St. John’s News and Notes for: SEPTEMBER 10, 2023
ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE EPISCOPAL CHURCH  Dear Friends:Several of you have asked for the poem I quoted this past Sunday. Here it is. I pray it brings you comfort, as it has done to millions of people over the past 60 years. I AM THERE by Rev. James Dillet Freeman (1912 – 2003) Do you need Me?I am there. You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries. Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.When you need Me, I am there. Even if you deny Me, I am there.Even when you feel most alone, I am there.Even in your fears, I am there.Even in your pain, I am there. I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.I am in you, and you are in Me. Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me, for only in your mind are the mists of “yours” and “mine.”Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me. Empty your heart of empty fears.When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.And I am in all. Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there.I am there because I have to be, because I am. Only in Me does the world have meaning; only out of Me does the world take form; only because of Me does the world go forward. I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded. I am the love that is the law’s fulfilling.I am assurance. I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by. I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance. I am your peace. I am one with you. I am. Though you fail to find Me, I do not fail you.Though your faith in Me is unsure, My faith in you never wavers, because I know you, because I love you.Beloved, I am there. In Christ, The Rev. Dr. Marci Pounders+Rector  SCRIPTURES FOR THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST EXODUS 12:1-4 ROMANS 13:8-14 MATTHEW 18: 18-20 PSALM 149 WATCH US ON FACEBOOK AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STJOHNSTEXOMA EMAIL US!STJOHNSTEXOMA@GMAIL.COM WEBSITE:WWW.STJOHNSTEXOMA.ORGTEXOMA.CHURCH PHONE:903-786-4339 DISTRICT DAUGHTERS OF THE KING FALL ASSEMBLY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 20239:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH2783 VALWOOD PARKWAYFARMERS BRANCH, TX 75234 SPEAKER:THE REV. DR. MARCI POUNDERS COST IS $20, LUNCH PROVIDEDPLEASE RSVP AND SEND CHECKS TO: BARBARA MALEY1735 WHITTINGTON PARKWAYAPT. 2406FARMERS BRANCH, TX 75234   SAVE THE DATES! * * * * * * * * * * * *NEW! Sunday Morning Weekly Prayer Project. 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. beginning September 10in the Fellowship Hall. Please join this challenge to journal, pray, reflect and connect with God. Get your Sunday morning started right! NEW! Wednesday Evening Healing Service with prayer and anointing, followed by “Continuing the Journey: A Guide to Spiritual Formation.”Beginning Wednesday, September 13. Healing Service begins at 5:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, with group meeting in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m. OUR ST. MARTHA’S GUILD INITIATIVE NEEDS MORE VOLUNTEERS! WE COULD USE SOME SOUPS, CASSEROLES AND BREADS TO TAKE TO OUR SHUT-INS WHO ARE INFIRM.THANK YOU! AND THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE RESPONDED TO DATE!WE APPRECIATE YOU!  |