The Calm Before the Storm
St. David's Episcopal Church | The Rev. Frank Allen | 1.21.2016

"One day Jesus got into a boat with His followers . . ."
 Luke 8:22
Dear People of St. David's,

I pray that you and yours are well and warm of heart on these colder winter days. As of this writing, it looks like we're going to have quite a bit of snow over the weekend. We've taken the precaution of postponing some scheduled events and may postpone more, so stay tuned. We will have our full service of worship on Sunday. After all, The Rev. Amanda Eiman and I can walk to St. David's. So please be careful on Sunday as you drive here, or use your best judgment and spend some time worshiping God at home.

No snow yet, though. This is the calm before the storm. These are the moments when we can take precautions and get ready for some sloppy, snowy days. For unlike the storms that come for all of us in this life, we have weather satellites and some very smart scientists letting us know ahead of time what we can expect and how to prepare.

Too bad life doesn't work that way.

In our lives, we know when we're in the midst of a storm, but are rarely aware that we're in the calm before one of the storms of life. We know when we or someone we love is struggling. We know when the changes in life have risen up and we're seeking a way to cope or for a new normal. We know when we don't quite understand when the life we've been living changes in ways that make us feel afraid or unprepared. We know when our lives are being tossed by some storm. The calm is harder to detect because it feels ordinary and routine, and we forget that storms, or changes, will come our way sooner or later.

Thankfully, we have been called to follow a Lord who is with us in the calm before a storm, and in the storm itself. Jesus has promised to come into our lives as the routine and ordinary calm. He comes to us in the storms, offering a presence and a power that will enable us to go through the storms of life to get to the other side: whatever storm we are facing, or will face, in life, church, the world - even death itself.

So in this calm before the upcoming winter storm, I invite you to remember that Jesus is "in the boat" with us in the calm before the storms of life, in the storms of life, and always.

Grace and Peace.

 Frank Allen
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Worship Schedule 1.24.2016
8:00am, 11:15am & 5:00pm | Church
9:15am | Chapel 
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St. David's Episcopal Church
763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne, PA 19087
610.688.7947

St. David's Episcopal Church | 763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne | PA | 19087