St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

The decennial Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops is in session July 16 through August 3, 2008. Please pray for our bishops and for the Anglican Communion.

At St. Paul’s Parish today, Tuesday, July 22, 2008:

• Al-Anon meeting at 7:45 p.m. (in the Parish Hall).

The Summer issue of St. Paul’s Sword of the Spirit, our monthly newsletter, is available on line, as are the calendars of parish events for July 2008 and August 2008.

Today’s news in the Episcopal Church - Episcopal Life Online.

On the calendar tomorrow, July 23, 2008:

• Evening Prayer at 6:30 p.m. (in the Worship Space or the Parish Hall);
• Midweek Discussion Groups at 7:00 p.m. (in the Parish Hall);
• Overeaters Anonymous at 7:30 p.m. (in the Common Room).

Today in the Episcopal Church we commemorate a New Testament saint, Mary Magdalene.

As Wikipedia informs us:

Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted disciple of Jesus. She is considered by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches to be a saint, with a feast day of July 22. She is also commemorated by the Lutheran Church with a festival on the same day. The Orthodox Church also commemorates her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, which is the second Sunday after Pascha (Easter).

Mary Magdalene’s name identifies her as “of Magdala” — the town she came from, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee — and thus distinguishes her from the other Marys referred to throughout the New Testament. [Note: Though some earlier interpreters blended the person of Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene and the sinful woman of Luke 7:36-50, current scholars believe she was a different person.]

The life of the historical Mary Magdalene is the subject of ongoing debate, while the less-obscure development of the “penitent Megdalene”, as the most beloved medieval female saint after Mary, both as an exemplar for the theological discussion of penitence and a social parable for the position and custody of women, provides matter for the social historian and the history of ideas. (Read the entire Wikipedia article on Mary Magdalene here.)

According to John 20:1-2, 11-18, Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after he had been raised from death. And her announcing to the disciples that she had “seen the Lord” has led to her becoming known as the “apostle to the apostles.” As the “apostle to the apostles,” Mary Magdalene was called as a witness to Christ’s resurrection and to proclaim to others what she had heard and seen. As a woman of faith and devoted disciple, she serves as a model for us today in sharing the good news so that lives can be changed by an encounter with the gospel message and the risen Christ.

The following is the prayer for today from Lesser Feasts and Fasts:

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.