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The
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VOLUME 99 ISSUE 5
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church - San Antonio, Texas ph 210-226-2426 fax 210-226-2468 www.stmarks-sa.org
Parish Life is Sacramental Life: Outward and Visible Signs Grace by The Rev. Jonathan Wickham grace emerging all around me.
any of us know the two main sacraments of the church: Holy Baptism, Holy Eucharist. Some of us can even list the remaining five sacraments: confirmation, holy matrimony, ordination, reconciliation and unction (anointing of the sick). But what is most compelling to me about the sacraments is not contained in a list. It is the sacramental life that draws me closer to God and nourishes me in faith. The sacramental life is grounded in the promise that God’s Grace is real and is very active. The Prayer Book describes grace as “God’s
favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.” God’s favor is towards us, and our awareness of God’s constant willingness to act on that favor can transform life into a wonderful journey filled with daily discoveries of outward and visible signs of God’s Grace. The search to find and to understand the outward signs of God’s grace is what drew me to church as a young person and is what still draws me today. Nourished by the stories of grace from scripture, tradition and the experience of others I find myself challenged to live constantly aware of
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As I grow in this awareness and take on this manner of seeing God’s Grace I am more and more astounded at what I see in the community of San Antonio and at St. Mark’s in particular. Countless acts of love, support, care and beauty are done every day by my neighbors. A family adopts forgotten discarded children and loves them to wholeness. An area business leader builds an amusement park just for physically and mentally challenged kids. Children collect money and topple dominos for unseen friends in a foreign land. Countless volunteers give their time to ensure that hungry people are fed. Faithful men and women tend to the linens, candles, and other detail needs for worship. Walkers, runners and friends give their very bodies on a Saturday morning in the search for a cure. A wonderful thing happens to me when I understand that these are all outward expressions of God’s Grace: I become empowered to become an instrument of grace in my own life. More and more my attention becomes focused on how I can become a sacrament- an outward and visible sign God’s Grace.
Mike’s Sabbatical Journey
Spend a While on the Nile
Graduating Acolytes
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