Magnificat!

As are many of you, I'm still "basking in the glow" of this past Sunday's worship with our Bishop Wright.  However the unusual day's beginning with doubly troubled cars had its effect what transpired once the church was full and we were singing was already a remarkable moment.  And it kept on happening as a beautiful combination of prayer book order and spiritual spontaneity unfolded before us all.  It was a unique gift for each of us to be party to Sunday's events.  

Lots of thank you's to go around:

• The members of the vestry who waited anxiously to recognize with the bishop the gift of the rectory and prayed together in gratitude and blessing for the property and its donor.
• The members of our Altar Guild and Flower Guild who staged our church for the multi-faceted orchestration that was 2 baptisms, 3 confirmations, 3 anticipated reaffirmations and 6 others who responded to the bishop's invitation to present themselves for reaffirmation. 
• The parishioners and others -- those present and those who could not be -- for giving in multiple ways to make this special "joint" service possible.  Evidenced not only by the healthy representation of "8 o'clock-ers" but those who joined us via comments on Facebook and email messages.
• To those who pooled together, set-up, food donations and clean-up for the reception. Especially the clean-up that happened before the reception, and the flowers again!  
• Thanks to the Eastons, Bucks, Cronics, to Nancy Bush who prepared so conscientiously for this important day for Brennan, Poppy Grace, Camden and Cade, and Nancy herself, who each gave us a glimpse of God's image we will not forget.  
• To Faith Roman, Paul Roman, Flossie Dodge, Rick Crown, Avery Jackson, and Jeffrey Hagy who showed us even more of what a life renewed by God can look like.
• To Daisy Jane Buck for FaceTiming her grandmother so she could join us while recovering from back surgery.
• To our Bishop Wright for his preaching, his persistence, his presence of mind and heart, his spontaneity and generosity, his invitation to a new evangelism and his sharing for our diocese and our Episcopal church.  

There are more, so please do not hesitate to remind me of my omissions.  We'll probably still be "basking" some next week and can share those thank you's, then.  

There's a connection with the songs in Luke's gospel to the events of this past Sunday and the days ahead.  It is perhaps the most important song, sung by Mary herself.  The Magnificat is her answer to God's calling her to a necessary and unique responsibility that will take from innocence,  to challenge, to struggle, to endurance, to heartbreak and ultimately to the highest blessing and beatification.

What she sings we should sing because God not only visits us in unique and stirring moments but because God calls each one of us.  Like her singing it will work for us to keep ourselves mindful and to do our own glorifying our own magnifying of God.  That is what will sustain us and forward God's purpose in visiting us in the first place.

There's a world that needs God's lifting and leveling, that needs God's enriching and balancing, that needs God's restoration and renewing.  We can bask AND we can sing:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord!  My spirit rejoices in God, my savior. . . ."