This upcoming Sunday, May 26th, is Trinity Sunday, the sixth of the seven Principal Feasts in our Anglican Way of following Jesus. On this Sunday we reflect on the mystery of our One God existing as Three Persons, sharing in an eternal, loving Communion. The outpouring of the Spirit we celebrated this past Pentecost Sunday is the final redemptive movement reuniting us with that Communion—recreating us as true worshippers of the Triune God. “Worship…is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father. In means participating with Christ, in what he has done for us once and for all…and in what he is continuing to do for us in the presence of the Father and in his mission from the Father to the world” (James B. Torrance).
This upcoming Sunday is also the day we begin displaying the American flag and the ACNA flag in our Nave. (Read my May 5th letter here for an explanation of this decision.) I originally chose this particular Sunday due to it being Memorial Day weekend, a time in which our gratefulness for our nation and those who sacrificed their lives for its freedoms are at the forefront of our thoughts. Only later did I realize it was also Trinity Sunday. I came to see this unintended timing is a gift.
First, as a country declared to be “one nation under God,” one this day we declare the unique primacy of our “God in three persons,” that “Only Thou art holy/There is none beside Thee/Perfect in power, love, and purity.”
Second, on this day we put into practice the mutual, self-giving, other-oriented communal oneness modeled by our God. In a congregation where there is not unanimity regarding where and how to display the American flag, we choose unity in Christ, and “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” as we each “look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Rom. 14:13-19; Phil. 2:1-11).
By God’s grace, I’ll elaborate on these important topics in my sermon this week. Please pray with me that the Spirit will prepare our hearts to grow in our understanding and love of our Triune God and each other.
Three other important notes to remember:
· Our Yard Sale is this Saturday, May 25th, 8am-12pm. Come help, buy, and hang out…and bring friends!
· This Sunday we will also welcome Jean Albert as our new Parish Administrator and prayerfully release
Rhema Brown.
· Sunday, June 2nd is our Parish Meeting and Picnic (there’s a signup just outside the Nave). We will have
only one service at 10:30am, and at that service we’ll also recognize the children who are moving up from
Children’s Church into our Youth Ministry!
I look forward to joining with you this Sunday in “participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with Father” (Torrance again).
Your Pastor in Christ,
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