The Rev. Canon Lisa Hackney-James Returns from Sabbatical
March 20, 2020
in which he assures the Christian community that nothing can separate them from God’s love:
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39
Greetings all!
I have returned from a sabbatical leave that turned out to be a bit shorter than planned! I am grateful to be back with you and joining with my colleagues in ministry in responding to the remarkable circumstances in which we find ourselves. Not even two weeks ago, as I was preparing to go away on sabbatical leave, I experienced some anticipatory grief knowing that it would be a challenge to be away from this community of people that I treasure for several weeks. As it turns out, I simply could not have imagined what was to come. That soon, all of us would be undergoing a time of physical separation from our church home; that we would be facing an indefinite time away from our beautiful cathedral, yes, but all the more so from the community of wonderful souls that make up this place. The fact that this separation comes at a time of significant personal and societal disruption makes it particularly hard to bear.
One of the most urgently felt needs during a crisis, great or small, is the desire for the human connection that we so happily experience with one another at St. James in ordinary times. And while we are physically apart for a time, we remain members of the Body of Christ. We belong to God. We belong to each other.
To maintain our community connections, members of Cathedral Chapter, the Invite Welcome Connect leadership team, and the cathedral clergy will work to be in touch with all those who are part of the St James family. We will be reaching out by phone and other means to check-in in the coming days and ask how it is going with you and your loved ones. I expect that when we emerge from this time apart and rejoice to gather again in person that we will be more closely knit, having developed new and deeper connections along the way.
Looking forward to being in touch and remaining connected!
Lisa