Joseph couldn’t hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, “Leave! Clear out—everyone leave!” So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn’t help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh’s palace. Joseph spoke to his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” (Gen 45. 1 – 3).
When we meet him, Joseph is seventeen. His father Jacob is a crook, and one of his seamy adventures is his playing favorites with Joseph, even giving the boy the thankless job of reporting on the activity of his eleven older brothers. Joseph comes across as a conceited tattletale, and his selfaggrandizing dreams only intensify the grudge his brothers nurse against him. So when they get their chance they throw him into a dry cistern to die. But as much as they hate him, they love money more, so for twenty pieces of silver they sell him to a caravan of Midianite slave traders going down to Egypt. In case you’re keeping score: this is the family through whom God has promised to bless all the families of the earth.
Twenty years later, after living in obscurity as a slave and then as a prisoner, he’s number two to Pharaoh when he’s reunited with his brothers. They do not recognize him, just as Mary Magdalene, at Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, does not recognize Jesus though he stands before her. And that verb, to recognize (haker), is the key verb in one of the most masterfully written stories in any literature.
Joseph puts himself through excruciating pain to remain hidden in deep cover from his brothers for as long as he does, not because he’s measuring out how to exact the pound of flesh. He had all the power to get even, if he had wanted to. He doesn’t foreground his identity, he buries it, so as to bless his brothers. He has them return home with all their money. He doesn’t charge them double; he charges them nothing. He sends them home with all their wealth and with ample provisions to survive the journey to get there.
Egypt, you’ll never guess! You know the brother we told you was killed by a wild animal, the one whose death you’ve been mourning for twenty years, and we watched you do it and we never opened our mouths? Well, actually that isn’t what happened. We sold him to slave traders and he’s now number two to Pharaoh!”
He couldn’t count on that, and if his brothers wouldn’t do that, he wouldn’t be able to help his family. So it was critical to make sure that Benjamin, the one he could rely on to tell the truth, would come down to Egypt to bring the report back.
These men have changed, and Joseph in his forgiveness allowed that change to be expressed.
Everything he does he does out of necessity. He knew that God had raised him up to save his family. And now he knows he has a younger brother, whereas before he had none. Benjamin and their father Jacob are not yet down in Egypt where they could be cared for safely for the remaining six years of the famine that Joseph knew was coming. But at this point, he couldn’t trust that his brothers who’d betrayed him would bring the message back: “Oh, by the way Dad, when we were down in
There’s a deeper reason. As we read this story, or as you look in the mirror, we realize the problem is not whether Joseph will forgive his brothers; the problem is whether the brothers will accept that forgiveness. Joseph says to them, “And now don’t be distressed, and don’t be angry with yourselves.”
Fast forward to Genesis chapter 50. Joseph’s brothers, when they saw that their father Jacob was dead, said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the
Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers, Peter von Cornelius, 1816
wrongs we did to him?” They have a hard time accepting his forgiveness because they can’t believe it; it’s too good to be true. So what does Joseph do? He ministers to that need by seeing to it that his brothers can succeed in all the ways they had failed before. In the end, that would help them know that Joseph knew they were different men from the men who had sold him into slavery.
By proposing that the brothers leave Benjamin behind as a slave, he gives Judah, the brother who came up with the bright idea to sell Joseph into slavery, the chance to give up himself to stay behind in a prison whilst the elder brothers go back to Dad. They see the parallel, and they can’t bear to contemplate that God has found them out! They say, “Surely we’re being punished because of our brother.” Their consciences are quickened and tenderized by these parallels. When Joseph arranges for them to go back with silver that he’s hidden in each man’s sack and they discover it, they don’t leap for joy—“Wow, what a windfall! We can go home and tell Dad that just like we lost Joseph now we lost Simeon. It must have been another wild animal that got him like the one that got Joseph!”
Joseph says, “I’m going to keep Benjamin down here; he’ll be my slave here in Egypt [just like Joseph had been a slave in Egypt], and you guys go home in peace to your father.” And Judah would not hear of it! The same brother who suggested that they sell Joseph is now the brother who’s selling himself, laying down his life for his brother. He will not hear of it! “Let me be a slave in place of Benjamin, our father’s favorite son!”
These men have changed, and Joseph in his forgiveness allowed that change to be expressed. That’s why he gave them all these opportunities so that they would know that he knows they’re different human beings. How could Joseph forgive his brothers in this way? First is what Joseph says himself; that he refuses to play God. In Genesis 50, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us,” his brothers ask each other, “and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
Joseph is an archetype of what the Japanese call kintsugi. Prized and broken, Joseph is like Jesus, open to freedom so profound it hides itself in human frailty, in Mary’s womb, on a hill far away, in bread and wine.
Joseph sets them up to succeed at every point where earlier they’d failed. And they pass with flying colors! They tell their father, “Joseph is alive!” They bring Benjamin down, who’s now favored by their Dad, and Joseph heaps up a five-times portion in front of Benjamin. The brothers are all sitting around having a meal, eating well enough, but Benjamin’s got filet mignon on his plate—in fact, five filets mignons. And this time, they don’t envy; they rejoice with him! They don’t think, “Why didn’t we get a meal that lavish?” No!
When one brother is honored they all rejoice. This is a picture of Good Sam’s vocation; it’s what the Magna Carta of the Church (1 Cor 12) is all about. “If one member of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it. If one member is honored, the whole body rejoices with it.”
Joseph‘s response is, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?” There is a God of righteousness and justice who will redress every evil, every injurious offense ever sustained by one of his precious image bearers. There is a God in heaven who will right all the wrongs and exact all the fair penalties. But you and I are not that God. You and I are not competent to be each other’s judges. We misconstrue motives. Only God can do it. “Do not take revenge my friends but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay’” (Rom 12. 19). “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness” (1 Cor 4. 5).
And second, Joseph doesn’t have the competence to judge because he cannot exact the penalty that’s due. What’s the penalty that would be deserved by brothers who would murder their brother and then sell him as a slave? How could you possibly assess such a penalty? The Bible says, “He who touches you touches the apple of his eye” (Zech 2. 8). The Almighty takes personally the offenses that are suffered by those made in his image.
Joseph could have spent thirteen years in slavery and prison nursing truculence in a fury to get even. Instead, he stewards his pain; he lets it break him open, to grow in the direction of compassion and mercy.
One of my teachers, Frederick Buechner, writes, “Justice is the grammar of things, mercy is the poetry of things.” I think of Joseph at the altar, at the post-communion prayer of Rite I, when we say, “And we humbly beseech thee, O Heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in.” Joseph’s life bespeaks that aesthetic: broken, beautiful, and life-giving, not just for himself but for others. He’s an archetype of what the Japanese call kintsugi (金継ぎ). He’s like Jesus, open to freedom so profound it hides itself in human frailty, in Mary’s womb, on a hill far away, in bread and wine. He says to his brothers, “You intended to harm me but God, who is more powerful than you, turned it around for good” (Gen 50. 20). He named his firstborn Manasseh which means forgetfulness because, Joseph said, “God has made me forget all my trouble in my father’s household” (Gen 41. 51).
FROM THE VICAR
The Seeds of Growth
HOW GOD HELPS US CHANGE
BY THE REV’D DR MATTHEW KOZLOWSKI, VICAR
Recently I’ve been thinking about human cells. Back in high school biology class, cells were a favorite topic of mine. I’m still interested today. Did you know that every human cell starts off with a nucleus; and inside that nucleus are chromosomes packed with DNA? A full set of DNA in fact.* Some cells —like outer skin cells—eventually lose their nucleus. But still, every cell in the human body starts off with a complete set of DNA that contains detailed plans for the entire human body!
It’s the same with a seed. A single seed— even when it’s buried in the ground—contains everything necessary for the development of the entire plant. A seed has a full set of DNA plans, plus loads of stored food that the plant will use as it sprouts—a process requiring massive amounts of energy. As the plant continues to grow, it will use the DNA map to make branches, leaves, and fruit.
Look how much God provides! Even in the tiniest cell, the Lord has placed resources for growth, development, and fruitfulness. 1 Peter 2.1 tells believers that they are to “grow up into salvation.” What does that mean? It means that even after a Christian is saved by grace through faith, he or she will keep growing. And God has provided the resources for that spiritual growth.
If you stay the course with Jesus, you will see fruit.
HERE ARE THREE IDEAS ABOUT SPIRITUAL GROWTH
1
Growth Requires a Choice
Even if we are “in Christ,” we still have a free will choice as to how close we get to Jesus. As James 4. 8 reminds us: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” Again, we have a choice. We can keep Jesus at arm’s length. Or, we can open ourselves to a personal relationship with him through the Holy Spirit, which is how we grow.
2
We Won’t Always Feel Great
Even when we are growing spiritually, we may not always feel like we are on top of the world. Or even on top of our game. Or even… on top of anything! Difficulties, griefs, mistakes, unfair situations, long nights, and worries can make us feel stagnated. We may ask, “If I am growing spiritually, why do I feel so crummy?” As hard as it sounds, these painful times are also resources for growth. Christ’s promise from John 16. 33 rings true: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3
You Will See Fruit
When I was a kid, my dad planted a summer vegetable garden in our side yard. I would help till the soil and put in the young plants. Then he would set up the sprinkler and turn it on in the evenings after dinner. The plants would grow. Every year there were some winners, and some losers. But every year there was fruit.
2 Peter 3. 18 says that we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 5. 22 – 23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Here’s the promise: if you stay the course with Jesus, you will see fruit. I’ve seen it in my own life and in the lives of others.
LOOKING BACK
I like to look at myself today and compare it to where I was five years ago.
• Am I more patient? Less irritable?
• Am I more ready to listen? Less anxious to prove my own point?
• Am I more willing to trust God? Less anxious about having control?
Remember: God provides. God provides the map for growth. God also provides the resources for growth. Our job is to co-operate with God. The fruit will come.
FROM THE RECTOR’S WARDEN
A Call to Spiritual Leadership
BY WHITNEY T. KUNIHOLM, RECTOR’S WARDEN
Recently, we completed our 2025 Vestry elections, welcoming new leaders who will serve our parish in the coming year. This was a great encouragement to the Vestry and to our entire parish.
But leadership in the church is not confined to a select few. Spiritual leadership is something all of us are called to embrace. Each of us influences others—whether at home, at work, in our friendships, or in the community. If we want to continue growing as a church, we must recognize that every believer can have a role in leading others closer to Christ. Let me share an example.
UNLIKELY SPIRITUAL LEADERS
Over the past year, I’ve been working with Prison Fellowship International on a Bible overview program for inmates around the world—many of whom are illiterate and have never heard the Bible in their own language. It was an interesting challenge!
We created a prototype “Bible listening group,” using solar-powered audio devices with pre-recorded Bible passages and Bible teachings in multiple languages. Inmates gather in small groups, press play, and are guided through an interactive Bible course in their “heart language.” My role was to develop the prototype and write “scripts” for the course.
When I wrote the script on the kings of Israel, I titled it, Lessons in Leadership. But that raised a question: what would it take for an illiterate inmate to see themselves as a spiritual leader? So, I included this statement: “As a prisoner, you may not think of yourself as a leader. But the fact is, everyone influences others—either for good or bad. That means you are a leader wherever you are.” As I finished the project, I began to see the incredible potential: thousands of incarcerated men and women stepping into spiritual leadership inside some of the toughest prisons in the world, places where no clergy could ever go!
WHAT ABOUT GOOD SAMARITAN?
your faith is shaping those around you. So, what kind of leader will you be? Here are some practical ways to grow in spiritual leadership.
ESSENTIALS OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Leadership Starts with Character
Spiritual leadership begins with who we are. Proverbs 4. 23 reminds us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” If our hearts are aligned with God and his Word, our leadership will reflect his love, wisdom, and grace. Jesus modeled this perfectly, leading with a servant’s heart: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matt 20. 26). True leadership is about living in a way that reflects Christ in every interaction. For me, my morning quiet time of Bible reading and prayer has become the indispensable discipline for keeping my heart focused on God’s priorities throughout the day.
You are a spiritual leader because your faith is shaping those around you.
Now, let’s apply that idea to The Church of the Good Samaritan. Too often, we assume that leadership belongs only to those with official titles—the clergy, staff, or Vestry. But what if we believed that every member of our parish is a spiritual leader?
Think about it—if inmates in some of the world’s hardest conditions can be spiritual leaders, then why can’t we? Imagine the impact on our church and community if we embraced that mindset.
Spiritual leadership isn’t about holding a position; it’s about using the influence we have on others through our words and actions. Even if you’re not ordained or on the Vestry, you are a spiritual leader because
Leadership Requires Dependence on God
Most of us don’t feel naturally equipped for spiritual leadership. The greatest leaders in Scripture—Moses, David, Paul—were deeply aware of their weaknesses. But they learned to rely on God’s strength, often through difficulties, rather than their own.
As Rector’s Warden for the past five years, I’ve experienced this firsthand. Even though I spent my entire career in para church ministry, when I sensed God prompting me to deeper involvement in the local church, I felt unprepared. Many times, all I could do was hold on and trust God. I felt like I was living out Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12. 9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I have discovered that spiritual leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being faithful and trusting God to work—even when I feel overwhelmed.
Leadership Builds Others Up
One of the most powerful ways we lead is by encouraging others. Hebrews 10. 24 urges us: “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Criticism often comes easily, but spiritual leadership calls us to build up rather than tear down. If our first instinct is to be critical, how will that affect our families, friends, and fellow parishioners over time?
I confess that sometimes I too am overly critical, so here’s what I do to retrain that tendency. Throughout the day, I try to keep this phrase in mind: “There’s a struggling soul God loves.” Spiritual leaders are good at noticing when someone is struggling. They speak life into difficult situations. Sometimes, the smallest act of kindness or a welltimed word of encouragement can have a profound impact, but you can’t do that if you’re focused on what’s wrong.
A HEALTHY SPIRITUAL ECOSYSTEM
My prayer is that The Church of the Good Samaritan will become a healthy spiritual ecosystem, with each of us having a role to keep it growing. Whether you serve by volunteering, mentoring, teaching, or simply living out your faith authentically, you are influencing others. Someone is watching, learning, and being shaped by your example.
The question is: How will you use your influence? Will you lead with love, humility, and a servant’s heart? Will you reflect Christ in your daily life? God has placed you in the body of Christ at Good Samaritan for a purpose. Embrace your calling as a spiritual leader so together we can fulfill our mission—to know Christ and to make him known.
Of Numbers and Stories
BY ELRENA EVANS, CREATIVE SPECIALIST
I love numbers.
This tidbit sometimes comes as a surprise to folks who are getting to know me. I spend the bulk of my life writing and dancing; how do numbers fit into that equation? (Equation!) But I see numbers both as a source of comfort and safety (there is comfort in knowing exactly how many minutes until I have to be somewhere, or how many steps I’ve walked in a day) and, at the same time, a source of mystery and wonder.
Several years ago, I gave a talk at a Women’s Breakfast about seeing God’s design in repeating number sequences found in nature. The ratio of the spiral in a nautilus shell, for example, is the same ratio as the stars in the galaxy we call the Milky Way. I dug into the actual math a bit, and after the talk, a dear friend of mine (not a lover of numbers) came up to me and said, Elrena. You are my friend and I love you dearly, but please do not talk that much about math, ever again.
Yet here I am, somehow still talking about math. I think numbers are just one of the ways I see God at work in the world. I guess we are all wired a little bit differently.
Another reason I love numbers is their power to hold stories. When I look at charts and graphs and figures, I see stories: stories of people, of loves and lives, played out in scattered points of data.
Sometimes those stories are too much for me to bear. My oldest son recently had his wisdom teeth removed at Paoli Hospital, where upon arrival, he was assigned a tracking number. In the waiting room, numbers scrolled across a large screen, next to status updates: Preparing for surgery. Surgery in process. In recovery. I scanned the numbers, looking for my son’s, and I thought, every single one of these numbers is a person. Every single one of these numbers is a story. A story of hope, of fear… a person in need, a loved one in worry. Eventually I had to distract myself with something else. The stories of the numbers were too much.
Not all stories held in numbers are hard, of course. When Fr Ellsworth reports on attendance at Good Sam, I hear stories in those numbers, too. Stories of growth, yes, but also individual stories: A woman drawn to the church through our food closet. A couple who found their church home here after a recent move. A child who discovered her place in our youth group.
The story of the history of our church is told in numbers. We’ve been around for almost 150 years; we are looking forward to the next 150 to come. We have rosters of numbers: baptisms, marriages, funerals. And we have the privilege of knowing some of the stories of those numbers, too: stories of thousands of folks who have attended our services, worshipped in our sanctuaries, taken Communion at one of our altars. Stories of people who met Jesus in a tangible way at Good Sam.
Mathematically, the starting point of an orbit is called a seed. The seeds of the orbits we move in at Good Sam today, whether they be food closet, bell choir, or youth group, were planted 150 years ago. As we dig into the stories of some of those seeds, stories of mystery and wonder, let’s keep joyfully planting countless numbers of seeds that will grow into the orbits of years to come.
KEEP CHURCH
Strange
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
One of the strangest things I have ever done at our church is stand beneath the portico outside our atrium in a crowd huddled together against the cold, dark rain until—suddenly—the flames of a small bonfire illuminate the embroidered vestments of our clergy, the filmy dresses of liturgical dancers, and the starry eyes of ordinary worshipers who no longer seem ordinary at all. I have never joined the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at The Church of the Good Samaritan without wondering what it all must look like to a passing motorist on Lancaster Avenue. I like to imagine that our peculiar, firelit procession unsettles them and prompts thoughts like these: I assumed church was tame and polite, but maybe it’s something wilder? Maybe it’s something stranger? Fire, water, dance, and voices raised in prayer or song: it seems to me more like an image painted on an ancient Greek or Roman vessel than a Saturday night in Paoli, Pennsylvania, in the year 2025. And yet, if the Easter Eve liturgy we offer each year seems out of step with contemporary American suburban life, then this is simply one more sign of the wonderfully strange heart that beats in The Church of the Good Samaritan.
Belief in God?
That’s simple. Believe that God became one of us and suffered and died for love of us in order to break the chains of all that enslaves us? Now that is some story.
If calling our church strange sounds insulting, consider the normal world outside the doors of our atrium: out there, we build warehouses but not cathedrals, we define ourselves through consumption but not relationships, and though we love to be entertained, we choose to live by stories no larger than our own selves. Maybe it’s good to be strange? Maybe it’s wonderful to walk out of step with our world? I was not at all surprised recently by the many fantasy books offered for sale at a local big-box store that I could see were popular with young readers. In a modern world where materialism and rationalism rule, who wouldn’t want to escape to an enchanted realm of adventure between the pages of a book or in a sixpart series on television or in a world-building video game? When I think about one of these young people enamored with magical worlds coming to visit our church, I begin to wonder if it isn’t our strangeness—our other-worldliness—that might draw them deeper in.
In the contemporary world outside our church doors, there is nothing quite like our embroidered kneelers, our processional cross, or our tall (non-battery-operated!) candles. And it isn’t only an aesthetic strangeness young visitors will find. If they worship with us for even a little while I can imagine how they might ask themselves, Who are these people who still gather in person when they could chat with like-minded friends online? Who are these church-goers who treat one another like family even when they met only last month at the church coffee urn? And how is it possible that in this place an accountant, a painter, and a child of five will all agree there’s such a thing as angels? What world is this? What year is this?
What year, indeed? Often at church, and always at the Easter Vigil, I feel something like chronological vertigo. Having immersed myself in the events of Holy Week— the palm waving, the foot washing, the final words from the cross—by sunset on Saturday, I no longer know when I am. And this sense of having stepped ever-so-slightly out of step with the present moment can happen on even an ordinary Sunday. If the crucifer carries our cross a little higher and a little more boldly than usual, then I suddenly see the church as CS Lewis once described it, “spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners.” And who among us has received Communion without at least some dim
feeling that we have now sat at table with Jesus and his disciples? And yet, in one of the strangest traditions of a strange service in a strange church, during the Easter Vigil the current year is meticulously, prayerfully carved into the Paschal candle along with the letters Alpha and Omega (beginning and end). With that deliberate noting of the current year, I become fully aware of the present moment and know with certainty that Jesus Christ is alive and with us right now. I have not stumbled into some ancient, possibly pagan ritual. What is happening is happening now, Christ is alive today, and every year brings us nearer to the fulfillment of history and the glorious appearance of our Savior and King.
Our church’s relationship with time makes us strange and should keep us always strange. Because we have been established as the body of Jesus Christ on earth, because we are filled with God’s spirit, there is an inevitable continuity with the past in anything we undertake together. When we sing our songs, when we stock our food pantry, when we visit the sick, we are hardly different from the church of a thousand years ago. Our mission and our ministry, our identity and our hope have remained the same even as the culture around us has shifted, discarding certain stories and telling new ones. But our life together in the church is rooted in a story that remains the same. It is comprehensive and consistent. Nothing we have learned or discovered in thousands of years of human history has necessitated a new gospel. With our whole lives we are telling a story to the world that is ancient, but we are also pressing on toward a good ending that will be the beginning of a world made new.
The wider culture around us has focused for a long time on the question of belief in God. Does God exist? But as I once heard a theologian quip, God’s existence is the most boring thing about him. That will quickly become clear if you worship with The Church of the Good Samaritan this spring. As we reinhabit the great story of the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ, we will be swept up in something so wild it simply could not be the product of human imagination. Belief in God? That’s simple. Believe that God became one of us and suffered and died for love of us in order to break the chains of all that enslaves us? Now that is some story. If it is hard to believe, it is because it seems almost too good to be true. Can our universe really revolve around a center of such astonishing good news?
Christians are those who say yes. Unlike the so-called “peace” Caesar secured through violence, true peace was secured when Jesus Christ laid down his life. He watered the cross with his blood so that it became for us a tree of life. As we read in the Gospel of John, Jesus told us what to expect: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12. 24). Because Christians have also laid down their lives in service and sometimes martyrdom, the world over these two thousand years has been so thoroughly remade that, in many ways, the cultural air we breathe is Christian. Although very few of my neighbors attend church, and the pundits keep telling us we now live in a “post-Christian” society, this does not alter the fact that many of the values we hold dear would not exist without the ministry of the church. Most of our fellow Americans take it for granted that human rights are real, that the lives of men and women are of equal value, that vulnerable people deserve protection and care, but these are all examples of the fruitful life the Church has lived in Christ. Ancient Christians invented hospitals and
the profession of nursing because they lived like Jesus with a willingness to lose their lives for the sake of others. In this way, they were utterly strange in a culture that thought nothing of abandoning or discarding the sick, the weak, and the unwanted.
If someone from the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day visited Paoli in 2025, they would certainly find our world strange. But they wouldn’t only marvel at cellphones and airplanes, they would be stunned by a culture of home healthcare and public education. They might struggle to grasp that ours is a country without slavery, where forgiveness is valued, and good Samaritans are considered heroes. They would find a strange world re-shaped in many ways by the resurrection power that fills the church of Jesus Christ. But what of our neighbors? Those who also call this place and this year their own? I hope that when they think of us here in The Church of the Good Samaritan and as they get to know us, they will find that our strangeness draws them back through time to the source and the center, to the One “who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Rev 1. 4).
Christians as Wise, Good, and Generous Stewards
BY CHRISTOPHER A. HALL, THEOLOGIAN-IN-RESIDENCE
THE RICH FOOL
The church fathers consistently view all Christians—rich or poor—as stewards of their possessions rather than owners. Only God rightfully owns anything. Basil the Great, commenting on the rich fool of Luke 12, states that “what ails his soul is much like what ails the glutton, who would burst with cramming rather than give the poor any of his leftovers.” What is the rich fool’s fundamental problem? A short memory.
“Man,” Basil writes, “remember who gives you these goods. And remember yourself— who you are, what you are steward of, from whom you had it, why you have been favored above most. You have been made the minister of a gracious God, steward for your fellow-servants. Do not suppose that all these things were provided for your belly. The wealth you handle belongs to others; think of it accordingly. Not for long will it delight you; soon it will slip from you and be gone, and you will be asked to give a strict account of it.”
BECOME IMITATORS OF GOD’S JUSTICE
Cyprian, another North African father, echoes Tertullian’s sentiments and encourages his congregation to become imitators of God’s justice. Whatever God possesses is given to human beings for the use of all, rather than a select few. Divine goodness and generosity should be reflected between God’s image bearers. Cyprian wrote, “This is truly to become a child of God by spiritual birth; this is to imitate God’s justice by the heavenly law. For whatever belongs to God, is for the common use of all, nor is anyone excluded from his benefits and gifts, nor is the human race prevented from equally enjoying God’s goodness and generosity. Whoever owns property and follows this example of equity, sharing his returns and fruits to his brothers and showing himself fair and just with his gratuitous bounties, is an imitator of God.”
We are called to imitate the pattern of our Lord. If Christ is humble, merciful, and compassionate, so must be his apprentice.
The African Tertullian, writing years before Basil, makes similar points. “Even what seems to be our own belongs to another, for nothing is our own, since all things belong to God to whom we, too, belong. Therefore, if we feel impatient when we suffer some loss, we show that we entertain a love for money, since we grieve for the loss of what is not our own.”
Why does God choose to bless some of us materially? So that we may become self-indulgent and greedy, with hearts closed to the needs of those around us? Too often, Basil argues, the rich “seize what belongs to all and claim the right of possession to monopolize it.”
WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS
We are all sojourners, pilgrims headed toward home, John Chrysostom reminds us. Best to travel light. Chrysostom is utterly convinced that the only property worth keeping is what we take with us into the future, the eternity that lies beyond death’s door. “Only the virtues of the soul are properly our own, as almsgiving and charity. ‘External’ goods such as fields and cattle will be ours for only an instant. It is wiser to focus on ‘internal’ goods such as love and kindness… Virtue alone is able to depart with us, and to accompany us to the world above.”
What is the fundamental principle the church fathers offer us? “All you might help and do not—to all these you are doing wrong.” Ouch! Basil repeatedly stresses that “goods in and of themselves are not evil.” If they were, “they could have in no way been created by God.” The problem, Basil is convinced, is with those who fail to “administer” their wealth and possessions well. “The one who is condemned is condemned not because he possesses things, but because he makes a bad use of what he possesses.”
WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?
Of course, the question of enough immediately raises its head. How can we discern when our basic needs have been supplied? How can we determine when wise stewardship has mutated into greed? When is enough enough?
Augustine addresses the issue of enough by drawing a distinction between sufficiency and self-indulgence. He supports those who wish to advance in the world, as long as their ambition is fueled by a desire to “do good by providing for the welfare of those who live under them.”
Ambition engendered by empty pride of self-esteem, or useless ostentation, or hurtful vanity, is to be avoided. As for the financial gain that usually accompanies promotion in “rank and authority,” Augustine’s guideline is “what is sufficient for the necessaries of life.” And exactly what is sufficiency? “This sufficiency is not an improper desire in whoever wishes this and nothing more; whoever does wish more does not wish this [simple sufficiency], and therefore does not wish properly.”
Generally speaking, the church fathers do not provide detailed codes and laws for answering the question of sufficiency and need. Instead, they spend much more time describing the kind of person who can possess and administer goods safely and wisely. Basil speaks of the need for a “detached attitude” for “earthly possessions” combined with a “respect” for what they can accomplish.
Chrysostom makes the surprising statement that it is “impossible” for a genuine Christian not to care for others. “For as the natural properties of things cannot be made ineffectual, so it is here: the thing [generosity] is part of the very nature of the Christian. Do not insult God.” How so? “To say that the sun cannot shine would be to insult him. To say that a Christian cannot do good is to insult God and call him a liar.”
Chrysostom believes that for the Christian to fail to respond to the poor is to act unnaturally, an indication that our human nature is unraveling. Under the bondage of covetousness, human beings mutate into “wild beasts.” Considerations of “conscience, friendship, or association, or the salvation of their own soul” fall to the wayside as
we become the slave of diseased, disordered desires. “Moreover,” Chrysostom writes, “the dreadful part of this very bitter slavery is that it even persuades them to feel grateful for it, and the more they become enslaved in it, so much the more will the pleasure they take in it increase. As a result, the disease becomes incurable, the beast becomes hard to tame.”
HUMAN CHARACTER AND WISE STEWARDSHIP
Augustine skillfully analyzes the relationship between human character and the possession of wealth. Some people possess the character and associated ability to use wealth wisely. Others do not. Once again, the fault does not lie with wealth itself. “Some people make evil use of these things, and others make good use. And the one who makes evil use clings to them with love and is entangled by them (that is, he becomes subject to those things which ought to be subject to him, and creates for himself goods whose right and proper use require that he himself be good).”
A wise, good, and generous steward’s possessions are an extension of himself to those in need. Don’t blame wealth itself for the distortions and cruelties its possession sometimes produces. As Augustine wrote, “You do not think, do you, that silver or gold should be blamed because of greedy men, or food and wine because of gluttons and drunkards, or womanly beauty because of adulterers and fornicators? And so on with other things, especially since you may see a doctor use fire well, and the poisoner using bread for his crime.”
Gregory of Nazianzus points his audience to the incarnation of the Son of God as the fundamental paradigm for mercy toward the poor. The genuine Christian is the disciple of “the meek and merciful Christ who carried upon himself our infirmities.”
In the incarnation, the Son of God humbled himself to the extent of “assuming our human condition and made himself poor to clothe himself with our flesh and dwell in this earthly tent… so that we might be enriched by his divinity.” We are called to imitate the pattern of our Lord. If Christ is humble, merciful, and compassionate, so must be his apprentice. In turn, our field of vision will widen. People we habitually overlook will assume form and shape.
To sum up, when we fail to respond to God’s gift of wealth and prosperity with wisdom, goodness, and generosity, our failure may be linked to our misunderstanding of why God has given us our wealth in the first place. Jesus calls us to remember that we are stewards, not owners.
The goodness of wealth depends on how we respond to our prosperity. If we respond to God’s blessing foolishly and selfindulgently consume God’s gifts to feed skewed and self-centered appetites, we will indeed experience hollow lives and dried-up souls. We will become increasingly insensitive to the needs of those around us. Ironically, our humanity will be diminished through what was given to bless others. When wealth is enjoyed moderately, with the rest distributed to the poor and others in need, then the purpose of wealth will be fulfilled in our lives—and in the lives of others.
What we do with our bankbook communicates so much about the state of our heart. Wise, good, and generous stewards extend the blessing of God to others, and in turn experience it deeply.
Welcome Connor Fluharty
DIRECTOR
OF MUSIC
On January 1, we welcomed Connor Fluharty as our Director of Music. Connor, an organist, pianist, and choral conductor, comes to us from Trinity Church Princeton. He sings in the bass section of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and, as you’ll see in this interview, he loves books and films as well as the tradition of Anglican music. When you meet him, you might ask if he’s had time for any ambitious cooking projects, as we hear he also enjoys spending time in the kitchen.
Presumably you’ve been playing music a long time. How did you get your start, and what made you decide to pursue it professionally?
I have been making music non-stop since I started piano lessons way back in 1st grade. Around 6th grade, I won a piano competition through the American Guild of Organists and the prize was a year of free organ lessons. I stuck with them, and at the same time, I became the organist at my rural neighborhood church, and played there until I graduated from high school. At that point, I couldn’t really conceive of going into an academic field other than music. I didn’t really have any idea of where I would end up, or where I would concentrate my musical efforts. I started out focusing on the piano, and then switched to organ performance for my graduate work at Westminster Choir College. I did a little bit of conducting, was in a couple of choirs…
by that point, I had been exposed to many more types of church music, and fallen for choral music.
Is there someone whose example has shaped your approach to church music, or music direction?
I don’t really have one person to point to, but I have learned so much from being part of so many different types of musical experiences, rather than limiting myself to one instrument. I had great piano teachers, organ teachers, choir directors, and conducting teachers. I’m lucky to have sung great works in huge ensembles as one of 300, as well as led small chamber choirs of my best friends and colleagues. Keeping a curious and open mind about learning from collaboration has shaped my approach to church music more than anything else, I think.
One of the distinguishing features of Anglicanism is its musical tradition, and particularly its choral tradition. How would you characterize that tradition?
The “Anglican Choral Tradition” is built on the specific liturgies that are central to Anglican worship in the UK, and here in many Episcopal churches as well. We have liturgies for Morning Prayer, Holy Eucharist, Evening Prayer, Compline, and others. As musicians over the centuries have sung prayers, psalms, and anthems at these services, a vast amount of repertoire has been composed and other musical traditions have
developed, like Evensong. The day-to-day pace of these services also set high expectations for sight-reading and quick learning in many choirs in the Anglican tradition.
The liturgical structure grants an almost limitless flexibility for what can be sung in a service. We can draw from ancient sources for psalmody if we wanted to, or find English settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis anywhere from the Renaissance to the 21st century. We could chant literally every word in a service, or none. We could sing anthems in Spanish, German, or Church Slavonic and none of them would be out of place so long as they fit the context that the liturgy provides for us. That flexibility and the appetite for a great diversity of classical music in worship define the Anglican choral tradition for me.
What do you want the laity to know about church music? They say to sing is to pray twice, and I think it’s important to remember that the prayers or readings that the choir offers belong to the whole congregation, not only to the people in the choir stalls. The goal of planning music for a Sunday morning is always to give thoughtful consideration to that specific service as a whole. It’s my intention that there’s always something to think about in the music that’s been chosen for the day, how it connects to the other elements of the service, and hopefully how it connects to you yourself! Of course, there are also plenty of practical considerations that go into planning the music for any given service: What pieces are on the easy side? What have we sung before? Is this hymn too long? Even so, the goal is always to be spiritually engaging. If something doesn’t land with you, that’s fine too—next week, there’s another Sunday!
Good Sam is decidedly on a mission and intends to grow.
How do you see your role contributing to the mission and growth of the church?
I view my role at Good Sam as not only to expand the music program, but also to advocate for the importance of thoughtful choral music in our worship. That means growing the choir and its capabilities, it means a bit more choral music in services from time to time, and it means expanding the services on offer that feature choral music. I hope to add more choral Complines (like the one we had in the Chapel in February), and the occasional Evensong. It’s my experience that services like those can be a draw for college-age people, or community members looking for something out of the ordinary. We want that Anglican choral tradition flexibility to be exercised!
In the spirit of growth, if you or anyone you know has any interest in joining the choir, please get in touch with me at connor.fluharty@ good-samaritan.org.
What are your other musical endeavors?
As much as I like directing choirs, sometimes it’s fun not to be in charge! I love accompanying soloists whenever possible, and I also sing with the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, which performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I also still love playing the piano when I need a break from the music that’s for “work.” Lately, I’ve been delving into the piano music of Francis Poulenc.
What, besides music, do you enjoy doing for fun?
I always have some sort of ongoing literature or movie-watching project; watching all the films of one director, for example, or reading through some author’s works. Right now, I’m slowly chipping away at the novels of Henry James and John LeCarré in between other readings. I also try to stay plugged into local independent movie theater programming, and am looking forward to visiting some of the theaters around the Main Line!
Lent is coming up quick. What are some of your recommended Lent listens?
Well, the choir will be singing Kyrie and Agnus Dei from Louis Vierne’s Messe Solenelle in March, so check that out. The Kyrie is austere but also very loud, and always says Lent to me. It’s a little scary, but then the Agnus Dei is so beautiful and lyrical, they work very well together in a service. The Verdi Stabat Mater and Poulenc’s Seven Reponsories for Tenebrae are both Lenten church music for the concert hall, and I’m a big fan of both. I’m also planning to play an arrangement of Were You There? by American composer Leo Sowerby, whose compositions a friend of mine calls “liturgical jazz,” so keep an ear out for that!
CHECK OUT CONNOR’S LENT PLAYLIST CREATED ON SPOTIFY FOR GOOD SAM LISTENERS
Stories Unearthed: Ginny Guyer
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE, WITH JESS CAMPBELL AS INTERVIEWER AND LARRY MCGILL AS VIDEOGRAPHER
The Church of the Good Samaritan has a long and rich history. Much of that history is still alive in the experiences and memories of our parishioners. We want to steward those precious stories well at all times, but especially in these months leading up to the celebration of our 150th year. We are pleased to share the first installment of an on-going project to “unearth” the treasure that lies buried in our past. In order to help make our church stories durable and accessible, we will offer them in print and as we get closer to the 150th Celebration, we will release video interviews as well.
When my husband Jonathan and I first visited The Church of the Good Samaritan twelve years ago, we brought with us three young children and an infant daughter. Because of the long drive between our home and Paoli, we did not think we would “set our bags down,” as Fr Ellsworth is fond of saying. We imagined we were simply visiting a church so many friends in so many different places had told us was special. But the welcome we received turned that first visit into a final visit, and we have called this church home ever since. Now that I have watched the inaugural video interview for our forthcoming church history project, I can understand more clearly that the welcome we received was the fruit of many lives and much prayer. For us, and for many, that fruitfulness was distilled into the figure of one gently smiling woman in a rocking chair: Ginny Guyer.
That winter of 2013, Ginny welcomed me and my daughter Elsa into the infant and toddler nursery ministry which she was then tending and would go on to tend until the pandemic paused many of our programs. I encourage you to watch the filmed version of Ginny’s interview, when it becomes available, to hear more about her vision for the nursery as “a place of rest” for parents and children and a place of formation where even our current director of children’s ministry was welcomed as a teenaged volunteer. When I heard Ginny describe her 43 years of ministry to mothers and their children in the nursery on Sunday mornings, I could see with more clarity that the life of our church is like a beautifully woven fabric: someone invites, someone disciples, someone says yes, and someone is faithful, and in all of it God’s spirit is at work. We are, to use Ginny’s words, “knit together” through prayer and service.
Ginny herself first came to Good Sam as a teenager in 1974, having been invited by a friend to attend the Prayer & Praise service held on Friday nights in the church. Ginny’s face lights up when she explains that “it was hoppin’!” It was, she says, a formational experience for “all ages and stages.” She was a teenager who had not been raised in any church, but she sang, and prayed, and read Scripture with a diverse crowd that included twin sisters, Charlotte and Alice, who were then in their 90s.
I once heard Ginny describe our church as “the place where we grow.” I thought of that as she shared the story of her own spiritual growth over a lifetime spent in this church. The Church of the Good Samaritan is the soil where many have grown into Christlikeness. It matters that we listen to the testimonies of how that growth happened, in order to go on tending the ground of our community for abundant future harvests.
One of Ginny’s favorite memories from her early years in the church came each year as midnight approached on December 31. People would come, Ginny says, from their parties and their homes, dressed in blue jeans or mink coats. When the new year arrived, it
found a motley group standing shoulder to shoulder singing and sharing Communion. People wanted to be in the church, and they wanted to be together. Ginny credits this with her own formation as a Christian and as an Episcopalian. She learned, she says, simply by taking part. When she first came to Good Sam, morning and evening prayer were offered daily as was the Eucharist, and she attended everything she could. She even made the decision to move from her home in Newtown Square to Paoli because she wanted to be near the church. Showing up, getting involved, and simply participating: this, Ginny says, is what creates the bonds of friendship that help strengthen a church in everything it undertakes.
Through Ginny’s colorful, tender storytelling I could see again the beauty of the lives we live together as those baptized into Christ. Our lives are ordinary, but they are infused by the extraordinary love of God and the extraordinary presence of his spirit in our midst.
Ginny is an active member of the Order of the Daughters of the King of the Episcopal Church, formed at our church in 2003. Daughters take vows and follow a Rule of Life centered around service and prayer. I know from personal experience just how vital their prayers continue to be for our entire church family. Listening to Ginny, I caught a vision for how varied our participation in church can be across our lifetime. We can root ourselves in one place, embracing the church as family as Ginny has done, yet our service might be as wide-ranging as Ginny’s has been: worship leader, nursery volunteer and staff, acolyte (which taught her so much about the rich meaning of our liturgy), choir member, and a Daughter of the King who, along with her order, prays faithfully and through service has connected our church with those in need at the Coatesville Veterans Hospital.
I’ve always believed that church is meant to be a new kind of family, but listening to Ginny share about her years at Good Sam helped bring my abstract idea to vivid life. She speaks candidly about what it is like to be a single woman in the church, why she has never considered leaving Good Sam even during harder times of clergy turnover, and why churches need fun family gatherings that are welcoming to all, married
CALLING ALL 25+ YEAR MEMBERS!
As we prepare to celebrate 150 years of The Church of the Good Samaritan, we want to hear from those who have been part of our journey for 25 years or more! Your stories and memories are a treasured part of our rich history, and we would love for you to share them with us.
If you’re willing to contribute your story and reflections, please contact Melodee Dill Stephens, Creative Director, at melodee@good-samaritan.org.
Thank you for being part of the Good Sam story!
and single, living with children and without. After all, in the church, we become family, and this is a blessing to each of us, whether we live alone and are familiar with loneliness or live with children and are familiar with weariness. Through Ginny’s colorful, tender storytelling I could see again the beauty of the lives we live together as those baptized into Christ. Our lives are ordinary, but they are infused by the extraordinary love of God and the extraordinary presence of his spirit in our midst.
Our life in the church might feel habitual and ordinary for years, but our faithful participation could be preparing us for some of the most pivotal moments of our lives. Ginny’s life of belonging at Good Sam prepared her for just such a moment. She calls it her “adventure” because, with the support of a whole church family, she was able to care for a young boy named Conner. Perhaps one day, Conner will tell his story, and we will hear again a tale of buried seeds and fruitful lives. Well done, Ginny Guyer. And thank you. We echo your prayer that in another 150 years, The Church of the Good Samaritan will be “as filled with love and prayer and the Holy Spirit… as it always has been.” Amen.
FROM WAITING WELL TO
BY JESSICA CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MINISTRY
In my early 30s, I was extremely active in my church and its young adult ministry. One day, several of us were talking with one of the pastors’ wives when the conversation turned to those of us feeling like we were aging out of this “18-30ish” ministry we were so plugged into. “What comes after Young Adults? What does the church offer next?” we asked. Without missing a beat she jokingly answered, “MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).” We all laughed, and then fell quiet with the realization that we were aging out of our strongest faith community without the required husband and children to enter into a new one.
If a church has a strong coed young adult ministry, it can feel like an even more gutting loss to see your peers who are partnered appear to more easily find community in the church as you mourn the loss of yours. Consistently feeling like you don’t have anything to contribute to conversations that largely center marriage and parenting can feel isolating.
Oftentimes, the Church as a whole doesn’t know what to do with single people. Granted, marriage is a great metaphor for us—we are the Bride of Christ, aren’t we? But singleness also plays a role in the story of our faith. Two of the most profound and incarnational ministers we meet in the Bible—Paul and Jesus—were single, as were countless other followers of Christ throughout history.
Single adults make up a smaller percentage of church populations than married adults. That’s simply a statistical fact, for a myriad of reasons. Because of this, single adults are consistently engaging with sermons peppered with marriage anecdotes, or even entire series on healthy marriages or families. Couples seldom have to hear from the pulpit a caveat like, “Married people, this might not apply to you, but stay with me here,” but the inverse is often true for singles.
All of us—single or married— can relate to the pain of unfulfilled desires. Proverbs 13. 12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” So how do we reconcile faith with the reality that sometimes “seasons of waiting” do not come to a preferred ending?
And in a recent social media post, Pastor Ian Simpkins, Lead Pastor of Teaching and Vision at a church called The Bridge, noted that for every Christian book on singleness there are 298 Christian books on marriage.
Being single in church can be hard. Single adults often end up sitting alone in church and at church-sponsored events more than people in family units. Searching on Google, I noted that churches are more likely to host a marriage retreat than a men’s, women’s, or coed adult retreat. Gender-based ministries seem to venture into discussing motherhood and fatherhood more often than friendship, loneliness, or navigating the dating world. Young singles get told to “wait well” for their future spouse, and singles past a certain age can feel pitied and danced around in a way that feels strange for the Body of Christ.
In his post on singleness in the church, Ian Simpkins went on to say, “The Church doesn’t always do a great job talking about singleness and often more is communicated by our silence than anything.” This resonated with me, but also, I think sometimes what we are saying isn’t the best, either. I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve been asked at church “How are you still single?” or told “Don’t worry, God knows the desires of your heart,” or “Just keep running after God, and eventually you’ll turn to the side, and the guy keeping up with you is the one for you.” It might be comical if I didn’t also find it troubling, and hurtful.
So why talk about this here, with the beloved community of The Church of the Good Samaritan? This isn’t to suggest we aren’t providing an amazing church community to all of our members and attenders! I firmly believe we are, and that we are consistently trying to improve in doing so. Rather, this is an invitation to a conversation for any church seeking growth in the depth and width of its community. The way we engage with those with a lived experience different from the majority will matter to the life of the church. If marriage and family is viewed as the most blessed way to be a Christian, even tacitly or unconsciously, what does that do to our understanding of discipleship and community? How does it instruct our theology of hospitality and
welcome? How does it inform our understanding of Jesus’ words in John 10. 10: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”? What does inadvertently touting marriage as not just a sacrament but a spiritual achievement say to those who feel like they are still “waiting” to “achieve” it? And what does that say to all of our other “waiters” in the church, regardless of what they are waiting for?
There are plenty of other places we instruct people to “wait well”— in illness, job hunts, community deserts, tricky seasons of parenting, and the list goes on, largely filled by unpreferred seasons. And let’s be clear, singleness can be a choice, and it is not always an unpreferred season. But frequently, it is a particularly painful unfulfilled desire. And all of us—single or married—can relate to the pain of unfulfilled desires. Proverbs 13. 12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” So how do we reconcile faith with the reality that sometimes “seasons of waiting” do not come to a preferred ending? To stick with the singleness metaphor, what are we to do when we find ourselves not like Sarah, Hannah, or Elizabeth, but rather more like Jeremiah, Paul, or Anna? Are we to assume people did not “wait well enough” or “long enough?”
Some of us will reach forty and still be single, or quite possibly, divorced. Some will finish chemo and still have cancer. Some will search for their dream job, and still not break into the field. Some kids will not grow out of their angst and turn into adults with great relationships with their parents. Sometimes, the financial provision does not come. What of us, then? What message are we sending to others and ourselves about the accessibility of joy and the “life abundant” if our actions show we believe they are only truly accessible to the married, healed, and financially stable?
Author, speaker, and podcaster Annie F. Downs hopes to remind everyone in the church that “singleness and marriage are both reliable paths to an abundant life.” When she realized that while 46 percent of US adults are single, only 23 percent of the church is, she helped develop a community called the Single Purpose League, offering resources for pastors and church members alike on how to engage single people more fully in their congregations. She believes there are people who need to break free from when they were told they were “waiting on God’s best for them” and they “were going to get there”—because right here and now we “already have God’s best for us.”
Right here and now we already have God’s best for us.
I wonder what it might look like for each of us to shift our language from “waiting well” and being defined by our wait to “living well” and being defined by the One we live for. What does having a conversation with someone who is aching for love and community look like, when we shift to talking about crafting a life they love now, not at some distant point in the future that might not come? How might we adjust our language to help those around us hold onto the Lord’s hope and promise for a life abundant, not merely in some distant tomorrow but in the messy today? If we can do that, we can make our homes and our churches even more welcoming places for all.
Seeds of Faith
PROFILES OF THREE GOOD SAM PARISHIONERS AND THEIR BAPTISMAL JOURNEYS
Near the end of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, Mr Farebrother says to Dorothea, “Character is not cut in marble; it is not something solid and unalterable. It is something living and changing, and may become diseased as our bodies do.” And she replies, “Then it may be rescued and healed.”
I was baptized at age 16 in Lake Michigan where it meets Lake Huron, near the Mackinac Bridge.
A confusion I have had to unlearn is the notion that my growth in the faith is a progress that was kicked off, as it were, by baptism. As Robert W. Jenson observed, “This is obviously false. Baptism initiates into the life which God’s three persons, Father, Son and Spirit, live among themselves; what would we progress to from that? [my emphasis]… Baptism is always there as a fact in my past; I can always, as Luther said, ‘creep’ back to it and begin anew.” —PCE Jr
Allison Connett
Allison serves with InSight Women’s Ministry and the New Chapel Band.
My parents chose to have me baptized when I was four months old by Fr Dan Sullivan at Good Samaritan on September 30, 1979. As an infant I formed no first-hand memories of the event, however, I have seen the pictures with enough regularity to feel as though I can remember the celebration. And I have no trouble imagining my church family crying out, We will! when asked if they will do all in their power to support me in my new life in Christ, because I can attest to this being proven true many times over the years.
My baptism was the result of my parents’ faithfulness and desire to both commit publicly to, and ask for their church community’s support in, raising me in the faith of Christ. There is something deeply meaningful about knowing their hope for me as a child was captured in the liturgy of the baptismal covenant and I understand their decision to act on my behalf as one of love, trust, hope and faith. It was a small seed that was planted for me and which represents the blessing of faith within my family and the hoped-for trajectory of my future.
Has the seed my parents planted through my baptism born fruit over the years?
I believe it has, by God’s grace alone, because Philippians 1. 6 says I can trust that God began a good work in me and that he will carry it on until it is completed. It has not been an entirely linear progression, but in the moments when I have been able to show love in response to pain, kindness in the face of need, patience in times of frustration and inconvenience and confusion, or self-control when I feel justified in my greed or anger—this is the evidence
Allison (center) with husband Tom (left) and their children, Carter, Olivia, and Landon
Allison’s Baptism September 30, 1979
of God in my life and the Spirit bearing fruit despite myself. These are the moments when I don’t recognize myself but rather the Spirit of God working through me. Trust me, my natural response looks more like an eye-roll and a dramatic exasperated sigh. So when God breaks through and uses me, I’m reminded of the seed planted long ago through my baptism, which was cultivated into a personal decision through confirmation and continues to grow into a life-sustaining faith. Thanks be to God. My favorite line in the liturgy of Baptism comes at the end when the priest says “you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” I have a plaque hanging near my mirror so I can be reminded daily that there is no greater gift than the truth of knowing I am “marked as Christ’s own forever.” This is not only a reminder of my identity but a framework of hope to be lived out each day with everyone I encounter.
Eliza Yates
Eliza is actively involved with our Sunday School, and attends the 9 am service with her family.
To me baptism means a gateway between faith and “non-faith.” Think of it this way— you start at a door. You open it by talking to Minister Phil about baptism. Next, you enter the door by saying yes to your mom and dad that you want to get baptized. As you’re walking down the path of baptism into the door of faith by preparing to get baptized, your grandmother comes up from North Carolina to watch her grandbaby get baptized. The day of the baptism, you say your vows and in the passageway, you’re opening the door to faith. Finally, you get drenched in water by Phil. You are in the door and in the realm of GOD.
Adam Kunz
Adam serves as an Alpha Table Leader and attends the New Chapel service.
I was baptized as an infant at Good Samaritan in 1981 and confirmed as a teenager. It isn’t an event that I remember, but it is something I’ve thought about throughout my life. I think about it every time our church does baptisms. It resonates with me that my parents and godparents wanted to seal me as God’s own to be brought up in the Christian faith. It means so much that they chose to be witnesses for me. They took on the responsibility to pray and care for me, and nurture my faith as I grew.
It’s a powerful moment, watching the entire congregation reciting the baptismal covenant together. We agree to renounce Satan, reciting our beliefs and agreeing as a community to raise our children with these same beliefs. I often get teary eyed during baptisms for this reason. We’re washing away the sins of man and anointing new Christians with oil, marking them as Christ’s own. It gives me goosebumps.
I feel incredibly blessed that our church said these words when I was an infant. Everyone in unison agreed to raise me in the church. And they did. So many people at Good Sam have impacted my life. Through their example, advice, and testimony, they’ve shown me that the key to everything is LOVE. God’s love for us teaches us how we should love one another.
My relationship with God has had many ups and downs. At times, I have stewarded God’s love well, and at times I have squandered my blessings in moments of weakness. My early life was closely protected, and I wasn’t exposed to the temptations and sin that separate us from God’s love. When I left this church community, it was easy to wander off the path. Even in my wandering, I always believed. I always had this church and its people. They were always waiting with open arms, like the parable of the prodigal son. We all make mistakes, and get lost. But in baptism, we are agreeing as a community to create a foundation that supports each other’s faith journey.
God’s love is the greatest gift I have ever been given. Being baptized started my life of faith with the strength of Good Sam’s community. The song “Holy Water” is very meaningful to me. Its words resonate in my daily life. His forgiveness “is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips/Like the sound of a symphony to my ears/Like holy water on my skin.”
I was forgiven and sealed as God’s own as an infant and through the grace of God, I am forgiven and cleaned. His love and grace make me want to be a more Christlike example to those whom I have promised to help raise in the Christian faith. The baptismal covenant we recite shows how we’re supposed to do this: “We will with God’s help.” I am so thankful for everyone that has done that for me and I am so grateful I can do it for others.
Eliza Yates (center) with her parents Jonathan and Bess Yates
Good Sam News
A Conversation with Mary Cramer, Parish Nurse
You’ve been at Good Sam now for about six months. How has your experience been so far?
I have been so blessed in this role thus far. Even more than I could have imagined. I love the traditional role of nursing in the clinical setting, and I also love Jesus Christ and my faith. This role provides me the opportunity to combine two things that hold such importance in my life. I have been honored to meet people throughout the community and to hear their stories. To help in whatever small ways I can, even if that is simply to sit and listen or hold their hand while offering up a prayer. It is a blessing for me personally and professionally.
What would you say are the highlights of your ministry?
Nursing provides the opportunity to give a voice to those in need. To be their advocate, to minister to others through physical and spiritual care, and to spend time listening to what it is that they truly need in this moment. Then to go about putting the puzzle pieces together that provide them with whatever that is. That is the part about nursing that I love. Putting those puzzle pieces together and creating a true connection with others.
Are there any challenges you’d like to share?
As with all nursing roles, the challenge of time constraint is always an issue. A question of, How do I do this role to the best of my ability in the time I have allotted? Trying to be thorough, efficient, and genuine in a short amount of time is always the goal.
You’ve talked about your commitment to patient-centered care— can you tell us a little bit more about what that means?
The term “patient-centered care” means just that, keeping the person being cared for as your central focus, unwavering even as circumstances change. Throughout the business of caring for others, we as caregivers can easily get caught up in the minute details, tasks, mishaps, etc. And sometimes we can lose focus on our original and most important intention: to truly see those in need and to provide care that is therapeutic to them. Not to let the stress or circumstances dictate the care. To truly see others through the thick of circumstances and do everything we can to help them.
You interact with people during some of the hardest or most challenging seasons of their life. How does this impact your faith?
I was blessed to serve as a nurse in the hospital for 15 years, working with people of all ages and all states of health and disease. It was both a blessing and also very humbling to walk so closely next to strangers in
this way, during some of the hardest times of their lives. Through illness, remission, cure, and sometimes end of life. I could feel God’s presence very closely during this time.
I then experienced a life-threatening illness at the age of 36 which left me disabled for a period of years afterward. It was during this time that I became closest to Jesus Christ. He drew very near to myself and our family, providing for us over and over again. I dedicated my life and our family completely to Christ.
Both my work and personal experiences have enriched my faith significantly, allowing me to understand the closeness of God. His presence in our lives always. In our struggles, our illnesses, our successes, and our joys. In the end of life, and in life. God is always so very close to us.
Is there anything else you would like us a congregation to know?
I am truly blessed to be here at Good Samaritan, serving in this role. It is an answer to prayer for myself and our family. I am honored to serve next to the people here and to walk beside you all. Thank you.
Mary Cramer (center) at her Good Sam Commissioning on September 1, 2024, with Marcia Wilkinson (left) and Fr Ellsworth (right).
CONFIRMATION
On February 2, Good Sam parishioners Heather Dill (far left) and Bette Ferris (far right) were confirmed by The Rt Rev’d Daniel Gutiérrez at Episcopal Church of the Trinity, Coatesville. Strengthen, O Lord, your servants with your Holy Spirit; empower them for your service; and sustain them all the days of their life. Amen.
Men’s Breakfast
BY JONATHAN PURIFOY
Glen Loch Chorale
The Glen Loch Men’s Chorale was founded by Good Sam organist Gary Gress in 2010. This choral ensemble of men performs challenging and quality literature, composed or arranged for male voices. On February 16, we were pleased to welcome the Chorale here at Good Sam, for a concert of classical repertoire of men’s choral music, both sacred and secular. The ensemble is comprised of professional and semi-professional singers, many of whom are active in their local church choral programs, bringing their unique experiences and backgrounds together for this joint venture. For more information, contact richard.zuch@good-samaritan.org.
Men’s Ministry Dinner
As my kids have grown and started to move out of our home, finding opportunities to spend time with them doesn’t necessarily get more difficult, but it changes and feels more uncertain. Where and when will we see each other and gather again? I no longer have full control or responsibility for pulling ideas out of a hat and carrying the kids off to the park, a museum, or church.
Given this season I am in, it was a true unexpected pleasure to be able to spend the morning with my oldest son at the Men’s Ministry breakfast on January 11. The philosophical and theological talk by Jonathan Yates, professor at Villanova, was the draw for my son. Two young men—well, more accurately—one young man and an aging man sitting at a table with seven other men. There was an abundance of wisdom clothed in flesh as we ate pancakes and bacon and sipped on good coffee, black. We listened to solid ideas about truth and culture. We talked about our favorite philosophers AND Eagles football (this was prior to the conference championship game… if we only knew then, what we know now), and we just sat together. Most of us got another cup of coffee as we lingered. If you didn’t want to talk, that was fine. If you had something to share, the table was all ears. If you came hungry, you had plenty of options to load up a plate. If you simply wanted to spend time with your son… well, you left full, deeply grateful for the time.
More than 40 brothers enjoyed an evening of dining, fellowship, sharing, and teaching at the Men’s Ministry Dinner on February 19. Dave Weightman offered a testimony (“whose voice was that in the back seat?”) and Fr Matthew spoke on So, What is My Soul Anyway? giving this definition from Strong’s Greek Lexicon: “Psyche (whole living being). Refers to the life force that animates the body as well as the seat of feelings, desires, and affections.” Our hearts, minds, souls and stomachs were wonderfully filled!
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Now the Green Blade Riseth
BY CONNOR FLUHARTY, DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
When I learned that the theme for this issue of The Samaritan was to be “buried seeds,” I immediately thought of the Easter hymn Now the green blade riseth, #204 in our hymnal. If you don’t know this tune, it should be easy to find a recording, or scan the QR code to listen to a version on YouTube. If you are already familiar, it’ll now be running through your head for the rest of the day! This text was written by English priest John Crum (1872-1958) and beautifully compares Christ’s resurrection with a hidden stalk of wheat pushing up through the earth. The botanical simile here doesn’t apply only to the resurrection, however. In our own lives, the season of waiting for a return of warmth, love, or some kind of balm, can feel very long and very dark, but Easter is a perennial. Here are the verses, in reverse—this reading order takes us through the personal, to the resurrection, and finally brings us to that one blade of grass.
4. When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, thy touch can call us back to life again, fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: Refrain: Love has come again like wheat that springeth green
3. Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain, he that for three days in the grave had lain, quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen: Refrain.
2. In the grave they laid him, Love whom hate had slain, thinking that never he would wake again, laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: Refrain.
1. Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain wheat that in dark earth many days had lain; Love lives again, that with the dead has been: Refrain.
This hymn is sung to Noël nouvelet, a 15th century French Christmas carol much older than these words. Verses from the original carol narrate much of the Christmas story, including elements like the shepherds and the manger, but primarily, the song celebrates the arrival of a new (nouvelet) Christmas, just like our current version rests in the promise of a new Easter. Not only that, but the French carol also features a potent botanical metaphor:
Waking from my sleep, a vision came to me; for before my eyes there stood a flow’ring tree, where on a bright red rosebud I did see.
Noël nouvelet, a new noël sing we.
This image of a red rosebud is bursting with the anticipation of Christmas and new life, while our Easter blade of grass offers a kind of relief on the other side of the Liturgical calendar.
These two carols, sung over centuries with the same tune, display their own kind of cycle: a musical cycle of a people of faith gathering to celebrate the same redemption and release year after year. A cycle that connects us to those singers and to the same earth we have all shared, and the grains and shoots and rosebuds and blades of grass that will keep on rising.
Candlemas
BY ELRENA EVANS, CREATIVE SPECIALIST
The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. With these words, nearly 150 people were ushered into a candlelight service of choral Compline in the Chapel on February 2 for Candlemas. The word Compline stems from a Latin word meaning “completion,” and the service traces its roots to the monastic office for the end of the day. It is, as Fr Ellsworth says, as if God is tucking us in for the night. Following a reception in the Atrium, this beautifully sung service was a true delight for the senses. With the soft glow of candlelight illuminating the faces of those in attendance in the historic Chapel, folks were treated to a musical setting of the entire Compline service. Peace was tangible. We are so grateful to those who brought us this night of beauty and prepared us for rest.
Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCP, COMPLINE
LISTEN TO NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISETH, PERFORMED BY THE CHOIR OF RIPON CATHEDRAL, DIRECTED BY KERRY BEAUMONT. Kerry was the Director of Music at Good Sam from 1981-88.
ADULT
The Heart Behind Prayer
BY STEPHANIE ROUSSELLE
Every Sunday at 10:15 am, parishioners gather to listen and learn in order to be changed. In a recent five-part series for Adult Christian Formation, husband-and-wife team Stephanie and Jonah explored “The Heart of Prayer,” offering personal stories, theology, tips, and resources for discovering delight in prayer.
Prayer is a mystery. Why would a conversation with a human have any influence on God’s eternal, sovereign plan? It defies logic, and beckons love. How can God, the Almighty Lord of Hosts, be this close, this personal? It defies understanding, and beckons involvement.
Do prayers really change the world, or do they mostly change our heart? Oftentimes we’re satisfied with God-and-me prayers, such as meditation or recentering. These are necessary. Prayer transforms our innermost rivers. But, when we pray for God to change the world around us, and do what only he can do, does something change? When we pray against darkness, or for healing, redemption, hope—does anything happen? When we bring before God our people dear, near and far, does it make a tangible difference in their real-life, nitty gritty surroundings, circumstances, problems, and hearts? Can we really pray heaven to earth? Does prayer like that really work?
Prayer is an invitation into a restored privilege. We get to pray. We get to change the world in his Name. The biblical mandate to rule the earth for its benefit applies to prayer, too (see Genesis 1. 26). It’s an Imago Dei kind of authority, a ruling on earth as direct reflection of God’s trinitarian character. God made us, among other things, to join him in his loving oversight of our world, as set-apart ambassadors under his authority to rule in selfless love.
Since the fall, we have been learning to make our way back into the privilege and honor of prayer. Prayer is the pathway God has laid out to get us back to his original plan, and to pray is to join him in the outworking of his eternal, redemption plan for his creation. We have received the power and privilege to intercede for this world in the Name of Jesus—under his authority. To pray “in Jesus’ name” is to pray with the authority he won back at great cost to himself after we lost it at the fall, the authority given to us by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Standing on Jesus’ victory, we are endowed with the same access to God the Father that Jesus has. We enter Jesus’ status in God’s favor, invoking Jesus’ standing with God.
We’re obviously not Jesus. But if we are followers of Jesus, every single time we pray, we come before the Father, in humility, yet clothed in the robe and crown of a King, Jesus. Prayer is the path through which we are filled with the thoughts of God, through the Holy Spirit, and can join the work of the Sovereign God in bringing his Kingdom on earth as in heaven.
God doesn’t need us for his redemption plan to succeed; but he is inviting us to join him, as his ambassadors, creating with him outposts of his coming Kingdom here and now through prayer.
Today, we are co-heirs with Christ, with access to heavenly resources that can literally change the world, in our generation. What will we do with that much authority? God doesn’t need us for his redemption plan to succeed; but he is inviting us to join him, as his ambassadors, creating with him outposts of his coming Kingdom here and now through prayer. What can it look like? What beautiful things would it do in us, our neighborhoods, and here at Good Sam? How can it affect relationships and circumstances around us, and around the globe? There’s only one way to find out.
Scan the QR code to view the videos of The Heart of Prayer series. Visit good-samaritan.org/resources often to view our growing database of sermons, classes, articles, concerts, and magazines.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
Seeds of Eden
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Gardens grow more than plants. They grow life This is especially true in a community garden, as I learned years ago gardening with neighbors in Chicago. But what grows in a community garden planted by a church on its own sacred ground? You’ll find tomatoes. Zinnias. Hot peppers, too. But step through the gate of the Good Samaritan Community Garden, and what you’ll really find is abundant life. This is the kind of fruitful, seed-bearing life that refuses to stay in one place. When Day School preschoolers plant peas, when New Chapel worshipers enjoy heirloom tomatoes with lunch, and when Food Closet visitors receive bouquets with their groceries, Community Garden seeds are carrying the life of God to new places.
Talking with two of our church’s longtime community gardeners, Nina Whitnah and Bess Yates, I heard the story of our Rector and his wife when they knocked on doors in the neighborhood that lies just beyond our church grounds. When doors were opened, the Ellsworths introduced themselves, but they didn’t hand over business cards or a printed schedule of services. They gave our neighbors scented bouquets harvested from the lavender variety ‘Phenomenal’ that Bess told me grows incredibly well in the Community Garden. I can imagine the pleased astonishment on the faces of those who reached out their hands for this gift of our garden. Color, flavor, perfume, life: these are tangible connections with the goodness and grace of our God, the first garden maker.
To keep a garden: that was one of the very first tasks God gave to the people he loved, the people he desired to be his image in creation. While we are each called to cultivate goodness in various ways, it is worth asking whether God might be longing to give you the gifts that we can only receive when our hands are
dirty with good, garden soil. The Good Samaritan Community Garden anticipates welcoming new gardeners this spring. For $50, you can be given responsibility for a particular plot. That responsibility requires commitment, and it comes with obligations to the community as a whole, but the fruits of commitment and obligation are very sweet. They taste like sun-ripened cherry tomatoes, and they look like moments of what Nina calls “holy serendipity.” Recalling one such moment in the garden on an overcast August afternoon, Nina described the unexpected alchemy of shared time, shared labor, shared laughter, and shared joy. The rain that began to fall just as the five gardeners who had enjoyed that moment together began to leave was like God’s benediction on the goodness of it all.
Every year in the garden is different. If you have never gardened before, a community garden offers one of the best ways to learn. Each season the gardeners experiment with new techniques and varieties, they pass on knowledge and seed packets, and they share tasks like watering and harvesting around everyone’s summer travel. Last year, Bess told me, she felt like a tomato farmer, the tomatoes were so abundant. Her favorite plants are the ones like Mexican sunflower and Pineapple sage that explode like late-summer fireworks. Their vigorous growth and vivid colors seem to reach beyond the road and beyond our lawns. They say: glory grows here. They say: you are welcome here. They say: join us! This church is alive.
Of course, because it is alive, the work of gardening never ends. Beautiful, buzzing pollinator beds filled with flowers, herbs, and even a few vegetables like eggplants, were recently designed and planted in order to bring more beauty and vitality to the garden. The garden paths have been cleared and renewed by hardworking gardeners in the past, and soon fences and raised beds will be ready for repair. But if you are tempted to balk at the work, if you wonder whether a “low-maintenance landscape” wouldn’t be a better choice for a church where people come and go and calendars become more and less full, I simply say, come. Visit the garden. Sit on the bench. This summer, rub your fingers on the herbs and release their scented, healing oils. Consider that our church stewards people and buildings, but we are also stewards of the land. What can this garden teach us about doing that wisely and well? This garden is a place of education, and it has a great deal to teach all of us. It is also a place of community. It is a place of hospitality. It is a place of generosity (and even partners with the Chester County Food Bank). It is a welcome sign for our neighbors and every passing motorist. Best of all, it is a remnant of Eden. Step into this garden, and you will encounter your story. You will discover the world’s story. Because Eden is our beginning and our end.
GOOD SAMARITAN DAY SCHOOL
Let the Children Come
Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. MARK 9. 37
BY ELRENA EVANS, CREATIVE SPECIALIST
“Our goal is that all children love school,” Day School Director Barb Condit said when I sat down with her recently to chat about the Day School, its mission, and particularly the role it is playing in the lives of children who have special needs.
That goal was certainly met with my children. I remember when I used to drop my middle son off in the mornings and my younger daughter, not quite old enough to attend, would dart into his classroom herself and sit down on a little wooden chair, trying very, very hard to look like she belonged there. When the teachers and I began to gently prevent her classroom doorway dash, she simply switched to dashing off into another classroom. At not even two years old, she knew: the Day School is a good place to be.
The Day School was a fabulous place for my son who has special needs. When we were heading toward a diagnosis and it felt like the pieces of my life were coming apart, I remember feeling so supported by the Day School staff. My son wasn’t even attending the Day School at that point; he had graduated and gone on to a different school. But the information we needed for services and referrals all came from the Day School. I will never forget that. It felt like they had my back.
Although the Day School is not a special education school and is not equipped to handle severe cases, many children with special needs are incorporated into the community. While children receiving special education services at the various local public schools fall in a range of 5 to 7 percent, at the Day School, that number is 10 percent. The Day School has made space to welcome
these children—literal space—in classrooms, in conference rooms where children can meet with specialists from the Chester County Intermediate Unit, and in the new sensory room the Day School shares with Good Sam’s Children’s Ministry.
Fidget toys, heavy backpacks, specially designed cushions… these are the tangible signs of what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Jesus to children with special needs. The Day School also hosts inservice trainings for their teachers, with different ideas on how to meet the challenges of children with special needs at the school.
“We have gifted teachers who love children,” Barb went on to say. “Our teachers are here because this is their passion.” And some of the numbers speak for themselves: in a field with a notable turnover rate, the Day School boasts teachers who have been on staff since the early nineties.
“We want to meet each child where they are,” Barb concluded. And if that means special instruction, speech therapy, accommodating children with wrap-around services, or just stopping a little sister from sneaking in the door… as my daughter knew, the Day School is a good place to be.
Nurturing Growth
CHRISTIAN FORMATION FOR EVERY AGE
THE GIFT OF ORDINARY LIFE
BY KIMBERLY LINDQUIST, DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES
As many of you know, I recently welcomed my third baby in the fall of 2024. As I was getting ready for my return to work, I sat down to think about the things during my time at home that I wanted to carry into “normal” life. The words that came to me were slow, ordinary, and rhythm. It doesn’t feel groundbreaking, but these words stuck with me. Those weeks at home didn’t hold a lot of excitement (besides that of a new baby, of course!). We weren’t going on vacation, we weren’t going out to eat, watching sporting events or movies. From the outside, it may have looked like we weren’t doing much of anything at all. For our family, though, we were soaking in all the quiet moments. We were forced to slow down, to stop and enjoy each other in the regular, sometimes mundane moments of our everyday lives. Even though I cannot point to specific days or events that felt over the top, I know that these weeks with my family hold some of my favorite memories as we adjusted to being a family of five.
As I’ve returned to work and am back in our children’s programs on Sundays, I realize that often the same could be true of these mornings. Of course some weeks are different, or set apart in some way, but many Sundays within our classrooms are slow, ordinary, and follow a rhythm. We gather, tell parts of the story that is really all of our Story, and we have conversations, ask questions, and build our community together.
So often it feels like we are always rushing off to the next thing, hoping to check boxes off of our to-do lists or trying to survive until next weekend. Especially as we begin the season of Lent, as you and your family think about how you’ll recognize and celebrate the season, I hope you’ll consider slowing down, not making it a checklist of things you feel like you have to do, but rather to take time to look for traditions that bring you closer to God and closer to each other.
VBS 2025: STELLAR!
We are so excited for VBS 2025: Stellar! Our program is for children entering grades PreK – 5th grade and will be held June 23 – 27 from 9 am – noon. Scholarships are available! To register, scan the QR code or visit good-samaritan.org/VBS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR FAMILY MINISTRY PROGRAMS, CONTACT KIMBERLY LINDQUIST, DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES, AT KIMBERLY@GOOD-SAMARITAN.ORG
YOUTH MINISTRY
SUMMER MISSIONS
BY JESSICA CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MINISTRY
In eighth grade I made a deal with God that I would be “all in” on my faith, but I honestly had no idea what that meant. So in ninth grade when my best friend was trying to coerce me into going on the North Dakota Mission Trip, I finally relented even though it terrified me. July 3, 1999—the day I first set foot on The Standing Rock Reservation—changed the entire trajectory of my life.
Even if you don’t end up discerning a call to vocational crosscultural youth ministry after being part of a mission team (as I did), the experience is formative in so many ways. Discipleship, leadership development, conflict resolution, understanding and use of spiritual gifts, cross-cultural communication skills, empathy building, community involvement, engagement with diversity, and an expanded worldview are just some of the benefits for those who attend short term missions. Communities served by short term missions trips are best supported by partnership-driven service repeated over many years, that collaborates with indigenous leadership to achieve their long term ministry goals.
This summer, we are again offering two great mission opportunities for youth and young adults. The Middle School Week on Mission, for students completing grades 5 – 8, is offered in tandem with Vacation Bible School, June 23 – 27, 2025, and students completing grade 9 –college grads are visiting the Episcopal Native Young Life Ministry on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, July 11 – 20, 2025.
These weeks have not only been some of the student’s favorite youth ministry events, but also the places leaders have most enjoyed getting to spend time discipling our middle and high school friends. Excitingly, this summer we are also welcoming students and leaders from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Chestnut Hill, PA) and Lutheran Church of the Cross (Nisswa, MN) to partner with us in North Dakota and learn more about developing trips like this in their churches.
Drawing from my own experience as a “sent” missionary of The Church of the Good Samaritan, I can tell you that missions changes not only communities and team members but also the sending congregations who support these partnerships and trips. In embracing the Great Commission Jesus left us with in the closing chapter of Matthew, some of us will go (giving of our time and talent), and some of us will send (giving of our treasure/resources). We invite you to prayerfully discern where you might be called to give.
We continue to be extremely thankful for the financial and prayer support our youth have received from the Good Sam community, especially in support of these missions partnerships!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT JESSICA
CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT
SURPRISED BY YOUTH GROUP
BY ANNA KOCHER, PARISHIONER & YOUTH PARENT
When I was a teenager, back in the nineties, I experienced multiple youth groups and parachurch youth organizations, but never connected with any of them. I found them a disheartening mix of absurdity and superficiality that were removed from the concerns and questions that filled my mind at that time. I didn’t understand what an embarrassing, messy game of stuffing marshmallows into my mouth had to do with worries about a friend who was struggling with self-harm or my big questions about why the world was the way it was. I would meet people at youth group who seemed like completely different people when I saw them at school. Some of the activities were enjoyable enough and some of the people were pleasant, but it all felt irrelevant to the deepest parts of me and the world I experienced.
This past summer my youngest child was old enough to participate in youth group activities at Good Sam for the first time. He went to pool parties, helped with VBS, and did the Middle School Week on Mission, which culminated in a day at Dorney Park. He loved it all. When school began, we were disappointed to see that youth group had switched to Tuesday nights. Living somewhat far from church with challenging commutes, rush hour traffic, etc., we didn’t think it would work.
I knew there was no perfect time for it; Sundays hadn’t been easy for us either, and maybe Tuesdays would be better for others. However, Jess Campbell, our youth director, told me there were a few kids my child’s age who lived near us, and asked if he would be interested in a small group—or DNA group—with students who lived in closer proximity to each other. She connected us with Dan Garrison Edwards, who has been leading my son and two others through a Bible study for the past few months. They meet at our house, so I get a window into their time together. It’s full of silliness, fun, and shared interests: fire pits and Rubik’s cubes and cookie decorating that left my kitchen with a crunchy layer of sprinkles underfoot. But they also get into the deep stuff that keeps us up at night, the kind of thing that used to weigh on my teenage mind and heart, the real stuff we wish we could protect our kids from but can’t. I’m thankful he’s making genuine connections that don’t shy away from the messiness one has to learn to navigate as a young person. I hope it will help him build relationships that support him as he walks through those inevitable challenges in his ongoing pursuit of Jesus.
Their prayer circle calmed them, and before we knew it, they had left the shelter of the overhang, pulling each other out into the wet, dancing and singing a song they had led for the younger kids all week.
I went with the middle school group to Dorney Park over the summer. It was a great day, but as we were waiting to get on our last ride, a storm blew in out of nowhere. People rushed for the exit as lightning flashed and rain poured down. There were some stressful moments as
we gathered our group to leave, careful not to lose anyone in the chaos of crowds fleeing the park, stepping under an overhang to check that everyone was there. A few of the kids in our group were afraid, but others gathered them together to pray. Their prayer circle calmed them, and before we knew it, they had left the shelter of the overhang, pulling each other out into the wet, dancing and singing a song they had led for the younger kids all week. It begins, “In my wrestling and in my doubts, In my failures You won’t walk out, Your great love will lead me through, You are the peace in my troubled sea.” It talks about God’s love leading us “safe to shore.” We watched in awe and, in my case, a tear of gratitude, as they belted out the words at the tops of their voices, holding hands and dancing in the rain.
WOMEN’S MINISTRY
Staycation 2025
BY BONNIE O’NEIL, INSIGHT WOMEN’S MINISTRY CO-LEAD
The weather in Paoli was predictably cold and windy on February 21-22, but inside Good Sam, hearts were warm and convivial as InSight Women’s Ministry kicked off our first Staycation retreat. Organized as an outreach event, we welcomed over 110 women, more than 20% of whom came from outside Good Sam.
Our theme for Staycation was Belonging: to God and One Another. Stephanie Rousselle brought us two powerful talks anchored largely in the story of the Prodigal Son. Friday night she unpacked what it means to belong to God, and Saturday she shared how we can safely embrace our belonging to one another from our posture of being God’s beloved.
As with everything we do through InSight, it was the teamwork that made the dream work! Close to 50 percent of our attendees played some role in our first Staycation— whether they were on the planning team, served on the welcome team, were a table host, a worship leader, or a workshop facilitator. Old-timers and newcomers alike linked arms and said yes to helping launch this new style of retreat for our women. Men’s Ministry even stepped in by serving the food Bruce Ackerman and team prepared and cleaning up after us!
Cheryl Spencer, attending Good Sam for more than 10 years, had this to say about her experience: “I had a blast at the Staycation! Actually, it exceeded my expectations. I made some new friends and learned some new skills. It was a revitalizing experience, and I look forward to the next Staycation.”
From the moment our guests arrived on Friday night and saw a cozy living room vignette set up for them in the middle of the Atrium—complete with sofa, tables, lamps, and candles—they knew they were in for a treat. The sense of welcome and belonging
continued with several other cozy vignettes set up across the building, including our signature pink sofa, set up as a photo booth with props right outside Ashton Hall. Hospitality was queen as the welcome team greeted guests with a cool drink, while table hosts gave a warm welcome to everyone at their table.
As with all of our longer events, careful consideration went into organizing table seating, to ensure women were from different generations and services. While we love these events to offer our women time to connect with their longtime friends, we also want everyone to have an opportunity to meet new people.
On Saturday the entire campus was alive with twenty workshops that truly offered something for everyone. The challenge was limiting ourselves to attending only three! Sessions were as varied as Israeli folk dancing, Pilates, flower arranging, intro to the Enneagram, Celebrating our Faith, intro to vegan cooking, soapmaking, and many more. It was a joy to listen to women share all they had experienced in their workshops. By the smiles on women’s faces and the sounds of laughter and enthusiastic conversation, it’s safe to say we all chased away the winter blues at our first Staycation!
IMAGINING GOOD SAM IN 150 YEARS
We invite you to imagine the things you hope will be present in our church in another 150 years, as Annika has done. What seeds can you help plant today that might grow into those fruits?
BY ANNIKA EVANS
SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2176
Though the latest church service of the day has drawn to a close, it’s only the beginning of Good Samaritan’s activity for the week.
I look down from the upper level at the bustling Sunday Lunch taking place in the Atrium. We seem to have more people every week, now that the fifth train line has been completed. It’s funny to think that at one point in our history, only one train ran to Paoli.
I intend to join the crowd in a minute, but for now, I’m enjoying the view from up here. I take in the laughter spreading through the tables like wildfire, the children happily showing off their crafts from Sunday School, the Rector cordially welcoming everyone to come and feast, just like all the great men and women whose pictures hang on the wall behind me.
“Hey! Check out what we made in Godly Play!”
My train of thought is interrupted by a small child making a beeline towards me, with a gluey paper plate in her hand and her mother in hot pursuit behind her.
“Lily! What did I say about running off?”
The girl sheepishly grins at her mom. “I did tell you where I was going! You were just too busy talking!”
The woman sighs, and I can tell she’s covering up a laugh. “Make sure you have my attention next time.”
“Okay.” Lily promptly returns to the task at hand, eagerly explaining to me how she designed her craft. While I listen to her, I catch the eye of another of my friends, a man who regularly works in our hydroponic garden, an extension of the community garden started over a century and a half ago. Some of the vegetables he’d helped to grow had been preserved last fall in our canning facility, and are now being enjoyed in today’s meal. We give each other a quick wave.
I realize that the mom is talking to me and I quickly redirect my attention.
“She somehow managed to sneak downstairs and find the veil the dancers use for the yearly performance of the Magnificat on Christmas Eve,” she explains, taking the giggling child by the hand. “Luckily, I managed to rescue it before it could get near the spaghetti sauce.”
“That’s a relief,” I say, sitting up straighter as her story catches up to me in my brain. “We’ve had that thing for nearly seventy years now. Though the tradition’s much older than that.” A tradition that dates back to the time of one train line, I think to myself.
The mother apologizes for her kid’s antics while leading her back down the stairs, and I reassure her as she returns to lunch. It’s part of our philosophy at Good Sam: that the children of a thriving church are always worth the shenanigans they get up to.
I go back to my people-watching. The priest is waving to a new family. I’d heard about them while I was helping the Food Closet this past week. They aren’t Christian, but had asked to see our sensory wing for inspiration for their own child’s sensory space. I watch as the father takes in the jovial atmosphere of the Atrium, relaxing slightly. The boy is clinging to his father’s hand, but smiling. I see what looks like a Pokémon sticker on his headphones, and I just know he’s going to be found by our youth director in no time, and will probably leave with a few more vintage playing cards than he came with.
Three centuries on, and we’re still continuing the work we made our motto a century and a half ago: to know Christ and make him known. Sometimes, it’s through directly proclaiming the Word of God. But most of the time, it’s not what we say, but what we do. We grow and give out food, both canned and freshly cooked; we’ve developed a fully functioning library of books, seeds, tools, bikes, and other resources; we have help funds and plenty of folks to lend a listening ear. We send our parishioners out into the world to love and to serve others. And we let the world find us that way. They see our love and seek out where we draw it from.
I get to my feet and go to join the crowd below. The Atrium thrums and echos with a silent command: Let my children come to me.
God used the hidden life of Joseph—buried and broken open like a seed as a slave and prisoner—to bring life to his family. It is a story that prepares us to understand how far God will go to give us the fullness of life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
JOHN 12. 24
Come and experience Holy Week as we enter God’s story of death and fruitful resurrection together.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sunday March 9 – April 6 | 10:15 am
Adult Christian Formation: Roots, Shoots, and Common Prayer
Tuesdays March 11 – April 8 | 6 pm Weekly Dinner & Lenten Series
Sunday March 16 | 6 pm
Choral Compline by Candlelight
Saturday March 29 | 8:30 am Lenten Quiet Morning for Women
Sunday April 13 | 7:30, 9, and 11:15 am Palm Sunday
Thursday April 17 | 7 pm
Maundy Thursday Eucharist With Foot Washing & Stripping of the Altar
Friday April 18 | 9 am
Good Friday: The Way of the Cross Family Service
Friday April 18 | 12 – 3 pm
Three-Hour Devotion
Saturday April 19 | 9 am The Holy Saturday Office
Saturday April 19 | 7:30 pm
Easter Vigil: The Great Paschal Liturgy With Baptisms
Sunday April 20 | 7:30, 9, and 11:15 am
Easter Day: The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ No classes for children or adults
Sunday May 4 | 6 pm
Choral Compline by Candlelight
Sunday May 18
First Communion and New Member Recognition Sunday
Wednesday May 21 | 6:30 pm Dance Ministry Spring Concert
Tuesday May 27 | 6 – 8 pm
Good Sam Youth Senior Send Off
Sunday June 1 | 9 and 11:15 am
Senior Sunday
June 23 – 27 | Daily 9 am – 12 pm
VBS 2025 | Stellar!
For additional upcoming event listings, visit good-samaritan.org/events
