Today we welcome the Rev. Liz Parker as our new Associate Rector! We will pray for her new ministry with us, and I hope that you will greet her warmly when you meet her after worship. Look for her in the church office, beginning September 1.

Today is also Serve Sunday! At the end of our liturgies, we will be sent out as teams to serve the community that surrounds us. There will even be opportunities to serve right here on Palmer’s campus between the 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. services, including kid-friendly ones that families can do together. It’s an invitation to be the church in the world around us. After all, this place is not a destination in a life of faith but a starting point as we are sent out in the name of Christ.

Today we also return to our regular Sunday worship schedule with Holy Eucharist at 7:45, 9:00, and 11:00 a.m. in the church and 6:30 p.m. in St. Bede’s Chapel. While that evening service is organized by the Episcopal chaplain for the students and faculty of Rice University, it’s open to all of us and, in fact, recorded in our parish register. If you enjoyed the use of incense in worship over the summer, consider coming to the late morning service, where incense, like our prayers, rise in the liturgy year round. So choose a service to attend that best fits your schedule each week and join us!

— The Rev. Neil Alan Willard, Rector