Dear St. Augustine's 'ohana,
In a conversation this week, a friend was lamenting the state of the world. “I think I was born at the wrong time,” she said. “What makes you say that?” I asked. “Fear,” she answered.

As events continue to unfold across our nation and the world, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met this week in Maryland. In her opening remarks, House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris said, “This is not a moment of chaos. It is a moment of consequence. The tactics we are witnessing are not random. They are strategic: deliberate efforts to co-opt public institutions, erode the rule of law, and blur the boundaries between faith and state... These are hallmarks of what scholars call theocratic and state capture—the systematic merger of religious and political authority reshaping how power operates in our world.”

Amid this climate of fear and manipulation, we turn to scripture that grounds us in something deeper. On Sunday, we’ll hear of Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem, knowing the cost of love yet moving forward with unwavering commitment. He invites his followers—then and now—to do the same: to let go of what gets in the way of love, and to trust the deeper current of the Spirit.

This story invites a question worth sitting with: What do we need to release to live more fully for love—not fear?

Sometimes the greatest obstacles to Divine love aren’t external forces, but what we grip inside:

• our expectations
• our assumptions
• our need to be right
• our judgment of others
• our fear of getting it wrong
• our clinging to what once made us feel safe

The Spirit calls us to let go—not into apathy, but into active, intentional love. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reflecting on the image of the Water of Life—the water of our baptism that connects, nourishes, and teaches us how to live in the flow of grace. Like water, love flows in the present moment. It doesn’t cling to the past or force the future. It meets the moment fully, offering itself without fear. To live for love is to loosen our grip. To live with love is to let the Spirit guide our steps.

As Paul reminds the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”

So may we ask ourselves honestly: What needs to be released in me today, so I can live more freely in love—and not in fear?
Blessings,
Vicar Jennifer

P.S., Mahalo for reading this message! I send my thoughts on the coming Sunday's scripture lessons in our weekly e-newsletter. If you'd like, you can sign up here to receive it. My e-message is usually a sneak peak of the coming Sunday's sermon, so if you're curious to hear more, head to our Facebook page for our livestream or go to our YouTube page to view past services. As always, I would love to see you in person on a Sunday! And please let me know if you'd like to talk about anything I've written here.

Please feel free to pass along this message or use what I've written. Please ensure proper attribution to the author, whether that's me or another writer. I often quote folks whose wisdom I admire! Blessings on your explorations in Spirit, and I look forward to walking with you on your journey!

Dear St. Augustine's 'ohana,
This week’s scriptures invite us to explore pathways to unity through the inner healing of Christ's divine light. At first glance, the stories in Psalm 42 and Luke 8 can feel distant—one is ancient poetry about a soul thirsting for God, the other is a dramatic tale of demons and deliverance. How do these passages speak to our ordinary, modern lives?

The psalmist reminds us that our soul longs for us to connect with the Divine within. Through the wild tale in Luke 8 about a man possessed, we are shown that we can be inhabited by a legion of voices. In our increasingly chaotic world, systems of politics, money, and social status wield power and distract us from our soul's identity and purpose. Today, just as in Jesus' time, loud and relentless voices try to name us, shape us, and scatter our sense of self.

These stories invite us to a sacred practice of clearing. We can step away from the noise by:

• Taking a break from the stream of headlines and commentary. Not because we don't care, but because we do, and care needs space to breathe.
• Beginning the day with stillness rather than reaction. Even one deep breath, one moment of quiet, can return us to ourselves.
• Paying attention to the voices that live inside: Are they kind? Are they true? Are they yours?
• Allowing tears come when they need to. In Scripture, we see that longing and weeping are not weakness—they are sacred prayers that help us see the chaos inside ourselves and release it with compassion and love.
• Remembering you are not required to save the world on your own. You are not Legion. You are not the noise of the world. You are one soul surrounded by people ready to do the inner work alongside you. You carry God's love and you are carried by it. Call on the Christ consciousness that lives in you and all creation.

​The man in Luke is restored not by effort, but by encounter. The psalmist finds hope not in answers, but in trusting that presence will return. These stories speak to us still—calling us to clear the clutter, to name our longing, and to be met by the One who sees us clearly and calls us beloved.

Like the psalmist, we can name our longing. Like the man filled with "Legion," we can recognize the voices that distort our true selves. Jesus meets us in that place—not to condemn, but to restore. As we are healed and cleared, we become vessels of light, capable of love and unity not based on sameness, but in the unity of shared Divine presence.
Blessings,
​Vicar Jennifer

P.S., Mahalo for reading this message! I send my thoughts on the coming Sunday's scripture lessons in our weekly e-newsletter. If you'd like, you can sign up here to receive it. My e-message is usually a sneak peak of the coming Sunday's sermon, so if you're curious to hear more, head to our Facebook page for our livestream or go to our YouTube page to view past services. As always, I would love to see you in person on a Sunday! And please let me know if you'd like to talk about anything I've written here.

Please feel free to pass along this message or use what I've written. Please ensure proper attribution to the author, whether that's me or another writer. I often quote folks whose wisdom I admire! Blessings on your explorations in Spirit, and I look forward to walking with you on your journey!