Today’s saint is not well-known, at least not outside of Ely, England. Born in the 7th century, she was an East Anglian princess who became the Queen of Northumbria. She was married twice, both for political reasons, but she retained her personal vow of virginity throughout her marriages. Her first husband granted her the area of Ely in East Anglia. After her second husband released her from the marriage vows, she returned to Ely to establish a monastery, which later was rebuilt as the grand Ely Cathedral. One historian described her as a “princess, wife, queen, nun and abbess, enjoying every possible position of power a woman could claim in early Anglo-Saxon England.” In reflecting on her life, we remember a woman who had all sorts of pressures and expectations – familial, political, cultural – and yet she remained true to her discernment of Christ’s call for her life. She is a witness to us as an inspiration to do the same amidst the pressures and expectations in our own lives.

Major feast this week: The Nativity of John the Baptist, June 24

*The Veram Vitam group at Greensboro airport*

We pray this week for our Veram Vitam youth in New York City. They had a safe journey and have already spent time in prayer and service.

*The Veram Vitam group volunteering in NYC.*

This past week, we were pleased to welcome two new altar servers: Melissa Slayton is on the rota for the 7:30am mass and Tom Baldwin is one of the weekday mass servers. If you feel a tug toward this ministry, please be in touch.

Last Sunday concluded with a glorious Evensong and Benediction. We had seven members of the North Carolina Region of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in attendance. Two of the members read the lessons. We had a very good attendance and lovely reception afterwards. This Sunday we have another evensong as we highlight the ministry of the Guild of Blessed Alcuin. Lea Thullbery recently painted the mirror in the ECW to reflect the “Club and Stone” gathering spot after Evensongs. Why not make this a part of your Sunday, in addition to mass in the morning? It’s a wonderful liturgical aperitif before your dinner and a great way to begin the week.

We are very happy to report that we have dates for the Holy Land in 2027! If you are interested in going June 9-20, 2027, please be in touch with me.

Around the campus:

The Our Lady of Salem Shelter for Women is getting an office in the under croft. They will be in the room that previously stored audio/visual equipment and where we filmed the podcast. We received no damage from Monday’s storm, but we are having to remove some dead trees on our property that might fall on our neighbor’s property. We’ve had some questions about the electronic locks. The locks themselves haven’t been changed. That will occur at some point, but we don’t have a quote. We are still tweaking the locks and doors in some places. As you might imagine, we have four buildings of varying ages and conditions. Nothing is simple! We are lucky to have John Rak, who preserves our buildings with care and saves the church a great deal of money. We are also gathering multiple quotes for the replacement of the HVAC unit in the Chapel. Mercifully, Sunday’s temperature was quite comfortable, and we trust that we can continue to worship in the Chapel on Sunday morning. Wednesday at noon, however, will prudently be in the Church.

We recently updated the St Timothy icon to improve the shape of the chasuble and to add the lappet on the mitre.

From the Rector

Picnic in the Park