This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well. This week, I especially remember parents, students, and educators in my prayers. The beginning of a new school year is always a mixture of stress, nerves, possibility, and excitement. Each year is, in some ways, its own unique rite of passage. At the bottom of this letter, I will include the prayer from our Book of Common Prayer for education. Please, if you have the time, take a moment and pray it.

This Sunday for St. Martin's is our Kick-off Sunday. At 9:15 AM, we will have Sunday school for all ages. At the 10:30 AM service, we will have a Blessing of the Backpacks and a blessing for our teachers and students. Following the 10:30 AM service, Pelican's SnoBalls will be present for snowballs on the point. At 6 PM this Sunday, youth group will start with dinner for our parents and students and then some fun water games on the Point. It is going to be both a fun and full day.

I don't know about you, but I remember specific things about specific years. In third grade, I remember being allowed to ride my bike to school by myself. That first day of school, I woke up so amped and ready to go. It was only a mile to my school, but in the morning, as I rode, I remember a feeling of freedom. I remember the excitement of getting new textbooks. As a person with dyslexia, learning to read was a challenge for me. Once I learned, I couldn't put books down. I practically devoured them. I remember high school sports, middle school plays, and the one time in senior year that a girl convinced all the boys on the swim team and me to sign up for our school's competition dance team. I still know all the words to the Beastie Boys songs we danced to. We went to state. The experiences, both good and challenging, shaped me, as I am sure your experiences shaped you. 

While it is said that "it is hard to read the label from the inside of a jar," looking back, I can see now that through it all the Holy Spirit and my church communities were with me all along. I realize now how blessed I was to be raised in church, where the kindness of faithful communities and the structure of our liturgy did as much to form me as school did. In this, I am reminded that Kick-Off Sunday is not just for our students and parents. Rather, Kick-Off Sunday is for our whole community because while some will be blessed (educators and students), others (everyone else) will be needed to do the blessing. In other words, we each have a role to play, and for that role I give thanks.

Peace,

Mitch

For Education

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by thy
Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn, that,
rejoicing in the knowledge of thy truth, they may worship
thee and serve thee from generation to generation; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.