From the Rector: Moving Into Summer

Dear friends,

We had a remarkable evening last night as more than 80 Incarnationians packed Farlander Hall for a potluck dinner and our "Roots of the War for Palestine" presentation by Lisa Pollard. Thank you to everyone who helped set up and clean up, everyone who brought food, and everyone who contributed to the evening's conversation and learning. Thanks especially to Lisa for sharing her expertise in Middle Eastern studies with us. There will be more opportunities to continue this conversation in the future.

Lower down in this newsletter you'll find information on the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, whose ministry I mentioned last night and encouraged us to support.

We have some more special events coming up. Tomorrow we will celebrate Betty Byrnes's funeral liturgy. Saturday is our Pride Parade and Festival in Old Courthouse Square. On Sunday we will commemorate both Pride Weekend and the close of our Parish Choir's year, and we'll celebrate those who have contributed to our music ministry in 2023-24. The following Sunday, June 9, is our Pride Panel following the 10:15 service.

I'll have to miss some of these, as this Saturday I'll be flying to Seattle to serve as a trainer for the weeklong session of the College for Congregational Development. This is a training program for lay and ordained church leaders that's made a big difference in my life and that I'm excited to be part of again after a break of a few years. After I get back, our family will be headed to Atlanta, Georgia, for a week to visit my dad and stepmom. We'll return in time for me to be at church on Sunday, June 16. I'm grateful to Jamie Knutsen, Paul Mallatt, and Ellen Wondra who will be presiding and preaching at our services on June 2 and 9 while I'm away.

We have had a rich and full year in 2023 and 2024, from our 150th anniversary celebration to our Imagine Incarnation campus planning process to our diocesan revival last month. Now as we move into summer, some of our programs are winding down for a break, some of our members and friends are planning travel, and the pace of parish life slows down a bit, even as our liturgical calendar takes us into the "green, growing season" after Pentecost. I pray this summer will bring us all opportunities for some form of rest and reflection, opportunities to enjoy being outside and being together, and opportunities to listen to where God's Spirit is at work in our lives.

See you in a couple of weeks!

In Christ's peace,

Stephen