St Michael's Parish
Litchfield, Connecticut
Vestry
Vestery Members Include: Rev. Jennings Matheson, George Ching, Diane Damerau, David Fearey, Jo Ann Jaacks, Dan Josephson, Ken Merz, Don Moore, Shelli Perkins, Judy Radasch, Nancy Rogers, Matthew Sweet, Anne Yannaway, and Jennifer Zeidler
Besides making business decisions for the Parish, the Vestry also discusses issues of faith.
Here are some of their thoughts:
It was agreed at the Vestry retreat that a powerful starting point for our Evangelism mission would be to answer this question:
How is my life different as a result of believing in, loving, following and trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord?
We present here replies by Vestry members in hopes of inspiring others to consider their own feelings on the subject. If you are moved to share your own answer to this question, please Email to jajaacks@snet.net. Replies will not be attributed so that all will feel comfortable sharing their deepest thoughts. Thank you for your participation, and may we all be renewed and strengthened by the miracle of Jesus Christ.
“My life is different because I’m not alone. My father is still living, I have a husband, brothers and sisters, grandchildren, a large extended family and friends. And yet, as human beings we are basically alone. The world can be a fearsome place…full of misery, howling winds and minds, all manner of obstacles and evil. My faith in Jesus is a hand on my shoulder when I need it most, a clarity in deepest uncertainty. Loving and accepting Jesus brings calm, grace and grounding to my existence. I know I’m not alone now and won’t be alone at the end of my life.”
“The contemplation of Jesus is the greatest joy in my life. I like to play golf, tennis, drink, eat, make love, read, hike in natural beauty, see movies, see plays, have interesting conversations, do physical work, do various kinds of mental work and probably a dozen other things I have forgotten. Music sometimes puts me in a transcendent state, but Jesus is more pleasurable than all these. "
"Jesus has not prevented me from sinning, but the closer I am to Him the less I sin. I let Him in on all the intimate details of my life. He sometimes enables me to do things I don't want to do – like workout. Sometimes when I am in a crowd of what I see as obnoxious, unattractive, pushy, rude people I remember that the Lord loves them all and I marvel. Jesus is cool, I mean really cool. In his earthly life he was not hurried or anxious. He always had time for people."
"When I get anxious about my financial security, contemplating Jesus pulls me out of that anxiety."
"I have not had an experience like St. Paul, but I have somehow fallen in love with the Son of Man who is the Son of God. Without Jesus I probably would like myself too much some of the time and not like myself at all at other times. Jesus modifies both those extremes.”
“Holy week is the most important time of the church year for me and sometimes on Good Friday I can mourn as if a member of my family has just passed away, carrying this enormous cross for all of mankind. We all carry our own cross and know how it feels, so in that respect Christ Jesus is very real and in all of us. I often ask myself when I make a decision if this is a Christian thing to do, or if this is the way a Christian should feel, behave or react. I am very much guided by that and feel his presence is in all of us daily as we do the kinds of things he taught us to do and to believe in by his example.”
“Because I follow and trust Jesus in my life, I have a life full of freedom, peace, and joy. Freedom because serving God frees you to be your best and highest self. Peace because I have learned that I don't need to be responsible for the whole world, and that I know no matter what happens to me, God will be beside me to help me through it. And joy because Jesus through his death and resurrection has assured me that I live now and through eternity in God's kingdom, and I can't imagine any higher joy than that!”
“I know that I am never alone. I have faced and overcome my fears. I have been healed. I have been called to serve God through my work.”
“My life is more deeply satisfying and more comfortable on many levels. All of my achievements are easier because if you believe in Jesus you believe you can do anything.”
recorded by JoAnn Jaacks
The Vestry usually meets every 2nd Sunday after the 10am Service.
Vestry Minutes are included each month in The Lychgate. Please see the link to the current copy of the Lychgate on our Home Page.
