For this whole year, we have quite rightly been celebrating our first hundred years and reflecting on our mission and ministry as we begin our second century.  Last Saturday and Sunday we celebrated together with a dinner, shared liturgy and music, and a wonderful coffee hour.  As I reflect about our centennial celebrations, I keep thinking about something our senior warden, Linda Hank, pointed out on Saturday night.  She reminded us that we are celebrating the anniversary of our coming together as a congregation, not our church building.  Our parish came to be in 1913, when a group of Episcopalian Christians decided to worship together in Reading.  Our building came later, in 1924, in fact.  What we are celebrating is not our building, but our beloved community.

Last weekend, I was struck again by the way folks at Good Shepherd care for one another and for our church, and by how they are willing to show that love and care without any expectation even of others' knowing all they do.  On Saturday, for instance, there were folks arranging artwork and photographs lovingly contributed by parishioners; people were decorating the parish hall; outside, two families were cleaning out flower beds and raking leaves.  Families had gathered to prepare for upcoming baptisms, and two of our teenagers had volunteered to care for older siblings so that parents and babies could walk through the service.  By evening, the sanctuary was adorned with special lights so that our glorious stained glass was shining brightly.  Tables were beautifully set, graced by flower arrangements designed by one of our parishioners.  Parishioners had baked the most amazing array of desserts, and volunteers served up a wonderful catered dinner.   One of our own gifted musicians and his jazz band played all evening, serving up beautiful music.  The best thing, though, was the conversation, as people shared memories, talked about what our church means to them, laughed and even cried a bit together.

Of course, last weekend was a wonderful and well-deserved celebration of a big milestone for our parish.  But it is also emblematic of the way people step up and help out.  It is, as one beloved parishioner likes to say, "the way we roll at the Shepherd."  Our senior warden pointed out on Saturday night that a volunteer is defined in her dictionary as "someone who willingly does work, without pay."  But she went on to say that that doesn't quite fit folks at Good Shepherd.  "Saying that someone from Good Shepherd is a volunteer is like saying a parent caring for his or her child is a babysitter."  She's right.  People at Good Shepherd love our church; this community is important.

I'm not writing all of this as an invitation for us to be self-congratulatory; but I do think it's important to celebrate how much it means to so many of us to be a part of the Church of the Good Shepherd.  On Sunday, as one of our beloved sisters brought a birthday cake for the October birthdays and we said blessings for our brothers and sisters born in October, I was filled with gratitude for our church. 

The James we commemorate this week was referred to in Matthew's gospel and in the letter to the Galatians as Jesus' brother.  Not to be confused with the James who was one of the original twelve disciples (and brother of John), this James was converted soon after the resurrection, and became the first bishop of Jerusalem.   Paul wrote in First Corinthians that Jesus appeared to James sometime in those first days after Easter. The church historian Eusebius wrote that James was called "the Just."

The book of Acts tells us that when Paul was summoned to Jerusalem to explain to James, Peter, and other leaders why Paul was allowing Gentiles to convert to Christianity without requiring males to be circumcised or converts to adhere to Jewish dietary rules, it was James who helped change the course of church history.  James told the Council, "My judgment is that we should impose not irksome restrictions on those Gentiles who are turning to God."  It became the decision of the Council of Jerusalem and allowed Paul to expand his ministry.

James was said to be quite austere in his habits, refusing to cut his hair or to oil his body, and he was said to be almost constantly in prayer.  He was very successful in converting people to Christianity; eventually his successes were deemed by religious leaders to be dangerous.  They urged James to "restrain the people, for they have gone astray to Jesus, thinking him to be the Messiah."  Some histories report that James was dragged to the pinnacle of the Temple, and told to try to turn the crowds away from Jesus.  James refused and began to proclaim that Jesus was the Christ.  He was then hurled from the roof to his death.  James was among the first martyrs, killed around the year 62.

The Annual Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts will be held on Saturday, November 2 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.  The delegates from Church of the Good Shepherd are Linda Hank and Ray Luddy.  Rev. Scottie also has voting privileges at Convention.  

In addition to the 2014 budget, Convention delegates will consider clergy compensation guidelines and three resolutions.  One resolution is about support for and expansion of the B-Peace initiative  and two are environmental resolutions (one urging implementation of a carbon tax and the other urging the church to divest from some carbon-producing industries).  The full text of the resolutions are posted on the bulletin board outside the sanctuary.  You can read all of the Convention materials including the budget, all resolutions, the candidates for offices to be elected at Convention and the worship materials at the diocesan website.  A summary can also be found here.  

Please pray for the Diocesan Convention and our delegates.  If you have opinions about any matter to be considered on November 2, please feel free to talk with Linda, Ray, or Scottie.  They would love to hear from you!

Christine Camper, Kevin Cellucci, Betty Fraser, Bernice Herrick, Debra Katt-Lloyd, Tony Lopes, Lynn McDonald, Rheta McKinley, Alice Norman, Ken Nowakunski, Elsie Saunders, Bishop Thomas Shaw, Kevin Smith, Jake Torrisi, Ralph Ventola, Stephen Wagner, and Michael Webb.