Waiting for an Invitation 

 Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori asked in a recent YouTube video about the Episcopal Church, "If I didn't attend an Episcopal church, what would you tell me about the church that would make me want to come visit?"

It's a great question. What do you think would especially attract someone? It would probably depend on the person. To a musician, you could easily say that the Episcopal church has some of the best music in our hymnal, in our choral offerings, all played on some of the finest musical instruments to be found.

To the artist, you would want them to know about our history of preserving great art in our windows, in our architecture, in our statuary. And to the poet, you would want them to know that our Book of Common Prayer contains some of the best poetry from the Bible, woven all through it.

For some of us, we may have begun to take a lot of this for granted. We may even secretly want to keep it to ourselves. It is a tragedy in the church that too often, we don't talk about church growth and evangelism until we need more money. Or workers. As a conference speaker once said, "Can you imagine joining an organization because people are inviting you to help pay their debt, and do the dirty work no one else wants to do?"

No. We need to be so bursting with pride in our community, so filled with appreciation for the friendships we have formed, and so inspired by the experience of worship that we think everyone should come experience it. If we are not, we should work to make it so.

There are plenty of lonely, alienated folks in our lives who believe there is more to life than just working and spending money, and who need what God is offering to us every day through the church.

And they may just be waiting for an invitation from you.

                                                                                                  Madre Liz

The Rt. Rev. R. William Franklin, Bishop of Western New York

 The Rev. Elizabeth Simmons, Interim Rector 

 The Rev. Cathleen Smith, Deacon 

   Miguel Covarrubias, Youth Minister

 Kim Johnstone Mann, Secretary/Administrator  

Barbara Bumsted, Director of Adult Formation

Andrew Schmidt, Organist & Choirmaster 

Paul Johnson and Linda Dawson, Wardens.

Office: 410 North Main St., Jamestown NY 14701 

http://www.stlukesjamestown.org