The spacious firmament on high,
with all the blue ethereal sky,
and spangled heavens, a shining frame,
their great Original proclaim.
The unwearied sun from day to day
Does his Creator’s power display;
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.
- Joseph Addison

Joyous Autumn

Glorious autumn is upon us – another reminder of the faithfulness of God. In this changing season, we feel a touch of chill in the air, while enjoying beautiful sunlit days. The days become shorter, the time approaches when we turn back the clocks, and await the change to winter.

But in the meantime, we have the beauty of God’s creation in its full glory around us. We have a few more days of warmth, a few more weeks of autumn color to enjoy what God has given us.

It is a good thing, in whatever season we find ourselves, to be reminded of the blessings that surround us. Even as we go through a winter "season" in our own lives – seasons of loss, of sorrow, of brokenness, the harbinger of grace appears in the beauty that surrounds us. No matter what happens, no matter what mysterious surprises life brings us, the witness of creation tells us that God is, has been, and always will be, a faithful, loving presence in this world.

O God, you sang creation into being
And then embraced it in a sacred dance.
You breathed your harmonies into its spirit;
Enchanted restless forces with a glance.

Divine Musician, you played us an Eden;
You filled its silences with notes divine.
But we grew deaf from discord we engendered
And heard no more your musical design.

Your melodies still hover in our beings
Like tunes that echo through a hollow reed;
Your Spirit’s voice sets ready heartstrings ringing,
That choruses long buried might be freed.

Make us your instruments, tuned for your service;
Call forth a symphony of grateful praise;
Arrange our lives in rhythm with your music;
Sing us a new creation for these days.
- Ms. Patricia Clark,
From Women’s Uncommon Prayer

Debra’s Midweek Meditation
Job's Distress

I long to quiet my anxious heart
and stand beneath the sky's immensity.
I long to pray...
And one of all the stars
must still exist.
Rainer Maria Rilke

Into the Deep-Creative Arts Studio

Another week of Job and it seems as if suffering will never end.
That's a bit like some aspects of life isn't it?
In Chapter 23 Job, too, has had enough of suffering, and the further distress of not being able to feel God's presence. He says,

If I go eastward, he is not there;
or westward--still I cannot see him.
If I seek him in the north, he is not to be found,
invisible still when I turn to the south.
Job 23:8-9

Directionless, and searching for a ray of light, a sign, or a star in the night sky; Job cries out for God. While Job is an unusual literary style in the midst of the Old Testament, there are some aspects of Job, the person, that ring with great truth.

How many of us have not found the night too long, the way ahead obscured by fears, doubts and just plain confusion?

How many of us have cried out to God for something to hold onto so that we could take one more step?

Do not lose heart!

Enter the echoing silence and find God within it.

When I don't know which way to go, perhaps the way is to sit down.
When I can't hear the voice of God, perhaps the answer is silence.

As Rainer Maria Rilke says in his poem entitled
Lament-

I long to quiet my anxious heart
and stand beneath the sky's immensity.
I long to pray...
And one of all the stars
must still exist.

I want a sign that I can understand-a reassurance which will make me feel better.

Can I accept the assurance of silence
and the comfort of waiting on God?

Blessings,
Debra

Daily Morning Prayer
http://www.episcopalchurchingarrettcounty.org/morning_prayer.htm

He’s There
When I feel I cannot go any farther,
He picks me up and tells me he knows.
When I feel I cannot sink any lower,
He pulls me out and tells me he sees.
When I feel that the pain can’t hurt any worse,
He takes it away and shows me he cares.
When I feel that I cannot open my heart,
He reaches in and shows me He can.
When I think that my life can’t get any harder,
I turn to him.
He’s always there.
- Katie Nicole Aquino

This week at St. James
Thursday: 11:00 Funeral for Walter Rasmussen; Patron’s Golf and Tennis
Friday: SJA 5th Grade Admissions Breakfast
Saturday: 4:30 Choir sings at the Caroline Center
Sunday: Frank and Sarah Terhune’s last Sunday with us.; Clergy Conference begins in Ocean City.
Monday: No CS Lewis Book Study
Wednesday: 8:30 Healing Eucharist; 9:15 Bible Study

Note: The clergy will be in Ocean City October 15-17.
The CS Lewis Book Study will be finishing up the Narnia series on Monday October 23, and Thursday October 26. We will begin Lewis’ biography, Surprised by Joy in November.

Prayers, Etc.
For those on our prayer list:
Dot; Sue; Lori; Bill; Sarah; Joel
Toni; Anna; Philip; David; Brooke; Brian G.
Leib & Carlyn; Lovisah; Jeffrey; Miriam F.; Pat E.
Traskey family; Harold F.; Matthew D.; Sharon C.
Gage C.; Auds; Avery; Joan L. and family; Annabelle
Tom & Kathy H.; Linda T. Allison; Louis
Matt S.; Don & Leslie D.; Nancy; Fiona
Brenda; Fritz; Valerie and her children; Prof
Sara R.; Betsy; The Fowley family; Lucy H.
Abby M.; Liz C.

All those who are deployed and their families.
For peace in the Middle East.
For Laura and Lyle.
For Sarah and Frank Terhune as they move to a new home.

I love you, O God,
My love,
My warmth,
My solace,
My fulfillment,
All that I am,
All that I do
Finds meaning and purpose in you.
Fill me with the full force
Of your love
And its passionate splendor,
So that I might hold
And heal all those who are crying out for love.
Love through me
All the unreconciled
Whose homes and hearts
Are broken,
And let them know
I am able to love
Because you have first loved me.
- Miriam Therese Winter

In Closing:
Lord, as I read the psalms,
Let me hear you singing.
As I read your words,
Let me hear you speaking.
As I reflect one ach page,
Let me see your image.
And as I seek to put your precepts into practice,
Let my heart be filled with joy.
- St. Gregory of Nazianzus

May the God of hope fill us with every joy in believing.
May the peace of Christ abound in our hearts
May we be enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Now and forever. AMEN

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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