Bienvenido José! This Sunday we are delighted to welcome to St. Paul’s The Rev. José Reyes, Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries here in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. José grew up in Springfield and received a degree in psychology from Williams College before working in various social work positions in the area. He then attended Virginia […]
Who Is My Neighbor? Last winter a group of St. Paul’s parishioners joined me in thinking about how we might become better connected to our community. The result was our slate of “alternative evangelism events” for 2019, including concerts, celebrations of the flora and fauna that make up creation, and even the upcoming Ice Cream […]
In the Garden This Sunday we kick off a month of worship in our beautiful churchyard (weather permitting). We will have one service only at 9:00 am for each of the four Sundays in July. Bring a lawn chair (if it’s easy—if not, rest assured we have a chair for you) and join us as […]
The Bishop is Coming!!! This Sunday, June 30, at 9:00 am, our diocesan bishop, The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, will be with us to lead worship. He will also confirm and receive three people who are recommitting themselves to the Episcopal Church: Meredith McCandless, a member of St. Paul’s for many years, coming to […]
Love Conquers Evil has always existed and always will. This Sunday’s story of Jesus’ encounter with a man possessed by demons is only one example of Christ confronting evil. Christ’s power in these stories is embodied in his compassion—his willingness to counter evil with love. How might we respond lovingly in the face of evil? […]
Come, Holy Spirit, Come—the soul’s most welcome guest. This coming Sunday is the Day of Pentecost—the birthday of the Church. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the third divine person of the Trinity. In worship we hear again the amazing story of the first day of Pentecost from the second chapter of Acts. […]
Are You Joining Us to Fight Hunger on the Day of Pentecost? Next Sunday, June 9 is a special day in the life of our community. The Day of Pentecost marks the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church. We will have a festive worship service in the morning (one service only at 9:00 […]
Water is essential for lifeWe have certainly had our share of rain this spring in the Berkshires so water has been in abundance. Our readings this week all mention water either in the context of healing or baptism. In the waters of baptism we die to sin and are raised to new life in Christ […]
Love One AnotherThis week we read one of the most beloved passages from the gospel (John 13:31-35), where we hear Jesus say, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.” In this farewell conversation with the disciples on the eve of his death, Jesus appeals not to their belief, but to their […]
The Lord is my shepherdEvery year, on the fourth Sunday of Easter, our gospel reading comes from the 10th chapter of John, where Jesus speaks of himself as the good shepherd. In our three-year cycle we read different parts of this chapter, highlighting different aspects of this powerful metaphor. But each year we read […]