Blessed Beyond My Expectations
By The Reverend Arnoldo L. Romero MLA As some of you may be aware, God willing, I will be ordained to the priesthood in less than six weeks. Mike and our Vestry at St. Philip’s approved the latter, so now I’m…
Update: Crossroads Academy Self-Care Rewards
As you know St. Philip's has agreed to provide the rewards for the Crossroad's Self-Care challenge for the 2020-2021 school year. We have decided to donate 20 gift cards each month starting in October and each month after that until the end…
Where We Stand With Further Resuming Congregational Life?
At its most recent meeting the vestry discussed resuming childcare in the nursery and in-person Sunday School classes for children and adults. The consensus is that we want to do this but we want to do so in a way…
Read the Bible. Make Art. Drink Coffee. Live!
OK, maybe you don’t like coffee, but you can substitute it with water, tea, milk, juice, a soft drink, or a smoothie! The point is that since God created us in his image, we all have certain creative gifts too. We…
Crossroads Academy Outreach Continues
I am happy to say that we are partnering with Crossroads Academy again this year. It has just taken us a little time to get started as the year began so differently! But we have our first project and we need…
Loving our Neighbors During an Election
“I want us to have a conversation about the upcoming election.” That’s what I told the vestry at our September meeting about a week and a half ago. As soon as I said those words the anxiety level went up…
A Conversation I Didn’t Think We Could Have
Let me tell you about an amazing conversation the Vestry had. It was important and meaningful to me personally and, I think, to the Vestry as a whole. If I hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have believed it possible to…
Church in the Digital World: What does this mean for St. Philip’s?
What does it mean to be the church in this new digital world? This is a question many are asking. I recently attended a webinar entitled “Welcoming and Belonging in the Digital Sphere.” This is a two-part webinar hosted by…
Updated Guidelines for Congregational Life
Late last week Bishop Reed updated the COVID-19 guidelines for a Modified Return to Congregational Life. Churches that have resumed in-person worship are still required to adhere to the previous guidelines: wear face masks; maintain social distance of six feet;…
What is a Deacon?
Deacons are members of the ordained Christian ministry, along with priests and bishops. The word deacon is a derivative of the Greek word diákonos, which means servant, minister, or messenger. Hence, in the Episcopal Church a deacon exercises a special ministry of…