14 March 2023

Jennie Hilsee 1924-2023

Jennie Hilsee

1924-2023

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant Jennie, and grant her an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth
and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

It is with profound sadness that I share with you that our beloved Jennie Hilsee died on Sunday evening, March 12th.

Jennie was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, church leader, Sunday School Leader and a beautiful soul who I was blessed to get to know over these last six years as your rector. Living a blessed 97 years, Jennie was a blessing to everyone.

She was the beloved mother to Marietta, Don, and Sue, and was a integral part of the fabric and community of St. Mary's for many decades as a leader in the Daughters of the King and as a leader in our Sunday School. Several of our adult members had Jennie as their Sunday School teacher, and she had a profound effect upon them, as she had on all who knew her and loved her.

Funeral plans are still being made, but I wanted to let you know this sad news, but also to encourage you to reach out to Marietta in this time. I am including some photos of Jennie from the recent past (when I was visiting her), as well as a few years ago at a gathering of the Daughters of the King, and some wonderful photos of Jennie teaching Sunday School over the years.

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray thee, with all those who mourn, that casting every care on thee, they may know the consolation of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Please say a prayer for our beloved Hilsee Family,

May God bless you and keep you always,

Fr. Peter+

The Reverend Peter Carey

Rector, St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Cathedral Road, Philadelphia

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11 March 2023

Holy Week Schedule at St. Mary's ~ 2023

10 March 2023

Everyday Pilgrims, by Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

The image on the left shows a glimpse of a cactus. The image in the center shows pilgrims walking on a road in the midst of a green field. The image on the right shows a glimpse of stark trees against a gray winter sky.

Week Ten: Pilgrimage

Everyday Pilgrims

Father Richard often teaches that God can be sought and known outside of traditional church services and forms of prayer:

Every day, we are given a natural way to reconnect with God that doesn’t depend on education. It doesn’t depend on getting a degree in philosophy or theology, living in a particular period of history, or believing in a specific religion. It depends on really being present to what is right in front of us. As Paul says, “God has made it plain” (see Romans 1:19–20).

The missing element for many of us in the developed world has been contemplation, which allows us to see things in their wholeness and with respect (re-spect = to see a second time). If we were to spend time in nature, alone like Jesus or the Desert Fathers and Mothers, we would know many of the same things religion has been trying to teach, but we would know them on a cellular level, on a physical and energetic level. That kind of knowing does not contradict the rational; it’s much more holistic and heartfelt. There is nothing that is not spiritual for those who have learned how to see. [1]

Pilgrimages, big and small, can allow us to experience God’s presence on the “cellular” or energetic level that Father Richard describes. Pastor and author Brett Webb-Mitchell suggests how we might make pilgrimages a regular part of our lives:

A pilgrimage need not take place in an exotic, faraway locale. It need not take a whole week or two. It can take place in our backyards, in our neighborhoods, around our churches and retreat centers. One doesn’t need to be wealthy to be a pilgrim. One simply needs to have a purpose and place in mind where one can go in order to experience the Holy.….

A pilgrimage is more than just a hike, a walk, a run, a bike ride, a vacation, or a journey…. Pilgrimage is the state of mind and heart or spirit that changes the vacation, the hike in the woods, the long kayak journey along an intercoastal strip of water, the ride out into the country, the walk to a friend’s house, the errand in the middle of the day, the walking of a dog, the 5k run or marathon … into a pilgrimage in which one encounters the Holy. Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast describes this very sentiment: when the pilgrim sets her foot on the ground, every step is a goal, and the pilgrim says “now, now, now”; she is living in the present and claiming the presence of the Holy God now in her midst [2], upon this soil, fully cognizant of the sacred land she walks upon…. Whether we are on an actual pilgrimage or perceive that the road of life we are on is our pilgrimage, each step, each move one makes is blessed by the Spirit. For both an actual pilgrimage and the pilgrimage of everyday life is a journey of faith. [3]

[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, A Spring within Us: A Book of Daily Meditations (Albuquerque, NM: CAC Publishing, 2016), 63, 64.

[2] David Steindl-Rast, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness (Ramsey, NJ: Paulist Press, 1984), 131, 133.

[3] Brett Webb-Mitchell, Practicing Pilgrimage: On Being and Becoming God’s Pilgrim People (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2016), xviii, 8.

Image credit: A path from one week to the next—Benjamin Yazza, Untitled 2, used with permission. Les Argonauts, Camino de Santiago, Unsplash. Jenna Keiper, Winter Bird. Used with permission. Click here to enlarge image.

On pilgrimage, people are changed through the simple act of walking.