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The East Range Epistle
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by Linda Davis, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Eveleth Sometimes I imagine what it must have been like to live in the times of the Old Testament. Seems like it was easier to talk to God then – and easier to hear Him answer. Those who sought Him simply “went away to a quiet place” and prayed and He heard them and responded. I particularly like the story of the Israelites in the Sinai Desert that begins in Exodus. Moses pitched a “tent of meeting” outside of the Israelites’ camp, and anyone who had a question for God would go to that tent. Moses would step into the tent, a cloud or fog would descend upon the tent as God joined Moses, and Moses would emerge with the answers. Moses was rather a reluctant leader, never quite sure just what to do with the Israelites – where was he supposed to lead them, when were they supposed to move or stay, exactly what were they supposed to do? He spent a lot of time in the tent with God – Moses needed a lot of reassurance, and he wanted detailed, specific, step-by-step answers to his questions. Moses and God worked out a system: if there was a fog over the tent the Israelites were to remain where they were camped. When the fog lifted – they could continue their journey. (Personally, I suspect God suggested this so Moses wasn’t in the tent 150 times a day sounding like a 3 year old on a car trip, constantly asking, “are we there yet?”) In some ways, life hasn’t changed all that much from Moses’ time. We still have questions to ask God, but it’s a little harder nowadays to find “a quiet place”. I get up early in the morning, usually well before dawn, and try to go for a walk or a bike ride as the sunrise creeps across the sky. It’s a good time to pray, with no distractions and the quiet surrounding me. Sometimes a fog moves in; a low-flying cloud that edges soundlessly through town before it lifts. Things are different within that cloud. I can’t see more than a few feet ahead of me, so I can’t depend on my eyes to guide me. Sounds are magnified – perhaps because I’m listening so intently. Sometimes life is like that, too. We aren’t sure where we’re heading, when we’re supposed to head out, and what we’re supposed to do when we get there. We want God’s reassurance that we are, indeed, on the right path. Maybe we don’t know how to get to our destination from where we are right now; perhaps we aren’t even sure of what our goal is. So we seek out God for answers. Our questions can come from the depths of our being; a loved one is stricken with a serious illness or dies, there’s an accident and a family is shattered. We’re confused. We can’t understand, and in our pain and anguish we cry out to God, “Why, Lord? Why this? Why now? Why me?” And we listen intently for the answer… and some-times we hear nothing… and it’s hard not to wonder if He’s even listening. Author Caroline Myss poses a question: “What if,” she says, “ you could ask Jesus your question, face to face? And what if His answer was ‘You’re not ready to hear the answer yet, but soon you will be…’” Wait a minute! Isn’t that what He’s saying in the silence? “You’re not ready to hear the answer, my child…” He’s still in control. We haven’t been abandoned. We’re not alone. We’re just not ready yet. The fog is still there to guide us – only this time it’s within us. We simply need to wait until the fog lifts, and He points the way. In the meantime, we take it a step at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, trusting that He is with us still and is watching us and if we have enough faith to lift up our foot to take the next step, He will make sure the path appears beneath our feet. Perhaps this is where faith begins, within the fog… |
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I love July
July is the month of light in Northern Minnesota. The sun slows
down in July and creeps on long into the night. What a joy it is to get
an extra day after supper. The extra light may take us off to the ball
field or out to that special place for a walk.
July insists that we get out of the house. Cabin fever is not
allowed in July except the kind that calls a great slice of the Midwest
to head north to the cabin. As if there isn’t enough light the cool evenings
at the lake finds many huddled around campfires or fireplaces sharing stories
and songs of special times. Roasting marshmallows and making somemores
call to us from some primitive place so that we risk injury as we duel
with long skewers to find the best coals for roasting.
July is so hot that it is hard to believe that we roast wieners
and grill. It wouldn’t be July without barbecue and watermelon. I think
these staples of July became popular back before air conditioning when
it was too hot to cook indoors. Now it is very tempting to retreat indoors
but as long as the food is so messy usually there is someone who
vetoes that.
Blueberries and raspberries are July fruit. My favorite berry
picking story occurred at Jay Cook Park near Duluth. Margaret and
I were picking wild raspberries and there was a white foam substance on
the leaves of the berries that I didn’t recognize. I assumed it was some
kind of larvae. Given the unusual effect of Lake Superior it could have
been May flies for all I knew. I asked the park ranger what it was. He
informed us that it was bear saliva. Evidently we had been competing with
another picker whom we never saw..
Night is especially light in July. Fireflies blink their secret
codes of communication to one another and we can’t help but eavesdrop in
on their joy as they dance to one another. Star gazers delight in July
for the northern constellations come to center stage above us. Laying on
one’s back is the best way to see Drago, Orion, Polaris, Cassiopeia, and
of course both of the dippers. We don’t need northern lights in July as
its usually too bright for them to be seen. And if its cloudy there’s always
heat lightning. The meteorologists try to tell us that there is no such
thing as heat lightning, but the words stick because we’ve sat with grandpa
and grandma as they shared stories of deep memory to us in the still calm
before the storm as we watched in wonder and awe the distant, silent fireworks
of God.
Speaking of fireworks what would July look like without
a Fourth of July Celebration? Brainerd is the capital of fireworks in Northern
Minnesota. The two hour parade and the two hour concert are preliminaries
to a fireworks display that occurs in the natural bowl below the high school.
More than 50,000 sometimes gather to wait patiently for the darkness to
arrive so the action can begin. Many of our civic service organizations
have food booths that will fund outreach programs throughout the year just
from this one event.
My favorite Fourth was the night of low fog-like clouds when
the fireworks were viewed through a mystic veil that shifted the color
spectrum just enough to make the event seem new. The oohs and ahs were
genuine. The worst Fourth was when our two year old son screamed in terror
from start to finish. A special Fourth was during my sabbatical in England
where Americans were given free admission on the Fourth of July to an American
theme park. The hot dogs and fries were typically British but given the
bloody war between our two nations how wonderful it was to be hosted by
a former enemy. It is blessed to forgive and to be reconciled. We have
done it before let’s pray we can do it again with those with whom we struggle
to understand. July is a reminder to us to be reconciled from the
darkness of strife and get out of ourselves to walk in the light.
+ The Rev Canon Stephen
Schaitberger is Canon Missioner
for Northern Minnesota, which includes the East Range Episcopal Congregations.
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The Transition Team is looking for clergy to celebrate some of
our Summer services. If you have a relative or friend who is a priest and
will be visiting this Summer please contact the Transition Team member
from your congregation with details.
St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
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Thanks to all who completed and returned
the survey forms - there's still time to return your form if you haven't
already done so. we are tabulating the results so we can send them to the
Carmacks (our search consultants), who will then submit them to the diocese.
we hope to post the survey results in each parish in late July or early
August so our congregations have the results before the next edition of
the Epistle. Once we've forwarded results to the Carmacks, they'll tell
us what our next step is in the process .
St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
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East Range
Churches' News |
Region 2 Meeting
On Saturday, June 8, the Region 2 Meeting was held from 9 AM to 3 PM
at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Duluth. The delegates elected Jenna Dodge
(St. Andrew’s by the Lake) as the Region 2 Youth Delegate to Diocesan Convention
and set aside scholarships for youth to Cass Lake Camp.
If you are interested in more information about this meeting, contact
Chuck Morello (218-744-1615)
Environmental Stewardship Commission Meeting
The Environmental Stewardship Commission
met on June 20-21 at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Duluth.
The commission worked on ways to implement the Resolution on the Spirituality
of Food (passed last October), preparing for the research event in Alaska
in September, and on a presentation at the Diocesan Convention in October.
If you are interested in more information about this meeting, contact
Chuck
Morello (218-744-1615).
September Epistle
Deadline for input to the September issue of The East Range Epistle is Wednesday, August 14, to Carol Morello (218-744-1615, or fax: 218-744-1635). Processing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 21.
Epistle Contribution Schedule
The schedule for the lead article for the next three issues of is:
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St. John's
News
(Submitted by Nancy and Dick Harvey) |
Centennial Celebration
(Submitted by Liz Lenich)
On Saturday and Sunday, August 10-11, St. John’s will be celebrating its Centennial with a dinner (August 10) at 5PM at the Days Inn of Eveleth followed by a banquet and program starting at 6PM. Sunday (August 11) there will be a special Eucharist Service at a special time: 10 AM., with Bishop Dan Swenson celebrating. We will be joined in the celebration on Sunday by members of St. Paul’s. Coffee and fellowship will follow the service
If you are interested in attending the banquet costs $16 and you should contact Nancy or Dick Harvey (218-744-2599) as soon as possible (official deadline is July 1). If you have any remembrances about St. John’s, please contact Liz Lenich (218-744-5773)
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St. Mary's
News
(Submitted by Mary Groeninger) |
No Information Received
Please provide your news and information to Mary
Groeninger (218-365-3364).
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St. Paul's News |
The U.T.O. Ingathering from St. Paul's Parishioners totalled $417.41, and this amount was mailed to our Chairperson, Gurtie Berkner of Lakeland, MN. on June 12, 2002. Many thanks to you all.
Every Wednesday at 12:30 PM there will be a meeting of the Women of St. Paul’s at Marlene Munig’s residence. The group will start now on the Christmas Tree Project. Contact Marlene (218-741-3077) for more information or directions. Women from all our congregations are welcome.
Home Communions
(Submitted by Gail Coon)
If anyone is interested in receiving a visit or home communion, please contact Gail Coon at 218-744-5138 or 218-744-5099. Arrangements with supply clergy must be made in advance, but most would be willing to do this.
Vestry News
(Submitted by Gain Coon)
The following items were covered at the Vestry Meeting of June 17:
| God our Father, we want to love you with all our strength, with all
our soul. But you know that there can be resistances within us. Give us
the boldness to leap over these walls, to dare to renew again and again
the yes of the gift of our life.
+ Brother Roger
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Address comments on typographical errors to Chuck.