Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  John 20:1-2

Dear Friends in Christ,

Lent offers us the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and joys of life and to renew ourselves in body, mind and spirit, as we prepare for our primary celebration as Christians, Easter.

At this difficult time in global history, we may feel tempted to skip Christ’s crucifixion and death and go straight on to the resurrection!

Crucifixion and death seem to be all around us. The realities of lost jobs and difficult financial times make it hard to see much light in the world. Natural disasters, war and civil unrest continue to tear apart the lives of many of God’s children. Daily struggles with illness and addiction are still very real. With bad news on TV day after day, it is easy to give up hope for a better tomorrow.How do we, as people of faith, make sense out of all the beauty and wonder and pain and suffering that exist at the same time in our lives?

The seasons of Lent and Easter help us to remember that suffering and joy are both a part of the life of faith. We recall the passion, death and resurrection of Christ as we come to terms with our own suffering, the suffering of the world, and at the same time – the deep hope and joy we have knowing that resurrection is just around the corner. We recognize the tension and divisions in our world and renew our commitment to living lives of hope in the midst of our trials.

Committing ourselves to renewal during Lent helps us to arrive at the Easter Feast compassionately and fully alive. When Mary Magdalene discovered that the tomb was empty, she felt lost. She ran and told two of the disciples that Jesus body had been taken and she did not know where! Can you relate to feeling lost sometimes, even though you believe that the Lord is Risen? That is how the first Easter felt after the first Good Friday.

Finding the tomb empty still shocks us because it happens when we least expect it – While it is still dark. When things are tough, suddenly we discover that the stone has been rolled away while we were not looking and a new day is dawning. May you wake up this Easter morning to find every tomb in your life open and empty. May you see the Risen Lord calling you to live fully into the reality of His Resurrection. God wishes for you to have new and abundant life, right now…wherever you are on life’s journey.

I invite you to participate in the many Lenten opportunities taking place at The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew. I look forward to praying with you through Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum and to arriving on Easter Morning with you revived and refreshed, filled anew with the love of God in Jesus Christ.

May God’s blessing be upon you and your family this Lent and throughout the Easter Season!

The Rev. Michael Sniffen, Priest-in-Charge

At the 145th Convention of the Diocese of Long Island, Fr. Michael presented a resolution in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement co-sponsored by fellow clergy and the Bishop. It passed overwhelmingly. The full text of the resolution is below. Click here to listen to one of our youth delegates, Janae Headly, also an acolyte and confirmand speak in support of the resolution on the floor. Nadejah Seon, our other youth delegate was also a co-sponsor.

Concerning Support for Occupy Wall Street

and All Peaceful Movements

for Economic and Social Justice

BE IT RESOLVED that the 145th Convention of the Diocese of Long Island supports the October 23rd resolution of Executive Council stating that “the growing movement of peaceful protests in public spaces in the United States and throughout the world in resistance to the exploitation of people for profit or power bears faithful witness in the tradition of Jesus to the sinful inequities in society” and calling upon “Episcopalians to witness in the tradition of Jesus to inequities in society.”
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this convention recognizes the necessity for economic and social justice, accountability and fairness in the financial systems of our world and the promise of spiritual and democratic renewal for all.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this convention calls upon all elected officials and those in the financial industry to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the dignity of every human being.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Convention acknowledges the deep spiritual issues caused by the callousness, greed and exploitation currently plaguing our society. We stand with the Occupy Wall Street Movement and all those who speak out for economic and social justice in our midst.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this convention encourages members of The Diocese of Long Island to use their resources to support movements laboring to create a more just society.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this convention direct the Secretary of Convention to immediately publish this resolution on the Diocesan website, in the Dominion, and to send a press release to all major New York and national news outlets.

EXPLANATION: The Baptismal Covenant in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) compels all baptized persons to “strive for justice and peace among all people” and to “respect the dignity of every human being.” In the United States and throughout the world, people are suffering indignity and distress due to economic and social injustice of staggering proportions. This resolution confirms our resolve as people of faith to do all in our power to support God’s people who hunger for justice and daily bread.
Respectfully Submitted:
The Rev. Brian Blayer
The Rev. Michael T. Sniffen
The Rev. John Merz
The Rev. John E. Denaro
The Rev. Kassinda Ellis
The Rev. Canon Raewynne Whitley
The Very Rev. Christopher Hofer
The Rev. Sheldon Hamblin
The Rev. Margaret A. Peckham Clark
The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano
The Venerable Brenda Overfield
Ms. Nadejah Seon (Youth Delegate)
Ms. Janae Headly (Youth Delegate)
The Rev. Dr. Cecily P. Broderick y Guerra
The Rev. Charles F. McCarron
The Rev. Nell Archer
The Rev. Luke Fodor

The article below can be found with photographs on the ENS Website

[Episcopal News Service] In the early stages of the Occupy Wall Street protests, the Rev. Michael Sniffen and some clergy colleagues from the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island traveled to Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park to observe what was happening. He’s returned regularly since, talking to protestors and offering pastoral care.

“I see myself as part of the movement,” said Sniffen, 31, priest-in-charge of theEpiscopal Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Brooklyn, New York. “I really feel like this is my generation’s plea for a just society. I think the Gospels make it quite clear in Jesus’ teachings that there can be no justice without economic justice.”

Sniffen is among a number of Episcopal clergy and laity who are visiting and lending support to protesters at the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) campaign. Begun Sept. 17 and inspired by the Arab Spring movement, OWS protests against greed and economic inequality have spread to more than 2,100 locations across the country and around the world, including other major cities such as Denver, Miami, Berlin, London and Tokyo.

On Oct. 23, the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council issued a resolution affirming “that the growing movement of peaceful protests in public spaces in the United States and throughout the world in resistance to the exploitation of people for profit or power bears faithful witness in the tradition of Jesus to the sinful inequities in society” and calling upon “Episcopalians to witness in the tradition of Jesus to inequities in society.”

Three days earlier, Diocese of Long Island Bishop Lawrence Provenzano visited Zuccotti Park and attended a meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, of about three dozen interfaith leaders – including an Episcopal priest from Harlem and two from his diocese – discussing ways to support the movement.

New York’s Judson Memorial Baptist Church has been coordinating interfaith efforts with the coalition, which includes Christians of various denominations, Buddhists, imams and rabbis, said the Rev. John Merz, 46, priest-in-charge at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. On Oct. 9, he joined other clergy in carrying a golden calf from Washington Square Park to Wall Street to Zuccotti Park. As of Oct. 25, more than 250 faith leaders had signed a petition “of people of faith and/or moral commitment who support the Occupy Wall Street movement.”

Demonstrators at Zuccotti Park range from one-time visitors to protesters who have camped out since the campaign began. They include the employed and the unemployed and encompass all ages, races and creeds, observers said. People discuss everything from capitalism to environmental issues to the transformational value of the arts. Protest signs bear messages such as “If only the war on poverty was a real war then we would actually be putting money into it,” “Low wages equal modern day slavery” and “The death penalty is a legal crime.”

Protester Luis Daniel, 31, recently stood in the park wrapped in silver foil, holding a sign saying: “Enough is enough. Where is my silver lining?”

Daniel has worked jobs varying from construction to sales but has been unemployed since 2007 and homeless for seven months.

“The jobs aren’t there,” he said. “That’s why I am out here with this little costume of mine, this silver lining. … I want to know where it’s at. I want to know where is my opportunity.”

Some have criticized protestors for lacking a unified message or concrete list of demands.

“If they come down here and talk to everybody, they are going to find a bunch of clear messages,” said OWS press liaison Anup Desai, City University of New York professor of philosophy and geography. “This is a movement of movements, and so all the people who are here dedicating their time strictly out of passion, they have their agenda … If you come down and talk to them you will see that those demands are quite eloquent and well thought-out.”

Commented Merz, “It’s actually quite close to the heart of Anglican theology and practice: You get involved, and then the theology develops out of it. It’s very inspiring to have conversations with people because you see how smart people are, how varied it is.”

Protesting greed
The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton of Delaware said she heard a distinct message when she spent the 25th anniversary of her ordination to the priesthood at Zuccotti Park on Oct. 18.

“Everybody is really, really clear that what they’re protesting is greed. It’s not about luxury, it’s not about capitalism,” said Kaeton, who is canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. “People are really angry about greed, and I think that’s absolutely right. … That’s what made Jesus turn over a few tables in the temple, was greed and corruption. That’s the moral problem that I think the church needs to speak to.”

The movement is a call for the church to become prophetic while being pastoral “to people who are really struggling and really hurting,” she said. “What I found at Wall Street was the intersection of the pastoral and the prophetic … and that’s where we need to be.”

“I just hope more clergy get involved because I think this is really where the church needs to be,” Kaeton said. “For me, class is the original sin of the Episcopal Church, and we’re not going to get anywhere unless we confront our own classism – while we continue to confront our racism and our sexism and our heterosexism.

“I think we’ve been talking about sex for the past 30 years so we don’t have to talk about money, and now is the time,” she said. “That would be the gift of Occupy Wall Street. It’s forcing us to have those conversations that we’ve been avoiding for a long time.”

Said Provenzano, “I think there’s an opportunity here for us to look at class collaboration rather than class warfare, and for all of us, at least from a religious perspective, to see us all as God’s people.”

OWS press liaison Desai said he’d recently seen a lot of chaplains and ministers involved. “During the protest, they walk around making sure that things are peaceful and are a sort of go-between, between the police officers and the protesters. It’s great to see them there taking a proactive role.”

When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced people would have to leave the park so it could be cleaned on Oct. 14 (an action ultimately postponed), Merz camped out for the night and talked with protestors about how the interfaith coalition might support them if they were forced to leave.

“Everybody knew that once they left the park, there was a good chance nobody was going to be able to get back in,” said Merz, who has been blogging about his OWS experiences. “That night was very tense.”

Those spending their days in Zuccotti Park include Rena Patty, a certified nonviolent communication trainer from Washington state, who committed to spending a week in New York.

Overall, Merz said, “This has been remarkably nonviolent thus far. We do have a place there in helping to spread that.”

One exception occurred when one of his parishioners, Chelsea Elliott, was among several young women pepper-sprayed by a police officer on Sept. 24.

“I’ve been involved with Occupy Wall Street since the second day,” said Elliott, 25, a freelance digital imager who owns the business Bang Bang New York. “Our economy keeps getting worse and worse, and the corporations and executives have yet to be held accountable. … We have less control over our government.”

“It was just such a relief to be able to talk about these issues with other people that are upset about it,” she said. “It’s just been good to relate to them and create a dialogue.”

On Sept. 24, she participated in a march to Union Square, then began to walk with friends back to Zuccotti Park, she recounted. Some police stopped them on the sidewalk and then erected orange netting in front of them, she said. As the crowd behind them grew, scuffles broke out and a girl began screaming, she believes in response to a fight, Elliott said.

Elliott said she began screaming when a police officer shoved the girl to the ground and dragged her by her hair beneath the orange net. “I thought she had a concussion,” she said. “This cop walks over from far away – he didn’t even see us, but he walks over to us for some reason – and sprays me and three other women in the face, like, directly with pepper spray.”

New York Police Department Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna later was docked 10 vacation days, or the equivalent amount of pay, for the incident, the Daily News reported. Elliott said she planned to file a civil suit to try to get the police department to set a new protocol for dealing with such situations.

The incident didn’t deter her from participating in OWS. “You can Mace me or hit me. It’s not really going to weaken the movement,” she said. “Being pepper-sprayed is not a pleasant experience, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s definitely worth it. I feel like it’s very important to nonviolently demonstrate. … I was worried that this whole incident would lead to anti-police sentiment.”

Provenzano and others commented on the sense of community that had developed at the park.

“I think there is a holy moment in this,” he said. “There’s an incarnational moment, and I think this is one of those moments in our history where there can be real change.”

“What I said at the meeting [Oct. 20] is that I don’t think it is the religious community’s job to help organize them or to help them to be more efficient or even provide them with the mechanisms and the tools to better communicate,” he said. “They don’t need us to do anything else but to be pastoral support to them as they lead us and help us to see a way forward through a lot of complicated issues.

“They’re a community. They’re very church-like,” he said. “The rules that they are living by, I think, can be a real lesson for the church, particularly our denomination. There is this kind of horizontal decision-making that’s going on in their meetings … There is no one leader. I stood there this morning thinking, this looks like monasticism that I can recognize. This looks like church community that I could become a part of from a pastoral perspective.”

During the protesters’ daily “general assemblies,” subcommittees present information for discussion and decisions are made by consensus, Sniffen said. Lacking microphones, they use a “human mic system,” repeating what’s said in widening circles around each speaker, and use hand gestures to acknowledge assent or dissent. Leadership roles rotate.

“It takes a really long time, but when consensus is reached, it’s incredibly powerful,” Sniffen said.

A document is now circulating calling for a national assembly, modeled after the original Continental Congresses, convening July 4 in Philadelphia to discuss and ratify a petition of grievances to the federal government, he noted.

While Provenzano was at the park, a man approached and asked what his favorite Bible verse was, then opened a Bible, read the verse aloud and asked the bishop to pray with him. “He said, ‘Thank you for being here. It’s important for us to see people like you here so that we know that we’re OK.’ I thought to myself, ‘This might be the most important thing I do all week is this Bible study with this man.’”

Several people at OWS urged her to preach their stories, said Kaeton, adding she was amazed at “the urgency about how people want to be heard.”

“They want their stories told, and they’re so used to having their cries fall on deaf ears that they’ve resorted to this movement so that they can be heard and their truths can be validated and some change will happen,” said Kaeton, who blogged about some of their stories.

Next steps
Lis Jacobs, 54, director of finance at New York Presbyterian Hospital, joined Kaeton at Zuccotti Park for the first time on Oct. 18 but said she intended to return and invite others to join her. Some of her medical colleagues donate time to tend to protestors during their off hours, she noted.

“I really believe in what they’re doing, and I know I’m part of that 99 percent,” said Jacobs, who attendsChurch of the Intercession in New York and is a trustee of the Diocese of New York. “Were it not for the fact that I have a job, I’d be sitting out there with them, 24/7. … I thank God for New York Presbyterian Hospital every day, that I have a job.”

Provenzano said he intended to return to OWS and to encourage his clergy to go. “I’m going to be sending some e-mails to my seminarians saying, ‘Get down there and interact with these people. Go find out what’s happening here. This is practical theology.”

Jacobs, who sees economic injustice as the core cause of the movement, said OWS already had moved her to action: She’s shifted her checking account to a credit union and plans to do her holiday shopping for her grandchildren at local “mom and pop” stores. “It has to start somewhere.”

At the church level, she’s not sure what will happen. “The Episcopal Church is so huge, we could really make a difference with banks and corporations and things of that sort,” she said. “But I don’t know that we will do it. I don’t see any movement to do it. It’s a huge effort. It’s not like me taking my meager little checking account and moving it to a credit union. … There has to be some real thought and policy and polity put into what we would do about this.”

At the Oct. 20 interfaith meeting, participants discussed whether faith communities would be able to offer respite for protestors such as showers and a warm place to stay as the weather gets colder, Provenzano said. “I think that’s coming.”

Kaeton said she had been in touch with The Protest Chaplains, who describe themselves as “mostly Christians, based in Boston, with ties to Harvard Divinity School, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, and many other local churches and faith groups.”

“My next step is to work with the network of clergy on the ground who want to bring about change,” Kaeton said.

On Oct. 5, Trinity Church posted a statement on its website inviting OWS protestors to use the congregation’s facilities and staff for rest, revitalization and pastoral care.

“I’m really glad to hear that Trinity has opened its doors in allowing the protestors to use the bathroom facilities, and I think there may be more things that Trinity can do,” Kaeton said. “I think this is a wonderful opportunity for Trinity, as 9/11 was for St. Paul’s Chapel, to serve people in need,” perhaps by providing shelter in inclement weather, she said.

In an Oct. 22 e-mail, Trinity Communications Officer Linda Hanick said, “Trinity’s meeting spaces at 74 Trinity Place and Charlotte’s Place are being used by Occupy Wall Street protestors every day and our public restrooms at three locations (Trinity Church, St. Paul’s Chapel and Charlotte’s Place) are available for use during open hours.

“We are in frequent conversation with the protestors, our residential and business neighbors and community board about the daily impact of Occupy Wall Street on the living conditions within the vicinity of Zuccotti Park. Trinity continues to provide practical and pastoral help,” she said. “We do not plan on providing overnight shelter.”

In London, protestors have worn out their welcome at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral closed its doors to visitors and worshipers for the first time since World War II because of what its staff said were health and safety risks posed by Occupy London protestors who’d camped outside for the past week.

In an Oct. 21 statement, cathedral Dean Graeme Knowles said that, while he and his staff supported the protestors’ campaign to seek equality and financial probity, their presence was obstructing the cathedral’s ability to continue its day-to-day operations.

The protestors subsequently held an impromptu meeting and decided to stay put for the time being. The cathedral now is planning legal action to force the protestors to move.

Back in New York, Sniffen said he believed the protests would make a difference.

“From our perspective as Episcopalians – certainly from my perspective as somebody who was highly influenced by liberation theology – my reading of the gospel is quite clear that Jesus showed a preferential option for the poor and that in situations of economic justice in particular Jesus always sided with the poor,” Sniffen said. “I have a lot of hope for the movement. I think the potential is there for this to lead to real transformation of our economic system in this country and hopefully of other systems as well.”

– Sharon Sheridan is an ENS correspondent. ENS editor/reporter Lynette Wilson contributed to this article.

The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew has been featured in two ENS articles included below:

[Episcopal News Service] The City of New York July 7 chose the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn to launch Change by Us NYC, a new website aimed at connecting people and making the city a “greener, greater” place to live.

“St. Luke and St. Matthew is a remarkable example of what we are all about,” said New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Stephen Goldsmith during the event to launch the website, adding that the church’s efforts to green the parish and improve the surrounding community “touch on all the important parts of a sustainable project.”

Change by Us NYC was designed to enable New Yorkers to connect with city government and each other online, share their ideas and create project teams for improving the city, and identify government and private resources for projects. The site allows participants to start meet-up groups, raise funds, and work with community-based organizations and city agencies to develop projects that will have a lasting impact, according to a press release.

“This church community has been an integral part of the neighborhood for generations,” said the Rev. Michael Sniffen, priest-in-charge, at the start of the event. “We have been established on this site since 1841. At that time, the building was surrounded by cornfields. The landscape has changed since then, but our commitment to empowering and inspiring people to good works in this neighborhood and this city remains the same.

“We seek to do everything in our power to connect the gifts and skills in our community with projects that improve the lives of our neighbors. We strive to use all the resources available to us — including our buildings and grounds — to make our community a more loving, peaceful, healthy, safe and just place to live,” he added.

The church has partnered with the Pratt Center for Community Development through its Sustainable Houses of Worship program, which helps houses of worship be better stewards of their historic buildings and the earth. Members of St. Luke and St. Matthew’s congregation and church staff have participated in training workshops to increase our knowledge of heating and energy efficiency, Sniffen said.
One way the church plans to better connect with the surrounding community is by removing the wrought iron fence — which an artist who attends the church plans to turn into benches, said Heather McKinstry, a 21-year-old church member and volunteer who works on greening the church.

“Right now we are working to beautify what we have,” she said.

In the short term, McKinstry said, the church is expanding its efforts to grow fresh vegetables for the parish and the community. Long-term projects include plans to install a rainwater catchment system and to replace the concrete sidewalks with a permeable surface.

“It’s great to have the city here,” she said. “Having city support opens a lot of doors for us.”

– Lynette Wilson is an ENS reporter and editor.

[Episcopal News Service] The ongoing struggle to get young people in the pews at churches across Brooklyn is motivating some clergy in the Diocese of Long Islandto develop new ministries that challenge the popular way of how churches reach out to 20-somethings.

Predominate tactics — a rock band, projector screens and altars stripped of traditional decors — have failed to resonate with 20-somethings. Instead, it’s the traditional aspects of the Episcopal faith and its liturgy that young people are now drawn to, clergy say.

The Rev. Robert Griffith, who has been working with St. Paul’s Church in Carroll Gardens, has created an initiative called Imago Dei, or Image of God, that is working to understand the Millennial Generation — those born after 1980 — and its views of faith in hopes of devising new ways to bringing them closer to Jesus Christ.

“It’s not that they aren’t interested. What they are looking for is the traditional — silence, reflection, candles,” Griffith said.

One in four members of the Millennial Generation is unaffiliated with any faith, according to a 2010 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. However, the study also shows that young adults are rather traditional in their religious beliefs and practices. For example, nearly 50 percent of those ages 18 to 29 surveyed say they pray daily.

In August 2009, Bishop Lawrence Provenzano of the Diocese of Long Island appointed Griffith to develop a ministry in Red Hook, a gritty industrial turned artsy neighborhood that was tied to the Imago Dei initiative. The project was an incubator for new approaches that would engage 20-somethings. Monthly meet-ups at a local pub, plans for an artist gallery in St. Paul’s and Sunday evening services were in the works, but the project was stopped in May after Provenzano ended funding.

About 30 people were involved in various parts of the Red Hook project, and Griffith said he felt the project was on target. Nonetheless, Griffith, who has a background in campus ministries, plans to take those ideas and continue work on the Imago Dei initiative with help from participants in the Red Hook project.

Leadership in the Diocese of Long Island continues to study its options.

Myra Garnes Shuler, director of Youth Ministry and Formation for the Diocese of Long Island, said she is planning a meeting in September at which clergy and other diocesan leaders will brainstorm more ways in which the church can garner more participation from 20-somethings.
“We need to develop a bigger movement,” she said.

Michael Eckblad, 28, an artist who attended meet-ups and evening worship services with Griffith, said the church needs to focus on its roots and its tradition.

“A lot of what (Griffith) is doing is simply getting these ideas out there, talking to people, building relationships,” he said. “I hope to continue this dialogue.”

Griffith also wants the Imago Dei initiative to be a resource for other churches. But he cautions clergy: “This is always evolving. We need to change as the emerging generation changes,” he said.

The Rev. Michael Sniffen is taking a similar approach in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene. Sniffen, the priest-in-charge at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, is hoping to develop a ministry that includes an artist-in-residence program, gatherings at area pubs and a volunteer green space initiative in the front of the church.

“It’s about relationships and community rather than being entertained,” Sniffen said.

Sniffin, who is 30, also said the church needs to listen more to younger parishioners.

“Instead of asking what should we do for them, we need to ask what are they doing to inspire the church,” he said.

Both Griffith and Sniffen agree that Brooklyn is an ideal location to test these new approaches. In a borough of 2.5 million, about a quarter of the population is between the ages of 20 and 34, according to 2010 Census data.

And all Episcopal churches are looking to boost membership.

About 725,000 people attend Sunday worship service on average, according to a 2009 study by the Episcopal Church. The study also found that congregations in which more than 75 percent of the members are 50 or older are unlikely to grow.

“What is really going on? It’s about getting back to loving your neighbor and coming to the table together. Let’s begin at that point,” Griffith said.

– Elizabeth Paulsen is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and member of Christ Church in Bay Ridge.

Friends,

Summer is upon us! As the weather turns warm and we emerge from our homes and places of work to soak up some sunshine, I encourage you to consider how your actions effect the community at large. Do you smile as people pass by? Do you treat the people across the counter in your local shops with respect? Do you make an effort to be kind even when you’re feeling cranky? Do you teach your children by setting a good example?

Community is strengthened when we act as Jesus did toward neighbors, strangers and friends. Remember Matthew 7:12,  ”In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Karen Armstrong, noted professor of World Religions and author of many books, gave a wonderful 10 minute talk at the TED conference in 2009 about reviving the “Golden Rule” in order the transform the world. It is worth watching at the link below!

Karen Armstrong proposes revival of the Golden Rule in daily living

Now, lets all work to live out the Golden Rule, the core of Christ’s teachings, in all we do this Summer. By Fall, we may find ourselves and the whole community renewed by God’s Grace!

Peace and Love,

Fr. Michael

Christ is Risen! The neighborhood is in bloom and God is calling each of us to live into the joy of the Resurrection. Reach out to someone in need today. Smile at your neighbors on the sidewalk, on the subway and on the bus. Remember that God’s love is spread to others through your actions. Jesus came so that everyone might experience abundant life in this world and the next. The resurrection is not only your destiny, it is also the present reality!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  John 20:1-2

Dear Friends in Christ,

It is with deep joy that I write to you in anticipation of our Easter celebrations here at The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew.

New life is all around us. Flowers are popping up in community gardens around the neighborhood (and even through cracks in the sidewalk)! The city is planting new trees on Clinton Avenue in front of our beloved church. We are preparing to welcome new Christians into our community through Baptism at the Easter Vigil. The snow is melted and we are able see God’s good earth again after a long cold winter. This is all good news.

At the same time, new life seems far off for many of us. The reality of lost jobs and difficult financial times makes it hard to see the good in the world. Natural disasters, war and civil unrest continue to tear apart the lives of many of God’s children. Daily struggles with illness and addiction are still very real. With bad news on TV day after day, it is easy to give up hope for a better tomorrow.How do we, as people of faith, make sense out of all the beauty and wonder and pain and suffering that exist at the same time in our lives?

The liturgies of Holy Week and Easter help us to remember that suffering and joy are both a part of the life of faith. We recall the passion, death and resurrection of Christ as we come to terms with our own suffering, the suffering of the world, and at the same time – the deep hope and joy we have knowing that resurrection is just around the corner. We recognize the tension and divisions in our world and renew our commitment to living lives of hope in the midst of our trials.

Perhaps we have become so familiar with the Easter story, that we have forgotten how shocking it is. When Mary Magdalene discovered that the tomb was empty, she felt lost. She ran and told two of the disciples that Jesus body had been taken and she did not know where! Can you relate to feeling lost sometimes, even though you believe that the Lord is Risen? That is how the first Easter felt.

Resurrection is shocking because it happens when we least expect it. When things are tough, suddenly we discover that the stone has been rolled away while we were not looking and a new day is dawning. May you wake up this Easter morning to find Christ’s tomb open and empty.

It may shock you, but God wishes for you to have new and abundant life, right now…wherever you are on life’s journey.

May God’s blessing be upon you and your family this Easter,

The Rev. Michael Sniffen

Priest-in-Charge

Joining a church signals a major life change. It makes manifest your commitment to community life and your desire to become closer to God. Regular worship, fellowship and service help you to grow in faith, hope and love.

The book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything.” Now is the time to turn your good intentions into actions. Now is the time to transform your life and the world around you. Now is the time to join a community of faith committed to serving those whom the world has forgotten. Now is the time to make a visit to The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew and discover what God is calling you to do in this New Year.

I hope to welcome you in person on Sunday Morning or at one of our many parish events and activities. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with me if you would like to talk about how to get involved at The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew.

May God bless you on your journey,

Fr. Michael Sniffen
Priest-in-Charge