St. John's Bible Exhibit
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The St. John's Bible is a handwritten and illuminated Bible. The Benedictine Community of St. John's Abbey and University commissioned this beautiful depiction of the biblical texts in 1998. It's the first such effort by a Benedictine Community since the 1600s and portions of The St. John's Bible are presently on exhibit at the College of Mount St. Joseph. John Trokan, D. Min. is absolutely correct when he says that: "The contemporary illustrations are breathtaking and spiritually enriching."
I invite everyone at St. James to visit the exhibit. Please send me an e-mail message if you are interested in trying to go on a guided tour as a group. I'll need to know what times (and dates) between now and Feb. 26th would be best for you.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory ... (John 1:14)
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St. James The Just (of Jerusalem)
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Salvation - Jesus (and Us)
I'm still figuring out my morning devotional pattern for this year. Sometimes I contemplate The Book of Common Prayer's Daily Devotional. I like the Sacred Space website too, especially when I have more time to accomplish a Daily Examen. This week's item for further thought and prayer on Sacred Space's front page is definitely worth reading.
The last couple of morning's I found myself using Forward Movement's meditations. Today's passage was from Matthew 16: 13-19. It is Matthew's scriptural account of Peter acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus' blessing of Peter and his rock-like foundational faith. There's plenty to ponder about in that story.
The author of the devotion points out that Peter made plenty of mistakes. He went as far as to deny The One that he previously proclaimed to be The Son of The Living God. The author continues: "Perhaps the flimsiest foundations are the ones we try to build ourselves, thinking we are in control. ... It is Jesus who is the savior the Messiah not us. And on this foundation, we build our faith."
Absolutely!
We, as Jesus' disciples, are thankfully not the source of God's salvation. That doesn't mean that we do not have a role to play to make the world a better place to live. God is, as the folks at Sacred Space note, inviting believers to participate in the nature and shape of God's reconciliatory works with humanity.
I wrote a comment on Forward Movement's Facebook page about today's devotion. I said: "Thank God that the world's present and eternal salvation doesn't depend upon us. ... and we are called, as Peter was, to be Christ's hands, heart, hope, and heels in our world and worship, aren't we?
I hope that this Epiphany Season's focus on discipleship and vocation provokes all of us to reaffirm our faith and trust in Jesus Christ's love for us and all of humanity. I pray that we will continue to gain a deeper sense of what he means to be in relationship with one another and Jesus Christ through the living sacrament of baptism. I'm hopeful that Jesus the Christ will all-ways be there to raise us out of the despairing waters of fear and failure as well as to reaffirm us in our efforts to bring his Grace more fully into being. I believe these are both elements of energizing our faith, a faith that lives in a on-going prayerful, responsible, and relational love for God and one another.
'Look forward to being with you on Sunday.
Blessings Along The Way, Jim+
Oh, you can add your own comment on these topics by continuing the conversation on our parish's Facebook page or by clicking on the button right over there --------->
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Help Students Apply to Go to College!
Nancy Jacobs has an important announcement that she would like to share with us
St. James has been supportive of the Ohio Benefit Bank program over the last few years with services provided at St. James and assistance at Western Hills High School. We do this through ECSF (Episcopal Community Services Foundation). There is a current and important need for us to help the students and their parents prepare their 2011 tax returns so that they can complete the FAFSA form, the form that needs to be completed for the students to apply for financial aid for college.
Many of these students will be the first person in their family to attend college. These forms and the entire process can be quite daunting. We can consequently really make a difference in a young person's life while helping to end the cycle of poverty through education.
Please contact Kathy Schaeffer if you are interested in being trained as a volunteer tax preparer. However, there are other opportunities, and you can take part!
We will assist ECSF at Western Hills High School on Friday February 3 and Wednesday February 8. In additions to the Benefit Bank counselors we need several people to serve as hospitality hosts, serve food and direct the parents and students which labs they need to attend. Additionally, we really need food prepared, sandwiches, cookies, fruit or other snacks. You can contact Nancy Jacob about those and she will make sure the items get to the high school.
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 What Else???
What's your best idea for improving our weekly e-mail? Would you like to see more videos, personal stories and testimonies, links to other websites, or something else? What would really benefit us as a church and just might be enjoyable at the same time?
Let me know how we can make St. James' Weekly Epistle better, while being more fun and making us and our guests more faithful in Jesus?
Meanwhile -- here's a link to last Sunday's Sermon as well as another "take" on the entire idea of being called.
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