now a section which features the latest updates from us on Facebook. This makes Saint Matthew’s Facebook material now available to those of us not members of Facebook. A step forward. Be patient, be safe, and look for the blessings in each day. Yours in the risen Christ, Father John
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Father John McGintyA native of Lynn, Massachusetts, ordained in 1983, Father John serves as the Rector of Saint Matthew's since March 1, 2020. Archives
December 2020
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