Welcome to Saint Ann's Parish
Welcome to Saint Ann’s Old Lyme, an Episcopal Church in Connecticut on the coasts of the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. We have been a welcoming community in this landscape since 1883.
Our current church building was dedicated in 1956 and renovated and enlarged in 2019. For the first time since 1956, we are not worshipping in our church building. We are in the time of COVID-19, and our lives have changed forever. It is a time to deepen our faith and stay connected.
The sign on our front yard reads, "The voice of prayer is never silent." Prayer courses through us like the waters of the estuary on which we sit. Prayer is our lifeline to God and to one another. Prayer is as vital as the air we breathe and the water we drink.
In the midst of uncertainty and death, we know that love is contagious, and that resilience and hope are stronger than any fear of the unknown we possess. May our prayers this season of COVID-19 be our consolation and our faith be our strength and guide. In the words of Hymn 594, "God grant us the wisdom and courage for the facing of this hour, for the living of these days.”
Stay connected! Pray with us.
Saint Ann's Mission Statement
We are a community of Christians,
open to all who serve God in Jesus Christ through worship, education, mission and fellowship.
Our doors will open on July 5.
Sunday Worship Service information here
Godly Play (Sunday school) lesson here
Prayer and other resources here
Virtual events and zoom services here
This Sunday, July 5, Sunday of Independence Day weekend, we will move to the next phase in our life during COVID-19.
We will offer one, in-person service on Sunday morning that will also be available "live" on Zoom at 9:30am. Later in the day, the recorded Zoom service will be available on our Online Worship Services page.
For those who join us in worship at 9:30am (note summer hours!) things will be different. We will continue to practice six feet social distancing, wearing of masks, sanitizing of hands, and, the hardest ones for me, no communion, choral music or coffee hour - for now. The decisions I make are always first and foremost for your safety and all who enter our doors. Look to me, Vestry and ushers for guidance on what to do - there will be signs as well. Bible Study will be offered at 11:00am via ZOOM, as it has been since March.
Many things have changed, some temporarily, some permanently. What remains is this community - which has grown deeper and wider in our COVID-19 time. It is a wonder to me to see how during COVID-19 we are living into our parish goals, so let's keeping growing together in our faith. Blessings and peace to you and yours. Stay connected, stay safe.
Task Force on Racial Justice and Reconciliation
Saint Ann's is forming a Task Force on Racial Justice and Reconciliation. See this link on ECCT's work on this at the Diocesan level at this point.
We will be gathering later this month to begin considering our approach to this crucial issue. Please contact either Kathy Kronholm or Alden Murphy if you would like to be involved.
Scripture Reflection for June 28
Welcome
Welcome is such a simple word. It is one of those words which is learned early when one is learning a foreign language. Many of us have welcome mats outside of our front doors. Often, our welcome mats simply say, WELCOME. We want to communicate to those who are entering that they are welcomed.
The "welcome" is often also associated with a special guest. We welcome people in many different settings. We see or experience "welcomes" at the airport. We come off the airplane and walk to where people are waiting. There is a group of people welcoming a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister, whomever. We are not the person being welcomed but we see all the action.
Sunday's brief Gospel excerpt may seem to merely reinforce our desire to be welcoming at Saint Ann's. But a closer look suggests a greater challenge still awaits us. "Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward," Jesus says.
Welcome a prophet as a prophet, Jesus tells us. Jesus knows his Bible, and so surely he has unrelenting characters like Jeremiah from today's first reading in mind. He knows that welcoming a prophet is not as simple as marking the sanctuary entrance clearly from the parking lot. Instead, we will need to recognize the holy in odd behavior and unusual attire (John the Baptist comes to mind) We will need to discern the difference between feeling good about our actions and hard to swallow truths. We'll need to accept what is right, instead of settling for what is easy.
This kind of hospitality is a hard and holy challenge. But if we follow this calling Jesus promises we will receive a prophet's reward: discernment of what is true in the midst of falsehood and the courage to speak the very word of God, just the prophets did and still do.
Mother Anita
A Prayer for the Power of the Spirit Among the People of God
God of all power and love,
we give thanks for your unfailing presence
and the hope you provide in times of uncertainty and loss.
Send your Holy Spirit to enkindle in us your holy fire.
Revive us to live as Christ's body in the world:
a people who pray, worship, learn,
break bread, share life, heal neighbors,
bear good news, seek justice, rest and grow in the Spirit.
Wherever and however we gather,
unite us in common prayer and send us in common mission,
that we and the whole creation might be restored and renewed,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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