Using my head, I can't cognitively work through the implications of what this statement means because the chief implication that flows from my affirmation of Peter's confession of faith is that Jesus is one with God, and one with humanity. Cognitively, I don't understand how this could be so because it flies in the face of all I have been taught about how the laws of the Universe work, at least within the dimensions of time and space. Yet, I believe this confession with all my heart.

Holding the dissonance between head and heart requires a process of shifting from a cognitive to an intuitive frame of reference. If you are interested to learn how I attempted to square the circle, as it were, then go to relationalrealities.com to read 'So who do you say that I am'?

In the Parish Office, Deborah, Susan, and I have been driving one another to distraction with constructing a new-look, new-format design concept for communicating to you all the importance of Homecoming Sunday on September 7th. In the past we have snail-mailed copious pages of wordy information with all the i's dotted and all the t's crossed, for fear that if we omitted one jot none of you would understand how important Homecoming Sunday actually is. My reaction to looking at all of this material from past years was to want to put it safely to one side and then quietly ignore - it all.

So, this year we are embracing an E-Brochure format. We will mail printed hard copies to those parishioners who don't receive email, however, most of you will receive the brochure in the same way you receive this weekly E-News. The new-look concerns abandoning our anxiety to spell everything out in great detail and instead to offer you a digestible four-page combination of short descriptive text boxes and photo's, all in color, inviting you into the opportunities for ministry at St Martin's.

From my letter of welcome, the one thing I would like you to grasp is that ministry is not a job, but an opportunity for each of you to engage with your passions and interests. God calls each of us to participate in the life of the St Martin's Community with an sense of expectation that through our involvement we will get to do those things we are by temperament, and interest, best suited for, and  don't we all desperately need to have the experience of making a difference?

We can make a difference when we connect with levels of engagement and involvement that are appropriate for us in terms of time and talents. In this way we each make our own very individual contributions towards the building-up of God's Kingdom in this place. After-all, why else are we here?
 

Yours in Christ,