It's a happy thing that so many happy happenings are on tap for this good month of January. This coming Sunday, January 12, we will commemorate Jesus the Christ's baptism. Some of us may also make appearances at the Keys Celtic Festival hosted by St Columba in Marathon.
The following weekend is brimful with goodness, and I want to highlight the numerous events of January 17-20 so that you can get them on your calendar.
Bishop Peter Eaton's annual visitation to the Keys Deanery is January 17-19. If you have space in your schedule, please come support Jessica Hertlein, Jonathan Hertlein, Greg Disney-Britton, and Earnest Disney-Britton as they and others from Keys congregations are confirmed and received into the Episcopal Church. The service will be at St Columba in Marathon at 11 AM on Saturday, January 18.
Bishop Eaton will preach and preside at both of our Eucharists at St Paul on Sunday, January 19. He will meet with St Paul's and St Peter's lay leadership, including our vestry, following the 10 AM Eucharist.
On Monday, January 20 (the MLK Jr birthday federal holiday observed), St Paul's parish hall will again be the location for the annual MLK Day Scholarship Prayer Breakfast sponsored by the Interfaith Ministerial Alliance of Key West, of which I am president. Tickets are $25.00 per person. You can purchase tickets directly from me or pay at the door. The breakfast begins at 9 AM, and the program starts about 9:25. The buffet includes scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits, bacon and sausage, mixed fruit, juices, milk, water, and coffee.
All breakfast proceeds provide scholarships to Key West High School students, many of whom are first-generation college students in their families. In the last 15 years, the IMA has awarded over $30,000 in scholarships using these annual breakfast proceeds.
The MLK Breakfast speaker this year is my Emory doctoral program colleague, the Reverend AnneMarie Mingo, PhD. Some of you may remember Dr Mingo from my installation as rector of St Paul's in 2021. Her father was baptized at St Paul's, and her Grandmother Mingo was a matriarch of St Peter's. She's a powerful preacher and speaker who teaches at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Her first book lifts up the histories and legacies of women in the civil rights movement. She will think with us on what moral courage looks like in our current contexts and historical moment with respect to racial reconciliation and healing and building what Dr King called the Beloved Community.
Among those attending the MLK breakfast will be some of the visiting monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery in India. These Tibetan Buddhist guests are the same group who visited in January 2024. Immediately following the breakfast, they will hold the opening ceremony for the mandala of world peace they will create in the nave January 20-26. A link to the full schedule of events with the monks is in this edition of The Epistle.
Our Epiphany Eve Order for Evening with music from Taizé drew 15 folks on Sunday, January 5. Much interest was expressed in having such services regularly on Sunday evenings. We will begin weekly services at 6:30 PM starting Sunday, January 19 with the intention of continuing these through Easter.
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