Letter from Amy: Sept 16, 2026
Dear Incarnation,
What a joyful Sunday. I loved starting our series in Philippians and celebrating our 8th birthday! (I also loved discovering after church that in the intro to my sermon I'd confused Mark Hamill, Star Wars guy, with Scott Hamilton, figure skater — neither of whom is Alexander Hamilton, first Treasury Secretary. I laughed about that all day!)
And I loved the opportunity to welcome and pray for our September outreach partners at L’Arche in the morning, and to host the family picnic for our outreach partners at Restoration Immigration Legal Aid (RILA) that afternoon.
These outreach partners — indeed, all of Incarnation’s outreach partners — are a wonderful extension of our community’s life together, a picture of the sort of “partnership in the gospel” that Paul wrote about in Sunday's passage from Philippians. And so in that spirit of partnership, I want to invite you to pray for our friends this week:
First, you can pray for L’Arche’s annual Gather our Gifts talent show this Saturday. L’Arche, a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities, has been our church’s neighbor and outreach partner from the beginning. Their annual talent show is always an embodiment of the Philippian themes that I preached about on Sunday: friendship, mutual love, shared gifts, and overflowing joy. It’s also great fun, and I hope to see you there (you’ll recognize a few familiar faces on stage)!
Second, you can pray for our friends at RILA. They are working tirelessly for our most vulnerable immigrant neighbors in an atmosphere of confusion, fear, and constant change. This is such hard and heavy work. Would you pray for God to carry their burdens, renew their hope, sustain them in doing good, and bring about just outcomes for their clients?
And if you’re ever at a loss for words to pray, the back of our Book of Common Prayer has so many bangers, as the kids say. I lean on these two a lot, but I encourage you to become familiar with the entire Occasional Prayers section that begins on page 642:
42. FOR THE HUMAN FAMILY
O God, you made us in your own image, and you have redeemed us through your Son Jesus Christ: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
43. FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Almighty God, you created us in your own image: Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and help us to use our freedom rightly in the establishment of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Thank you for praying for these partners in the gospel!
***
I wrote to you a few weeks ago because one of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry, had died. Sadly, another favorite writer died today: Annie Dillard. Her writing, like Berry’s, is a call to reverent faithfulness in ordinary life.
And like so many of Berry’s poems, I return to Dillard’s essays again and again and again. Her “An Expedition to the Pole” softens me with grace and affection for the church when I’m tempted toward hardened cynicism. Her “Living Like Weasels” inspires me to simply be myself, to try and fail, to trust the God who has given me my life. And her famous line from A Writing Life hovers in the background of so many of my sermons: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and with that one, is what we are doing.” I am grateful for her life, vision, and works.
***
How can I pray for you in your hours and days? It is always a privilege to hear from you.
Warmly,
Amy
p.s. One way we support each other in this community is through meals! It's a simple act of ordinary faithfulness that means so much. We've extended the meal calendar for Claire and Andy for a few more weeks; take a look and sign up here!
Comments