What is the difference between fear and being afraid? I am unreasonably, inexplicably, irrevocably, unconditionally, wholeheartedly afraid of spiders. Always have been. I don’t know why but their creepy, hairy-legged bodies that appear out of nowhere (on the bath towel slung...
Message from the Sr. Warden For many years, the church I attended in Joplin had a 24-hour Prayer Vigil on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Beginning on Saturday morning, folks would sign up in 30-minutes intervals to sit quietly in the church chapel and pray. There was someone in the chapel...
Join us on the St. Theodore's Facebook page this Sunday, March 29th, at 10:00 AM for Morning Prayer You can use your Book of Common Prayer or go to BCPonline.com to download Morning Prayer Rite II. Join fellow parishioners Colleen Whitney and Chris Schaefer as we all come together to pray...
With all church services and activities cancelled until further notice -- including our monthly Messenger newsletter -- our Thursday "Parish Announcements" will be the primary way we communicate updates to our parish family. "Parish Announcements" will be published here on the Blog page, on the...
Services are canceled; meetings are re-scheduled; doors are locked; offerings are not put in the plate; staff works from home; daycare centers and after school programs in some churches will be discontinued until further notice. The list of disruptions goes on and on. These are all...
“Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.” I say these words each Sunday as we begin the transition from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Table - not that the two are separate in my mind - they are two parts of a...
When I arrived at St. Theodore’s there was a painting (I think in the Library) that is a depiction of Jesus laughing. Now his laugh wasn’t just a smiling chuckle. It was a throw your head back, mouth wide open, from the belly, boisterous laugh. While I am not partial to such...
The month of July has been just berserk for me and my family. Planning for Arts Camp, working on curricula for Christian education, daily ins and outs, and of course, my father’s death. As I told Ivee a few days ago (I think that’s when it was anyway), “July has been so long I...
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ~Matthew 22: 37-39 ***REGISTRATION CLOSED*** Let me paint you a...
I am Chris Schaefer and I am a Postulant to Holy Orders for the Priesthood in the Episcopal Church in Arkansas. I am training through the Iona Initiative in Arkansas. Now that is a mouthful so let me explain. What is a postulant? Postulants for holy orders seek ordination as deacon...