Saint James Episcopal Church - Weekly Epistle

Approaching the 5th Sunday after Pentecost

July 10th, 2014

Backyard Sunflowers

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ

And he told them many things in parables, saying:"Listen! A sower went out to sow.And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" (Matthew 13: 3-9)

Read Sunday's Lessons (Track 2)

I have a wild bird feeder on my backyard deck. I routinely fill the feeder with birdseed, including sunflower seeds. The birds make quite a mess under the feeder and I frequently have to sweep up and compost lots of cracked up seeds. Other seeds find their way into the soil beneath the feeder. Each summer I get some sunflowers that sprout underneath the feeder. This year's "crop" is incredibly robust. I'm kinda dumbfounded by the entire process yet I love seeing the sunflowers burst open as they are doing this week.

The book answer for growing Sunflowers

I don't do anything else but buy the seed and put it into the bird feeder. I don't water the wheat grass that the sunflowers come up alongside of and above each summer. I don't add mulch or anything else. The birds and nature seemingly take care of the rest of the process. The sunflower in the photo has lost some of its leaves and stalks in the process. In a few weeks, maybe even a few days, it and the other sunflowers in my garden will die. The petals will fall to the ground. The growing process will cease for some time. I guess you can actually harvest the seeds and roast them or replant them. I probably will just keep re-filling the bird feeder and wait to see what happens next year.

Seemingly, some of the seeds from the feeder are not being scorched by the sun or eaten up too much by the birds. They are falling on good soil and getting enough heavenly sent water. I'll keep feeding the wild birds because that process brings me joy. I may also collect some seeds and plant them in the church's garden by our parking lot. 'Might be fun to see what happens here. My experience with sunflowers has been simple but beautiful thing to tend to get involved in without exerting a whole lot of effort.

I'm not a great gardener but I love benefiting from what creatively happens in such abundant places. I also love how life takes place around me when I intentionally take time to observe the nature of life, death, and re-birth. Jesus' Parable of the Sower offers any number of possible teachings. Life and death happen and there are things occuring in that process that we can and cannot control. On the other hand, what can we do as Christians is to make sure that our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our bodies are healthy enough to nurture the Holy Spirit's gifts when we receive them, especially under harsh conditions. Do things we do away from our gardens and homes so preoccupy us that we don't take time to care for or enjoy the sunflower beds around us? What does God do that captures our attention enough to stimulate us into participating in Jesus' proclamation about the challenging yet abundant nature of God's Reign?

I don't know exactly where I'll wind up with this text on Sunday. I certainly hope the sunflowers in my backyard last that long. I believe they will and along with God's Grace be alive for much, much longer.

Blessings Along The Way, Jim+

This Week @ St. James

Blessed Candlemas Candle on St. James' Altar

Visit the parish's calendar

There's an updated website article on the webpage summarizing some key July events.

Check it out!

Meet our Neighbors and Guests Next Saturday

Westwood Giant Yard Sale

Westwood's Giant Yard Sale on Saturday, July 19, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Westwood Town Hall. St. James has been invited to participate in staff. Please help us take advantage of this opportunity to promote St. James to our Westwood community and guests who will be visiting the neighborhood for the "At Home in Westwood" Event. It's a unique opportunity to meet our neighbors while passing out magnets, pens and brochures. Contact the office at 661- 1154 if you'd like to volunteer for an hour or two.

Here's what happening at the farmstand

Farmstand Update

St. James' and Findlay Market's collaborative farmstand has been open for six weeks now. It's off to a great start and yesterday was an especially special day.

Kathy Schaeffer and her team of volunteers have done an awesome job of greeting neighbors and running the market. Anne Griffiths has prepared special and delicious samples on a couple of occasions. YUMMY! Rebecca Heine and Mike Hass of Findlay have been especially helpful in getting produce and other products from the famers to the market as well as helping us learn the business of local farming and distribution.

The awesome news is that people are returning week after week. New people are coming each week too. The word is out! We're so grateful for our church members' support. Together with our neighbors, we might just be creating something very, very special.

There are a couple of great stories from yesterday worth sharing with you. First, the bus driver who passed by the farmstand jumped out of the bus (while it was stopped at the bus stop at Cheviot and Montana) to make sure she purchased some awesome Kettle Corn. She's not the only that's heard about that delicious offering. There was a group of teens who got to the farmstand right at closing time who put their quarters and dollars together to get a bag of kettle corn too. There are lots more stories and we'd love to hear yours!

Come and see the new offerings and experiences happening each and every week. You're making it possible. Make sure you've got a yard sign to display, especially if you live in Westwood or one of the nearby neighborhoods. Come and participate on an upcoming Wednesday. It's fun and faithful at the same time. Definitely contact Kathy if you want to volunteer or support the farmstand in a special way.

In the local and national news!

Press Time

You may or may not know that Laura Hobson, WCPO Contributor recently wrote an article about St. James and our programs. The WCPO online version of the article is available to WCPO insiders here. Laura was gracious enough to make the article available to St. James' members and friends. It's available on our webpage here. Our story also got picked up by The Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs "Daily Scan."

Music Camp is just a few days away!

Alex and his great group of music teachers are putting together a terrific camp program for participants and their families. We've extended the deadline through the weekend so that more young musicians and their families can get involved. Read the Western Hills Press article and make sure that a young person you know and love gets signed up soon!

St. James 2nd Annual Summer Music Camp

July 21 - July 25
9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Your Church
Check out the Facebook Page

Seeds of Love

Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love + lyrics

(Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes)

Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes

High time we made a stand (time to eat all your words)

And shook up the views of the common man (swallow your pride)

And the love train rides from coast to coast (open your eyes)

. Every minute of every hour "I Love a Sunflower" (open your eyes)

And I believe in love power (open your eyes)

. Love power, love (open your eyes) power

Tears for Fear's hit song "Sowing the Seeds of Love" expresses a type of Flower-Power optimism about turbulent political and social life in Great Britain in the late 1980s/early 1990s. That being said, it's likely that Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were beckoning leaders and citizens alike to open their eyes and acknowledge people's needs and desires much like Jesus beckoned his followers to "listen." Enjoy the video!