Kristina DeFrancesco
Prayer for a New Day
Prayer for a New Day
Worship, News
Kristina DeFrancesco
Blessing of the Animals October 3

Join us October 3 at 5pm for an outdoor Blessing of the Animals. Animals on leashes or in carriers are warmly welcome, as are stuffed animals and photos.

Blessing of the Animals October 3
Sermon
Kristina DeFrancesco
Easter 7 (5/16/21) – Kyra Cook

“I am not a priest—I just poorly play one on Facebook live. My study of the Bible is relatively recent and shallow—I didn’t find my way into regular worship until I met Gene. Sure, my childhood featured Easter Sunday services in fluffy Talbots dresses and two-weeks each summer of Vacation Bible School… but those were less an expression of my belief in God than they were my being easily bribed by flowery dresses and weeks of time at Grandma’s house.

I’m not a rector, but Iama writer. I’ve consumed a lot of stories in all sorts of different media. I love the craft of storytelling, and the tropes and tools we writers use to tell a story right. That’s why I think I love John’s gospel.”

Easter 7 (5/16/21) – Kyra Cook
Sermon
Kristina DeFrancesco
Easter 4 (4/25/21) – David Urion

“This fourth Sunday of the Easter season is awash in images of shepherds and flocks. This Gospel passage, and the 23rd psalm from which its imagery derives. The original audience listening to Rabbi Jesus would have been more than familiar with the frequent use of images of sheep and flocks in scripture and teaching.

Years ago, when I dropped out of college for a bit of time that was graciously considered by the dean of students as a “leave of absence”, I lived on a farm in the Upper Connecticut Valley in New Hampshire. This farm raised blueberries and trees and was self-sustaining for its own produce. Living there was, quite literally, living off the land. Like most New England farmers, the man who owned the farm was responsive to his neighbors’ needs. Farming in New England is not for the faint of heart and you survive in solidarity with the other resolute souls who try to earn their living out of that stony ground and frequently harsh climate. One of the neighbors kept sheep, and when he would need to leave town for a time, we took care of his sheep. It was thus that I had a very short-career as a not very capable shepherd. The Mediocre Shepherd, you might say.”

Easter 4 (4/25/21) – David Urion
Sermon
Kristina DeFrancesco
Easter 2 (4/11/21) – Garrett Yates

Easter Sunday puts a pause on the world’s worries: pilgrims make their pilgrammages; choirs belt out their strong hallelujah’s; the pope says mass for thousands; preachers mock death; the adorned altar proclaims spring, and for a brief shining moment the hope of Jesus Christ risen is tangible. But then the world blinks, as it were, loses its concentration and returns its attention to other pressing matters: COVID variants in the air, a border in disarray, a boiling planet and brutal gun violence. Then it turns to look for this hope again, and it’s gone. An array of forces is approaching us led by the baddest bully of them all: death. Where is that Easter bravado today?

One week after, do you still believe in Easter? How? There was once a man who did not believe in Easter. His name was Thomas the Twin; we might call him St. Skepticus.

Easter 2 (4/11/21) – Garrett Yates

From the Racial Justice Allies Initiative

In mid-June, 30+ parishioners gathered to form the Racial Justice Allies (RJA) group with the intention of exploring ways to take action at St. Anne’s to address racial injustice. The group has developed a vision statement to articulate our goals:

Racial Justice Allies Vision Statement

· We acknowledge the white supremacism on which our society and economy are built, rooted in 400 years of violence, indifference, and inaction.

· We believe in love, respect, repentance, and opening our hearts and minds to our fellow human beings.

· We commit to:

    • Listen, look, and reflect more deeply in order to take responsibility for liberating ourselves from our own biases.

    • Create opportunities to connect to, learn from and celebrate with communities of color.

    • Identify, support, and take actions to promote racial justice through social, economic, and environmental policy.

Update from the Music Director

I’ve been busy adapting to our strange new world—and I’ve learned how to make and edit videos! Each week I record a prelude and postlude; Jean and I record a hymn; and I also provide something for the anthem, which can be a newly-recorded solo, a recording from past years, or a “virtual choir” piece. This last option, where each singer appears in a box, is very labor-intensive: first I make a video that the singers sing along to as they record themselves, then I combine all the individual videos into one big movie. This complicated process really does give listeners the feeling that we are singing together, and so we gladly do the extra work—we want to keep our community happy and healthy while we tune in from home, looking forward to the day when we can be together again safely.

Update from the Bookkeeper

Your generous online giving through the St. Anne’s website is so heartwarming! If you are a new (or newer, or would-be) online donor, here are some aspects you may not know about.

Also, SSYP Pandemic Relief Fund is no longer accepting gifts for help for St. Stephen’s families suffering from the economic effects of the pandemic. If you have recently made a gift to St. Anne’s for the benefit of the SSYP Pandemic Relief Fund, your gift will be forwarded to St. Stephen’s for their ongoing mission to support their local families and children.

Update from the Communications Director

Out of all the church staff, COVID has changed my job the least: our communications already were sent via email, our website, Facebook, and Instagram. A big change for me is that with Greg's departure, I'll be doing tech for the 10am Sunday online service. I've had some practice runs, and I find it both comforting to be in our sanctuary and sad to not have happy voices greeting each other.

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Update from the Children's Formation Director

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We are in the season of Pentecost. “Where has the Holy Spirit appeared in your life this summer?” is a question I have often asked our kids at the start of a new year. I do know a little bit about how we offered our time and attention to one another as a church family. Immediately after our online Pentecost celebration, which included photographs, recorded readings, an offertory anthem, and a sermon all given by students of St. Anne’s, we saw the fire of the Holy Spirit driving protestors into the streets across the nation.

Senior Warden's Reflections

It’s hard to believe that the season is shifting from summer to fall, and as hard to believe that after six months, we are still needing to safely manage and navigate COVID 19 risk in all that we do as individuals and as a faith community. This has been a difficult time for all of us….

But I will go on to say that I feel proud that St. Anne’s has been able to slowly and successfully move forward over the past six months, and I would like to point to a few of our blessings.

Rector's Intro to Early Fall

Not long into quarantine a friend on a school board shared something she heard the head of school say as they were thinking about re-opening procedures: “We are living at the nexus of persistence and patience as we do our best to plan ahead.” I have very much felt to be at the intersection of persistence and patience. This is a challenging tension to live into – personally, I am much better at persistence. I love a good challenge, or a new opportunity for adaptive thinking. Patience is much more difficult, especially when life throws you into Patience’s classroom and you have no idea when class lets out.

Announcement from the Rector

Announcement from the Rector

As Christ’s body, we have been given the good work of raising up leaders and empowering them to serve in new ways and in new places. It’s always been a great sign of the life and Spirit present in our community that we do this — forming, equipping, and sending out leaders – and it’s been one of the key ways St. Anne’s in-the-Fields continues to serve our diocese. With this in mind, it’s something of bittersweet news that Greg has accepted a call to serve the people of St. John’s in Charlestown.

Pentecost 11 - Greg Johnston (8/16/20)

Pentecost 11 - Greg Johnston (8/16/20)

“Many people find comfort in the ideas of a divine plan or of the prosperity gospel. It’s comforting for many people to imagine that God must have a plan for everything. It’s comforting for many people to imagine that if they just stay strong and keep their faith, everything will be okay. It’s comforting, at least, until someone else uses these ideas to try to wipe away your pain. Hence the bittersweet title of Kate Bowler’s book: ‘Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved.’”

Pentecost 10 - Garrett Yates (8/9/20)

Pentecost 10 - Garrett Yates (8/9/20)

“If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get out of the Boat. That was the title, some years back, of a popular book written by John Ortberg. And the title reflects what is surely the most common take on this story. Peter had the right idea getting out of the boat, and stepping out on faith…Like Peter, we must heed this invitation, find the courage needed to swing our legs out over the boat’s side, and then step out into the waters…But something tells me this won’t do.”

Racial Justice Allies Vision Statement

Racial Justice Allies Vision Statement

In mid-June, 30+ parishioners gathered to form the Racial Justice Allies (RJA) group with the intention of exploring ways to take action at St. Anne’s to address racial injustice. Various activities are already underway, and we recently crafted a vision statement to articulate what we acknowledge, what we believe, and what we commit to doing.

Wrestling with God - Pentecost 9 - Greg Johnston (8/2/20)

Wrestling with God - Pentecost 9 - Greg Johnston (8/2/20)

“Like every founding myth, in other words, Hamilton tells us at least as much about how we imagine ourselves today as it does about what happened years ago. And so I find it completely delightful that this bizarre tale from Genesis is how the Bible tells the story of the founding of the people of God. Because the moment when Jacob wrestles with God is like the Bible’s equivalent of the Declaration of Independence: it’s one of a handful of turning points in the relationship between God and humankind.“

Pentecost 6 - Greg Johnston (7/12/20)

Pentecost 6 - Greg Johnston (7/12/20)

“Well, you have never seen such pathetic vegetables in your life. Tiny lettuce plants shriveled up even smaller than the seedlings we’d bought from the store. Bulbous zucchini two inches long and covered in tiny squirrel chew-marks. The only things that really grew well were the herbs, and that just meant I was trying to add mint to everything until Alice finally got sick of it sometime in mid-July. But the tomatoes were a different story.”

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From the Rector: Re-Opening at St. Anne's

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From the Rector: Re-Opening at St. Anne's

While we will begin offering an 8am outdoor service, our principal worship offering continues to be online at 10am through Facebook and our website. The 10am online service – as well as our other online programming – will continue to be offered throughout the summer and into the fall; whether you are at your summer home, battling a cold, or just being cautious about public safety, please feel encouraged to continue to join us online at 10am.