 At our relaunching groups workshop last week, the conversation returned more than once to celebrating the "weirdness" of Christian life and practice. I've noticed "Weird" becoming a term claimed with pride by active liturgical Christians who are young enough to be used to an environment where churchgoing is a bizarre exception to the norm. (See: Weird Anglican Twitter.) Episcopal novelist and journalist Tara Isabella Burton (born 1990) has written, "If Christianity is not both true and weird, why believe in it (or identify with it) at all? ...[if churches are merely] places you go to get 'good values' or 'community,' no more or less ontologically meaningful than, say, a volunteering session? Once Christianity abandons its fundamental weirdness, then there is no reason to choose to sit in a pew for an hour or two on a Sunday rather than, say, going to SoulCycle, or practicing a more immediately beneficial form of self-care." I believe there is a reason to choose to sit in a pew on a Sunday, a crucially important one: because Christianity is true. (And weird.) |
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SUNDAY MASK POLICY
 In accordance with new CDC and local guidance, Emmanuel will again now require everyone to wear masks at our indoor group events, including Sunday Mass and all other liturgies, until further notice. Thank you for proactively loving your neighbors in Champaign County by masking up when you are in Emmanuel buildings!  After interviews with staff, reference calls, and auditions with the Emmanuel Choir, Mother Beth has called Nicholas Pothier as our new Choirmaster beginning in August. Nicholas brings 13 years of church music background, including service as music ministry director at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Hampstead, New Hampshire. He is currently a DMA student in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying at the University of Illinois. Please make him welcome
SUMMER BOOK
 To help us reawaken love for Jesus in the Eucharist, our summer book this year, by noted spiritual writer Henri Nouwen, has been With Burning Hearts, which can be purchased online wherever you normally get your books. Homilies in August will focus on its themes. There's still time to read this beautiful and direct devotional work before we begin holding discussions after Mass on August 15 and 22!
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