Dear Friends,
This Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Each year at this time we hear scripture and sing hymns that point to this reality, that both Jews and Christians know God not only as powerful and holy, Lord and king, but also as a humble shepherd who goes after lost sheep, comes after us when we go astray and when wolves threaten us.
The Good Shepherd is at the heart of our children’s formation, which, after all, is known as The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
And the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the earliest physical image used by Christians, found in the catacombs where Christians gathered to pray.
This Sunday is also Mother’s Day, and a conversation with a good friend got me thinking about how mothering is much like shepherding and vice versa. Both tend to many details while never losing sight of the one in front of you. Both mothering and shepherding require placing oneself between danger and those in your care and showing up, never knowing if the day will be filled with tedium or fraught with emergencies or joys. Both roles require attention and care with no down time. Am I pushing the connection too far?
In other news, we’ve got a lot going on! Please see newsletter below to see all that is happening, whether at church or in the community. There are two dates in particular you might want to note: May 31 and June 7.
On May 31 both Colin Collette and Bryan Matias will be ordained to the transitional diaconate with three other candidates at St. James’ Cathedral downtown. It would be amazing to have a large contingent from All Saints!
On June 7 we’ll return to the Cathedral for Confirmations and Receptions into the Episcopal Church. If you are interested in being confirmed or received, please contact me no later than this Wednesday so we can reserve our spots. You might also want to come to one or more sessions of Episcopal 101. See notices about both below in this week’s newsletter..
See you in church!
Faithfully, Suzanne+