July 10, 2025

Texas Flooding
We have all heard the news this week of the horrific flooding and loss of life in Texas this week. As I have read through my news feed, I have been disturbed by the number of stories and comments I have seen pointing out that, “This is what you get when you cut funding for the National Weather Service.” or “asking, “Now what do you think about getting rid of FEMA?” Questions like this will certainly need to be addressed, but today families are mourning the deaths of their children, hundreds more lost their homes, thousands remain without power or water, and many beloved parents, children, and friends are still missing. 

This week we will hear the familiar Parable of the Good Samaritan. I hope that, before placing blame or seeking political changes, we will come together to weep with those who weep, to bandage the wounds of the injured, and to see that they are cared for. We have the moral standing to decry banditry only when we are truly neighbors to those who are stripped, and beaten and left for dead. 

Please don’t pass by on the other side. If you are able to help financially, along with many other organizations, Episcopal Relief and Development is already on the ground and helping. If you don’t have the means to help tangibly, stop and sit with the victims in spirit, hold their hands, pray with them, and let them know they are not alone. Only when we have done these things can we discuss the hazards of the road with our neighbors.

Formation this Week
This Sunday July 13 at 9:15 we will have some time to discuss the state of the church. We’ll focus on our own parish’s financial, physical, spiritual, and communal health and then go on to talk about some ideas and possibilities that are circulating concerning the future shape of the Episcopal Church in the Eugene/Springfield area. Time permitting, we’ll also take some time to talk about our Diocese and the wider Episcopal Church.

Next week, (July 20) we’ll be discussing orders and roles of ministry, both ordained and lay. We’ll also take some time to talk about discernment and the idea of vocation or calling, both within and beyond the walls of the Church.

Remember to leave your questions and topic suggestions in the basket on the north table at the back of the church.