From the Pastor's Desk
May 2023
To all the saints at Vestal,
Happy Eastertide! When this newsletter is sent out, we will be in the middle of the Easter season. The resurrection of our Lord on Easter morning moved us out of the penitential season of Lent, where we cloak our churches in purples or blacks, to the joyous Easter season, with bright and festive white! Of course, by this time, you’ve seen the whites for at least four Sundays, and perhaps it’s bright joy has ceased to be as exciting to you as it is to me. In the month of May, we look forward to the Ascension of our Lord (May 18th) and the Day of Pentecost (May 28th). The bold red of Pentecost reminds of the Holy Spirit, who comes upon the Apostles on Pentecost and grants them to speak in tongues, that all who are gathered might hear and understand that Christ is Lord. Today, Pentecost remains a
remembrance not only of that event, but of God the Holy Spirit’s presence on and among us also, a presence that we are promised and receive in Holy Baptism.
Liturgics aside, the month of May is beginning with the Pastors of our part of the Eastern District gathering for the annual NY Spring Regional Pastors’ Conference. This year, we will gather in Canandaigua, New York for a few days of lectures, services, and a bit of fellowship. It would take a keen eye to notice your Pastor missing, though, because we will all be home in time for Sunday services.
As the weather warms, and we prepare for that brief experience of Spring in New York, and for Summer, we also transition into what is called the Time of the Church. After Pentecost, you will have one more week of whites (which you should cherish!), and then we begin a very long string of green in the Church. During this time, you will notice the Sunday Gospel and Epistle readings will be lectio continuo, or a continuous reading. That is, each Sunday will pick up where the last one left off, or close to it, and we will simply continue reading through entire books of the Bible. This year, especially, we will be reading large portions of the Gospel of Matthew and of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Look forward to refreshing your familiarity with these books!
As you go about your month, I am sure that there will be thoughts of new beginnings. No only does the church year move into a new season, and the weather change, but for those with young children or students, it’s also a time of preparation for the end of the school year. While school runs a bit later here, well into June, I was a student recently enough to know that thoughts of Summer break begin months in advance. We also prepare for significant local construction each Summer, and for our own home projects. In all the transitions and fresh starts that are coming this month and next, remember the words of Ecclesiastes. Yes, there is a time for everything, and as the preacher writes, “all is vanity,” but remember that at “The end of the matter; all has been beard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) In all you do, fear God and keep His commandments, for it is He who gives us season, who ends old eras and ushers in the new, and who gives live and hope to His people.
Pastor Jake Bellinghausen
To all the saints at Vestal,
Happy Eastertide! When this newsletter is sent out, we will be in the middle of the Easter season. The resurrection of our Lord on Easter morning moved us out of the penitential season of Lent, where we cloak our churches in purples or blacks, to the joyous Easter season, with bright and festive white! Of course, by this time, you’ve seen the whites for at least four Sundays, and perhaps it’s bright joy has ceased to be as exciting to you as it is to me. In the month of May, we look forward to the Ascension of our Lord (May 18th) and the Day of Pentecost (May 28th). The bold red of Pentecost reminds of the Holy Spirit, who comes upon the Apostles on Pentecost and grants them to speak in tongues, that all who are gathered might hear and understand that Christ is Lord. Today, Pentecost remains a
remembrance not only of that event, but of God the Holy Spirit’s presence on and among us also, a presence that we are promised and receive in Holy Baptism.
Liturgics aside, the month of May is beginning with the Pastors of our part of the Eastern District gathering for the annual NY Spring Regional Pastors’ Conference. This year, we will gather in Canandaigua, New York for a few days of lectures, services, and a bit of fellowship. It would take a keen eye to notice your Pastor missing, though, because we will all be home in time for Sunday services.
As the weather warms, and we prepare for that brief experience of Spring in New York, and for Summer, we also transition into what is called the Time of the Church. After Pentecost, you will have one more week of whites (which you should cherish!), and then we begin a very long string of green in the Church. During this time, you will notice the Sunday Gospel and Epistle readings will be lectio continuo, or a continuous reading. That is, each Sunday will pick up where the last one left off, or close to it, and we will simply continue reading through entire books of the Bible. This year, especially, we will be reading large portions of the Gospel of Matthew and of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Look forward to refreshing your familiarity with these books!
As you go about your month, I am sure that there will be thoughts of new beginnings. No only does the church year move into a new season, and the weather change, but for those with young children or students, it’s also a time of preparation for the end of the school year. While school runs a bit later here, well into June, I was a student recently enough to know that thoughts of Summer break begin months in advance. We also prepare for significant local construction each Summer, and for our own home projects. In all the transitions and fresh starts that are coming this month and next, remember the words of Ecclesiastes. Yes, there is a time for everything, and as the preacher writes, “all is vanity,” but remember that at “The end of the matter; all has been beard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) In all you do, fear God and keep His commandments, for it is He who gives us season, who ends old eras and ushers in the new, and who gives live and hope to His people.
Pastor Jake Bellinghausen