Month: April 2023

This week was Photo Directory Week at St. John’s. Several of our members and staff have been working for months to put together a new and updated reference for our parish members. The last directory was assembled 9 years ago, and I am not the only one who has changed since then. Looking back at the pictures from 2014, all the loved ones no longer with us, the children grown older, people who have moved away, it made us all grateful to those who work so hard to remind us of our memories.

I spent a little time greeting people. It was lovely to see them dressed in their finest, looking wonderful. There were families with kids, couples, a few pets included. There were single people and young people. The true diversity of our community was shining through. It was beautiful.

This is the Kingdom of God. When a diverse group of seekers and sinners gather every week to pray and learn and confess and renew. Every gender, color, age, political affiliation, level of ability- all crafted together into the Body of Christ. Willing to care about and love one another and Jesus, and bring that love into the world.

We must be careful to remember that everyone is created in God’s image, that everyone is beloved of God, that everyone matters. We need to include everyone! What joy it brings when we celebrate the bond we have in our love for Jesus as a committed community of faithful people.

Once again gun violence hits close to home as another one of our local children is killed. As this kind of thing happens daily we shouldn’t be surprised. But when it happens in your backyard, so to speak, you can’t ignore it.

I hear people pointing fingers about why violence is so prevalent. Lots of blame. How can we fix that? How can we teach our children to value life, to treat people with dignity, to care? My personal answer to that is by how we behave as a community.

Youngstown is steeped in poverty. People are living in horrible conditions. There isn’t enough safe and affordable housing. People are hungry. Well paying jobs are all in the suburbs. Schools are struggling. Racism and discrimination are a health concern. Life for most of our city is very hard.

Yes, there are so many good people trying to make a difference. I hope to be considered one of them.

But the truth we do not want to face is that people in this city have been asking for better for generations. Nothing changes. The message is that people in need don’t matter.  And after a lifetime of hearing that, of experiencing it, of not being listened to, what can we expect but violence? Nothing else has worked.

People will let go of violence as an option when they have other options to choose from. Until then, we can expect anger, justified anger. Maybe if those if us who are comfortable got a little angry and made sure some real and life-giving changes actually happened, the violence in this community would lessen. I am praying and working for that, and I hope you are too.

This morning I had the honor of doing a graveside service for a descendant of a former Rector at St. John’s. The Rev. William Randall Kinder. The graveside service was attended by family members from all over the country who seemed like a lovely group of people.

After chatting for a while following the service, I made my way to my car, talking with a few family members. As they turned to go, I realized that somehow my car had locked itself, because I didn’t lock it. And that my keys and phone were in the car. Oh dear.

After determining that none of the people present were criminals, we tried to figure out a plan. What could have been lonely, contentious and panic-inducing was actually really a blast. Many attempts were made to get in, lots of ingenuity, lots of laughs, lots of storytelling. To no avail, but eventually a professional came and got the car unlocked.

I was thinking on my way back to the church how nice people are. I had never met this family. We had exchanged a few phone calls and lots of emails. But they were so kind to me. I just enjoyed being with them.

It also struck me that situations are what we make them. Odds are I would have been highly irritated by such a situation. Who wouldn’t be? But it had a happy ending because we made sure of it. The tow guy even gave me a discount. What I received was a blessing, and I was grateful for all of it.

Don’t tell me people are bad. I simply don’t believe it. Don’t tell me there isn’t a blessing in everything. That is not my experience. Every moment has possibility and resurrection held in it. We just have to open our eyes and our hearts.