Saint Monica's Episcopal Church
Messenger
July 2016
From the Rector’s desk by Rev. Anthony MacWhinnie, II
As I write this, it’s a cool day in June. It’s such a beautiful day! The heat wave that was last week has dissipated and now, it’s just glorious. Life is like that sometimes, isn’t it? Things can go south in a hurry, seemingly predestined, ordered, and completely out of our control. And then the next day, they are back to normal, good, and smooth sailing, like the whirlwind never happened. One of the things that we have to remember, even when things are good, is that control is an illusion. Even when we have smooth sailing, those smooth waters are often times not about anything we’ve done. We think we’ve got it all under control, but in reality, it’s just that the weather happens to be nice that day. Likewise, when things go south, we have to remember that it’s not our lack of control that is the issue (since we never really had it in the first place). No, sometimes things just get crazy and those things take us along for the bumpy ride. That’s how life works. It’s not all about us. It really is out of our hands, and that’s perfectly okay. A third thing we have to remember is relationship. Life gets rough sometimes, and when we are having a bad day, sometimes we turn our bad day on to other people. It’s infectious, in a way. In the aftermath though, we’ve stepped on toes. We’ve hurt relationships, some of whom might have not had anything to do with any of it. And all because our perception of control got jostled along the way.
Last week I preached about the Gerasene demoniac and how that was related to the story just before it where Jesus calms the storm tossed sea. Not only does Jesus have the power to tame the tempest outside, but he has the power to tame the tempest inside as well. And after the tempest was tamed, the man was sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed an in his right mind. When our tempest gets to be too much, sometimes we have to meet Jesus on the beach… Sometimes things happen in life. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we hurt one another. But then… Then it’s a cool day in June… Ephesians 4:32 says “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Have a good July. I hope it’s as glorious as it is right now. Peace, Anthony+
Opening Soon! At 470 S. Hwy. 29
Our Staff & Vestry Rev, Anthony MacWhinnie, II, Rector Vestry: Chuck Barnett - Senior Warden Dan Ferguson- Junior Warden Beth Woods, Susan Early, Ann Philen & John Velaski Twinette McDonald - Music Director Sally Putters - Parish Nurse
To volunteer or for information on when and where to drop off donations, contact Dawn Hayes