St. Paul and St. James

I have sat down to write this reflection since last week more times than I care to count. What should my focus be? What was that I got while I sat there not only last time, but the previous meetings? Becca and Reverend Tyler are truly doing the work of God; both are revolutionaries even though they have two very different approaches. While hearing people report about their work, I heard a lot about fears and hopes. Change while inevitable creates certain level of fear/anxiety. Churches as a concept have been dealing with the idea of reinventing themselves prior to the pandemic.

Each of us—those in the working group, in the congregation, and throughout our society—has experienced a tremendous degree of change. In a peculiar way, the pandemic has provided us with a common experience.

This question anchored the first session of the working group for the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. James (affectionately known as “St. PJs”). In launching into our shared work together, we had some important details to cover to create the supportive structures for this process of imagining.