Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:2

In French, they say, “Good day” or “Health!” In Hebrew, “Peace”; in Hawaiian, “Love.” In English, we say “Hello,” the strange telephone greeting that only barely won out over Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred suggestion for how to greet a caller: “Ahoy!” (Is it possible we missed out on having a smartphone called the iHoy?)

The Church, though, has its own greetings: “Grace to you and peace.” From the earliest letters of Paul to our modern-day “passing of the peace,” we recognize that it’s not enough for us just to say “hello” to our family in the Church. It’s not enough just to acknowledge one another’s presence with an “ahoy” as we pass by. We offer one another grace; we pray for one another’s peace.

Well, I’m here now, settling into my new office, getting ready for our first Sunday service together, and looking forward to meeting and greeting you all.

It’s a strange time to become your rector, but I wanted to share with you a few ways we can get to know one another: 
1. I’ll be hosting a weekly Zoom “Coffee with the Rector” on Wednesdays, from 8:30-9:30am. Feel free to drop in for a few minutes before you log on to work or after you’ve sorted the kids out for school, or come and stay as long as you’d like. Click here any time between 8:30am and 9:30am this coming Wednesday morning to say hello!
2. I’d love to meet one-on-one for a Zoom or phone call, a conversation outside in the Garden, or a walk somewhere around Charlestown. You can email me at rector@stjohns02129.org or call the office at (617) 242-1272. Both Priscilla and I will be in the office on Tuesday from 9am until 2pm.  We can also access voice mail remotely, so feel free to leave a message as we both continue working primarily from home.
3. We’ll be organizing a few group get-togethers in the coming weeks and months, on Zoom or outdoors. Stay tuned for dates, times, and details on how to sign up.

Finally, of course, I’ll be leading our Sunday worship every week, so I’ll look forward to seeing you there, in person or virtually. I can’t wait to get to know each one of you, and to have to opportunity to say hello. But for now, I’ll just say…

Peace,
Greg