“And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten...”

― James Russell Lowell

I hope you are enjoying some June days that are, if not perfect, then pretty great.

I look forward to being with you in person or via livestream on Sunday, June 16 for our one and only service at 10 AM.

When that service concludes, I'll head straight to the airport to fly to Newark and then train to New Haven. I'll spend next week as a fellow of The Leader's Way program at Yale University as my continuing education for 2024.

These will be rare June days of deep immersion in study for me. The Leader's Way program asks clergy of the Episcopal Church with more than five years' service to reimagine their leadership as a dimension of their personal spiritual pilgrimage on this planet in the company of God and other humans. After this one week in residence on campus at Yale, the program continues with weekly reading, monthly meetings via Zoom, and the development of a practical approach to a particular leadership challenge.

I ask your prayers for me and the 23 other fellows of the program and all our faculty members. The Church has changed and is changing. How can we most faithfully respond to God's call to us in the place(s) where we serve?

As is usually the case, when attending events that conclude on a Saturday afternoon, there's no way to get back to Key West in time to lead services on Sunday.

So, on June 23, the fourth Sunday in June, we WILL NOT have a service at St Paul's. Rather, St Paul's folks are invited to join St Peter's at 10 AM for Holy Eucharist in their newly air-conditioned nave with the people of St Peter's and the Reverend Deborah Silver.

Then, on June 30, the fifth Sunday of the month, St Peter's folks and the Reverend Dr Silver will join us at 10 AM at St Paul's as we celebrate our shared feasts of title, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (transferred from June 29).

I hope you will take part in all these celebrations of the Holy Eucharist in the two southernmost Episcopal outposts in the contiguous United States.

Padre's Blog A la Mote