To My Brothers and Sisters at St. Matthew's,

Grace and peace be with you!

Well it has been a seemingly quiet month after all the preparation and celebration of our Lord’s resurrection on Easter. And as spring reaches for summer and the season of greenery and growth, so too Easter reaches to Pentecost and a time for us to reach out and grow.

On the day of Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the gift of the Holy Spirit upon those first disciples who were commissioned to go therefore among all nations, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things that Christ had taught them (Matt 28:18). And we too are commissioned to go forth and do the very same thing?share the joy, love and hope that wwe find in Christ ?shine the light, love one another, and do good works so thatt others may know Christ. We don’t necessarily need to jump on the next plane out of here to a foreign country on a missionary trip (though some are surely called to do so). For many of us the “nations” are right here at home, at work, at school, at Walmart and the grocery store. Jesus said he had “other sheep” that were also part of His flock, people who are different—people of “other nations” so to speak. People we may not understand, or like, or want to be around, but just the same, they are equally in need of the love and healing grace of our Savior. We are surrounded by those nations of people in our everyday life.

I found an interesting story posted at work the other day about a group of people from “another nation” so to speak. And like the parable of the Good Samaritan awakened the people of Christ’s time this story spoke to my heart.

“At The Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race, finish and win. All, that is, except a little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back . . . every one of them. One girl with Downs Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.’ Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood; the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. . . Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course. If you pass this on, we may be able to change our hearts as well as someone else’s. ‘A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.’ ” - writer unknown

Wow. Jesus told us to let our lights so shine before men that they may see the good we do and give glory to our Father in Heaven and He instructed us to love others (even our enemies), do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and our reward would be great for we will be the sons and daughters of the Most High. Let us remember in this season of Pentecost that begins with the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit that these gifts are also showered upon us for the spreading of His Kingdom. Later this month we will have an opportunity as a church to use our gifts and time to do our Second Annual Art Camp. Let us pray that we, through this opportunity, may be a blessing to our community.

Talking about ‘second annuals’ . . . We had our second annual Camp Columbus camping trip. Campmaster Dawn and Tina apparently had the only dry tent in a sea of 50 boy scouts after weathering a night of horrific thunder storms. The Picketts were unable to camp (and uneasy about the thunder storms) so we joined up with the Mallalieus, Attles, and Sullivans in the morning for church at the camp with three other local Episcopal churches. We were glad to worship together and listen to Deacon Ed Scott’s sermon which was truly excellent. It was a good thing we were under a shelter, for the rain came down yet again during communion and our potluck dinner. If you haven’t gone before, next year plan on going. It is a really nice experience.

Saturday June 2nd at 9:00 we will be cleaning the church and grounds because we are planning to have our Pentecost service and picnic outside! Be sure to wear red Sunday and join us to celebrate the day.

Thanks for all your help, support and prayers and may God bless you and keep you always.

Love in Christ,

Ellie