Easter Sunday (John 20:1-18) 03/31/2013

When I first arrived at St. John’s a few years ago, one of the first groups I had an opportunity to closely work with was the Outreach Committee. At that time, the Outreach Committee was in the midst of re-imagining their mission to the community, re-imaging how to best serve others during challenging economic times, challenging times for everyone. The faithful and insightful people of that group developed some truly creative ideas that combined financial contributions and hands-on opportunities for St. John’s parishioners, allowing the people of our community to reach out and help others in many and varied ways. The foundational idea for this new approach was to become more involved with the people of our community in very personal ways, hoping to develop relationships rather than simply providing financial assistance. This idea is rooted in the belief that interactions between people in the service of others create relationships that are mutually transformational in nature; transformational for the giver and transformational for the receiver. The Outreach Committee, committed to service in the community, changed their name to Community Service in an effort to emphasize this new approach, and the next evolution of their mission was realized this past fall as we committed to some very specific relationships, including our participation in building housing through Habitat for Humanity and tutoring young students at Covenant Prep School in Hartford. These organizations change lives and our participation places us in the midst of ministry that is focused on the redemption and restoration of God’s children and the faithful care of the Body of Christ. This is the Easter story; the story of Christ, through whose death and resurrection, we all find redemption and restoration to the fullness of God’s intentions for us, through God’s grace and love. Continue reading →