From our Priest-in-Charge
Peace be with you
When I am asked about the future of the Church, I admit that I do not have an answer, but more questions. What I often reflect with others in this question of reading the future of the Church, I most often find myself contemplating several icons. Images always assist me with discernment and contemplation. One icon that is my go-to is the icon entitled ‘Myrrh-Bearers at the Tomb.’ This icon tells the story of the women going to the tomb with myrrh and spices to anoint the body of Jesus for burial. So why does this icon speak to me about the future of the Church?
First, I have very little fear about the future of the Church. The long history of the Church has many times faced occasions of encountering deaths and resurrections. I am most often surprised that the Church has endured this long. Likewise, I have not a clear picture of what it might look like, just like the resurrection account found in John’s Gospel, where Mary Magdalene does not recognize Jesus at first, but thinks it is the gardener. This is all to say why this icon of the myrrh-bearers at the tomb assists me. It tells an important story for us and I find it assists me in lessening my fears and giving me hope.
The myrrh-bearers at the tomb is found in all four Gospels, so it is an important story. Each Gospel names Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), and other women are named in the synoptics of (Mark, Matthew and Luke). Luke adds names and unnamed women indicating a fairly large group. Depending on how you work with these accounts I find that it is a group, two or three gathered, is significant. I will return to the women shortly, let me first turn to refreshing us on the story.
The women came to the tomb, because Jesus had been crucified shortly before the start of Sabbath, which meant ceasing all work-related activities, including anointing bodies in burial. So, the women returned early on the next day, Sunday at first light as most Gospels tell. When the women came to the tomb, they encounter a messenger, an angel, who surprises them by announcing that Jesus was no longer here as Jesus was raised from the dead. The angel also directs the women to go and tell the news to the followers, the disciples. Depending on which account you work with, we have adopted the tradition that the women, though fearful and filled with joy, went and proclaimed to the disciples the good news of the resurrection. For many scholars this also signifies women as apostles, as the Greek word means ‘one who is sent.’ This ends the reading.
So, what does this have to do with the question of the future of the Church. Let me share how I use this. First and foremost is that our assurance as Christians is centered on love, in ‘that nothing, not even death, separates us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ So, just like the women who loved Jesus deeply as they attended to the work in their grief, shock and sorrow to anoint his body and acknowledge his death, we too must always be courageous and centered in furthering our work at hand in the hopes of the resurrection. By doing so, we too place our trust in that the Spirit will send us off to proclaim the new transformed body of Christ into the world.
I trust deeply that the Church in experiencing the current sense of loss is centered in the hope of that resurrection. It is unsettling to be in this space where the expectations of doing the familiar work, like the myrrh-bearers anointing a body, is shifting and changing. Yet we hold onto the hope that this work will be also transformed into new work.
So, my friends in God, as we proceed with the transformation of the Church in its process of loss toward resurrection, let us also be centered in the myrrh-bearing women. Let us go to the tomb with courage! Let us be ready to be stirred by the Spirit and embrace with joy the new commission that God is calling us to be. This call is always to further the proclamation of the newness of life of our body, the Body of Christ, called the Church and its eternal mission of spreading God’s love.
This is how I navigate the future of the Church. I hope that this will work for you as well.
Peace
Fr. Doug
From our Vestry
Vespers
St. Joseph Episcopal Church
Creation Care
Last evening, tonight at 7:00pm
During the Season of Creation, St. Joseph invites you to a time and space to discover, renew, or build your relationship with God’s Creation. These five services will be led by the Peter von Hemert, an LPL serving this congregation. Each service will focus on an element of His gift to us.
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St. Joseph-Lakewood is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89206661726?pwd=7EaWRp7Ol9ch2wiwQM...
Meeting ID: 892 0666 1726
Passcode: 633489
One tap mobile
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Annual Convention
The Convention of the Episcopal Church of Colorado takes place on Zoom on September 26th, the evening of October 8th, the day of October 8th, and until noon the day October 10th in Westminster. St. Joseph's has the opportunity to send three delegates and an alternate. Being at the convention is a great way to connect to the wider Episcopal community and to represent our contributions to it. If after prayer you feel called to this ministry, please inform Father Doug so he can forward that information to the registrar.
Congregational Care
If you need to contact Fr. Doug he can be reached at sjcpreverend@icloud.com or (720) 786-7077.
Parish Admin office hours at St. Joseph:
Tuesday 9am - 2pm
Wednesday 9am - 2 pm
Thursday 9am - 2pm
Parish Admin office hours at St. John Chrysostom:
Monday 9am - 2pm
Friday 9am - 2pm (Holiday hours may change this arrangement)
Worship Service Calendar
https://www.sjc2partnership.org/worship
Sunday October 4
St Joseph - Rev Doug 10am
St John Chrysostom - Mike, LPL 10am
St Mary Magdalene Byzantine Rite - Fr. Chrys 11:45am (In person only)
Announcements
Services will begin at 10am starting October 4!
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery
Did you know the Episcopal Church in Colorado offers disaster preparedness courses?
The Episcopal Church in Colorado continues to develop our capacity for resilience across our congregations and ministries. Through developing resilience & preparedness plans, through building a network of trained regional leaders, and through networking and information sharing via the Episcopal Asset Map, we continue to improve our ability to respond to disasters of all kinds, with the aim of providing a safe and resilient environment for our people and those we serve.
Please consider getting ready for the unthinkable while praying it never happens.
Learn More Here!
Scam Awareness Series
Be aware no one in our community will call, text or email asking for our Parish Directory. Please keep our Parish Directory safe from those who will misuse it.
Learn about "Wrong number" scams.
Partner Events
Events @ St. Joseph
Parish Breakfast
You are invited to fellowship this Saturday, October 3 at 8:30am. Share your good news over a plate with a home cooked meal. Linger and relax with a cup of Joe or orange juice.
Gospels in Order
October 11 at 11:30am
The PAX book gave us an excellent understanding of the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Judeans within the Empire, particularly those in Jerusalem. The Zealot book provided a detailed description of the Temple’s ritual of animal sacrifice. So with this background and context, we begin our review of Mark showing the confrontations between Temple authorities and Jesus: law versus love. And to help us better understand Jesus’s ministry, we will compare the scenes in Mark that also appear in Matthew and Luke. Join us as we listen to these gospel writers.
2026 Fall Festival
Saturday, October 24, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Join us for arts and crafts, games, pumpkin patch, hayride, food and hot chocolate! Suggested donation of $15 per family.
Events @ St. John Chrysostom
Blessing of the Animals
October 3 @ 10am, join us with your beloved friends and companions for their own blessings.
Women in the Spirit (WITS)!
Our women's group meets the first Saturday of each month at 10:00am for fellowship and prayer. Join us online.
Join Our Bible Study
You are welcome to join St. John Chrysostom on Thursday’s at 10am for Bible Study on Zoom.
Our Joint Calendar of Events can be found HERE
https://www.sjc2partnership.org/sjc2-events
What’s going on outside our Partnership?
Lutheran Church on the Mountain
Also at LCM
Trunk or Treat - on Oct 24th from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. We will have decorated vehicles with candy, as well as children's games and music. Fun for the whole family!
Green Mountain United Methodist Church
Shared Journey, our support group for caregivers whose loved ones, experience dementia. We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of month in the Fireside Room. In addition to supporting each other, we seek to learn ways to understand and communicate with our loved ones to provide an amicable exchange. We welcome your attendance. For more information, please contact Sonya at 303-985-9522
Worship Assignments
The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Servers for 10am Eucharist, Oct 4, 2026
Thank you!
Serving @ St. Joseph
Presider, The Rev. Doug
Deacon, Rev. Kathleen
Altar Server, Elinor
Hebrew Bible, (Volunteer needed)
Psalm, (Volunteer needed)
Epistle/New Testament, Leslie
Prayers of the People, Cathy
Ushers, Peter
Counter, Peter
The Liturgy of the Word
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46