This is the text of the sermon preached at saint benedict’s table by Helen Manfield on May 3, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The texts for the day were 1 John 3:16-24 and John 10:11-18.
W
ithin the lectionary, the fourth Sunday in Eastertide is Good Shepherd Sunday. At this time every year we get to read about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. There are different verses that are used but all in all a general theme. Always these passages are accompanied by Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd.
We’ve now begun our Summer series of conversations
W
e’ve now begun Theology by the Glass, our monthly summer series of wide-ranging conversations. The first gathering took place Tuesday May 12 at our new location, the “Confusion Corner Bar and Grill,” located at the intersection of Pembina and Corydon Avenue. They set aside space for us, and were quite happy to serve food or a drink or coffee or various combinations of the above.
As many of you will be aware, we have a connection to a project in Uganda called HOME, which offers housing and support to orphaned teenaged boys while they seek to finish their schooling. Right now, saint ben’s member Bethany Berard is spending a month working with HOME, and we’ve just received an update from Lola Mugabi with news on how it is all going.
I
t is a cloudy day today which would normally hold the promise of rain… but we have been stuck in a bit of a drought and so those clouds may just disintegrate leaving us feeling disappointed and melting in the heat of the day. We have been blessed with a few rainfalls in the last week, but the dry, thirsty ground soaks the water up as quickly as it falls…it is a tease, and we wait for the drenching rains to come and bless us with mud and the kaleidoscope of green vegetation that will follow.
This is the fourth and final of a series of occasional posts from Jamie Howison’s retreat week at the Collegeville Institute at St John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota
T
his is my final full day here in Collegeville, before I catch the morning bus home to Winnipeg tomorrow. Then after a week living according to a wholly “other” rhythm of life, I’ll hit the ground running… or maybe not.
For one thing, my main commitment on Thursday is to attend an afternoon-long session with the local clergy and bishop. That’s more a case of “walking-in-and-sitting,” than it is hitting the ground running. Besides, I feel like this week has really gotten into my bones, such that I’m not interested in looking at my ministry as if it were a constant case of running. I already knew that, of course, but it is great to have a lived week in which to be so powerfully reminded of it.
I
call the community in to a time of prayer.
God, the selfless love modeled in the work of your Son is a constant reminder to us. Too often we allow ourselves to get caught up in the ‘me first’ doctrine of the world. As your children, may we be ready and willing to take up action at all times, living in a way that reflects your love. In our surplus may we readily seek to share, pouring out what we have been gifted with those in need.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
This is the third in a series of occasional posts from Jamie Howison’s retreat week at the Collegeville Institute at St John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota
I
t is about 4:30pm on Sunday May 3, and it is just beginning to really sink into my consciousness that I’ve got just two more full days here in Collegeville before jumping on my bus this Wednesday morning for the long ride home. Not that I’m complaining; generally when I do my Eastertide retreat somewhere closer to home, it lasts all of two or three days. If I look at it that way, I’m really just at the beginning.
This is the second in a series of occasional posts from Jamie Howison’s retreat time at the Collegeville Institute at St John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota
L
et me tell you about chapel life at St John’s Abbey, starting with a few words on the rather extraordinary Abbey and University Church of St John the Baptist. Designed by the reknowned modernist architect Marcel Breuer, the church was built between 1958 and 1961. It is a building striking in both design and size, with a total capacity of 2500, yet unlike many modernist churches it is not lacking in warmth and even intimacy. From the outside the place seems rather imposing, with an enormous slab concrete bell banner standing across the front, and a sort of honeycomb of windows acting as the main outside wall.