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The Christ Church Community Update
For Sunday, August 1, 2010
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Whoever you are, and wherever you
find yourself on the journey of faith, you are welcome at Christ
Church, as you are, to receive the blessings of God so freely given.
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August 1--The Tenth Sunday after the Pentecost
9 AM and 11 AM--The Holy Eucharist, Hymns and Sermon
10:10--The Rector's Forum: Bible Study and Discussion (in the shade of the North Garden)
Spirituality and the "Vanities of Life"
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Greetings!
I am just back from Massachusetts, we thought it would be fun to spend the last night of vacation out in the city, so we headed toward Rittenhouse Square, and as we crossed Walnut and 16th came across a large crowd and massive line of people that snaked all around the city block. Apple Computer was opening its new retail store, "the temple at which you can worship and be with other Apple-like
devotees," in the words of Temple University professor Jan Fernback.
"This will preach," I said to Lynn, since I had spent the afternoon pondering the words of Jesus we will hear this Sunday, "One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions," and the thousands waiting hours in the hot afternoon sun to snatch up an "i"whatever reflected to me a spiritual crisis of the current time--that consumer driven technology is no longer delivering tools, but identity and personal meaning through high-priced and often unnecessary products that create the illusion of human community.
Sounds pretty shrill, if not judgmental, at least as I type it on my laptop, not long after updating my Facebook page. Who knows how this will come out on Sunday morning in a sermon, but I know that my life's meaning--and salvation--flows from a dignity found in my humanness freely given by God and not in possessions that really possess and oppress me. We need each other to discover and remind us of this truth that Jesus taught: our life is not in our possessions--a truth that has been remembered and shared over centuries without the benefit of Twitter, and will continue to be if we share it through our lives.
As much as the church relies on technology (hence this email), the church is the antidote, too. We need each other and the human touch, for there is God and our safety.
NOTES
Look for a big article on the Neighborhood House project in the Inky this Sunday, possibly right on page one. Andrew Phillips and Bruce Gill made a fascinating discovery working on the building--an inscription by a person literally saved by Neighborhood House at the height of the Depression.
Please welcome our new director of music, Parker Kitterman, on his first day on the job--Wednesday evening August 11 at the 6 PM outdoor service and barbecue. Let's be there in force with all of the warmth, hospitality and welcome that is at the heart of Christ Church.
Timothy Safford
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