Rev. Valerie's Reveille

All Saints’ Day is the church’s autumnal Easter celebration; a liturgical moment out of time that invites us to connect the Church Expectant and the Church Triumphant (those living and those who have died). It is an opportunity to give thanks for those whom we love and see no longer, finding consolation that even now they are feasting at the heavenly banquet table.  In the wonderful mystery of the Eucharist, we, too, share in that heavenly meal, knowing  “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 I know I mentioned this about 6 months ago, but because it is an important, it bears repeating – if you are over the age of 18, you should have a Will and hopefully an Advanced Directive, sometimes referred to as a Living Will.  These documents are extremely help...

October 23 rd would have been my father’s 75 th birthday.  Now it marks 5 months since he died.  Eight months ago my siblings and I were already talking about what we would do for Dad’s birthday.  It would have been hard to top what we did for his 70 th birthday when we surprised him with 2 parties and gave him his first Kindle.  We were looking forward to it – none of us dreamed he would be gone months later. We make plans for the future daily, usually expecting that future to take shape just as we imagined it.  We can get frustrated, even angry when things don’t turn out the way we expected them to.  If we respond to the lesson from Deuteronomy this week (Deut. 34:1-12), which recounts the death of Moses, from this point of view, it seems logical to be disappointed for Moses as he doesn’t get to go into the Promised Land and angry at God for showing Moses what he will never have.  However we have to remember that God never promises anything t...

We have two very timely events coming up this weekend.  On Saturday at 8 am there will be a “Walk Against Domestic Violence” starting and ending at the Wetherill Historic Site at 269 Georges Road in Dayton.  I plan on attending and if anyone would like to meet me at the church at 7:30 am to car pool over, please let me know.  Domestic Violence is pervasive, yet until it becomes headline news when NFL players and other celebrities are charged with the crime, it can go unnoticed or unaddressed.  As Christians we have the responsibility of “loving our neighbor as ourselves.” As Episcopalians, we also adhere to the Baptismal Covenant, which flows from that great Commandment to state “we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.” We have the obligation and duty to stand up for those too intimidated or cowered by their circumstance to confront their abusers.  No one, unless they are standing in a boxing ring, should be physicall...