Summer Sunday mornings at 9 am​ · Details

  39 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760  ·   (508) 655-5880  ·     Give

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
  • Welcome
    • Welcome from Our Rector
    • I'm New
    • What is the Episcopal Church?
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Vestry
    • Life Events
    • Our Ministries
  • Worship
    • In Person Worship
    • Online Worship
    • Nightly Compline
    • Music
    • Sermons
    • Life Events
  • Grow
    • Children & Youth
    • Adult Formation
    • Bible Study
    • Centering Prayer
    • Fellowship Groups
    • Thursday AM Coffee Chat
  • Faith in Action
    • Serve with Us
    • Work for Justice
    • Holy Innocents School, Haiti
    • Our Ministries
  • Connect
    • Prayer Request
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Parish Directory
    • Vestry & Delegates
    • Stewardship
    • Calendar
    • Contact Us
  • Give/Pledge
    • Donate Now
    • Stewardship 2022
    • Pledge Now
    • Stewardship FAQs

Rector's Reflection: On Ashes and Blooming

Dear Friends,

Ash Wednesday this week felt like the first Ash Wednesday I have really experienced in a long time. For various reasons, I have not officiated an Ash Wednesday liturgy in full since 2018.

This week with you, was thus like a coming home, a returning.

At noon on Wednesday, some of you, and some folks from the neighborhood who I haven't met, and folks on-line, began Lent together. At 7pm, with the choir in the transept, three acolytes at my side, and the congregation somewhat full, it felt like a robust gathering. We were together to name our mortality, name our belovedness, name our need to re-calibrate our lives toward love when we are pulled off course; and name the pain and suffering of the world, the weight of the world on our shoulders, the need for gentleness this Lent.

As I drew crosses on your foreheads, I was overcome by a sense of the Holy in the room, in you. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" brings to the forefront of the mind that we will one day stand at one another's graves. We will at some point commend one another's bodies back to the earth where God can take the molecules of you and of me and weave them back into the grass, the flowers, carried by the bees to make something new. And until then, we do the best we can. We aim to heal what is broken. We find soft places to land. We seek out the healing light of love and endeavor to expand it.

At Christmas, one of you gave me a wax bulb. It bloomed, and wilted, and was trimmed, and now it is in mid-bloom again. We are people who are dust, we have wilted, and we have been trimmed, and as we begin Lent again, with embodiment, connection, touch, and ashes, I feel we could bloom again.

Yours in Christ,

becky-signature_997


Tags: Events / Rector's Reflections

The Rev. Becky Gettel
Rector

    The Rev. Becky Gettel

    Rector

    The Rev. Becky Gettel joined us in March 2020 as Rector of St. Paul’s. Raised in RI, Becky went to Rhode Island College for her degree in Art Education, but detoured to Togo, West Africa to volunteer with the Peace Corps before launching into her teaching career. When she returned, she taught art for a short time, but ultimately became a Director of Christian Formation which led her to seminary. She attended the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge and received her Masters in Divinity in 2012, the same year that she began an eight year long ministry as Associate Rector of Trinity Church in Concord. Becky is delighted to have found St. Paul’s and to live in Natick now, in our rectory, with her trumpet-playing husband, Greg, and their two children. When not on Zoom, the Gettels are having a great time getting to know Natick by bike, foot, and kayak.

    Sermons

    • Mar 6 | The Rev. Becky Gettel
      Wilderness: Lent 1
    • Jan 9 | The Rev. Becky Gettel
      Baptism: Go With the Flow
    • Jan 2 | The Rev. Becky Gettel
      Epiphany
    • Dec 24 | The Rev. Becky Gettel
      Christmas Eve
    • Dec 12 | The Rev. Becky Gettel
      Dear John

    © 2022 St. Paul's Episcopal Church
    39 East Central Street · Natick, MA 01760
    (508) 655-5880
    Privacy Policy · Powered by Membership Vision

      View Entire Post

    Service Times

    9:00 a.m. In-person & Live-Streamed Service:

    Join with the community of St. Paul's Natick as we gather for our Sunday morning Eucharistic Liturgy. During the months of July and August we gather at 9:00 a.m. in our lower church Sherrill Hall space - where it's cooler! This service runs about an hour long. Masks are currently required. As an added bonus, we are able to sing together because we are masked.


    Our in-person service is available to attend virtually as a Zoom webinar and is also live-streamed to both our YouTube and Facebook pages so that you have a choice of platforms!

    Location

    St. Paul's Episcopal Church
    39 East Central Street
    Natick, MA 01760

    Contact Us
    (508) 655-5880

    Newsletter Signup

    Welcome in Love I'm New Life Events Leadership What is The Episcopal Church?

    Whoever you are, wherever you come from, and wherever you’ve been, we welcome you. Whatever your race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, we celebrate you.

    Whether you wonder what an “Episcopalian” is, or have been one since birth, there is a place for you here. In this place, there is room for your questions, your stories, your laughter, your doubt, your grief, and your most authentic self.

    You’ll find kindred spirits here and people who think differently and still love you. We’re here for your spiritual shelter to help you on your journey. There is forgiveness here. And Grace. And Joy. And Love. And God.

    You are welcome here. Come as you are.

    Welcome Covid Protocols

    St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a dynamic and growing community located in Natick, a western suburb of Boston (also known as Metrowest). We are a diverse group of people, united by a common purpose: seeking to live out lives that respond wholeheartedly to the love that God has for us in Jesus Christ.

    You do not have to be a member of the Episcopal Church to participate in worship and ministry at St. Paul’s.

    Learn More

    Baptism. Communion. Marriage. Funerals. At these special times, we celebrate them as sacraments. According to the Book of Common Prayer, sacraments are "outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace." We look forward to sharing with you in these special sacramental moments.

    Learn More

    Our clergy and staff love and serve the people of our parish and our community. They help all to Welcome in Love, Worship with Joy, Grow in Faith, Work for Justice, Seek and Serve Christ in All Persons.

    The vestry is comprised of nine members, three of whom are elected every three years to three-year terms. Additionally, there is a junior and senior warden, a treasurer and assistant treasurer, and a clerk. Vestry members provide leadership and guidance for all of our ministries.

    Clergy & Staff Vestry Directory

    We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.

    We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

    Learn More
    Donate Stewardship 2022 Pledge Altar Flowers

    Thank you for your support of the mission and ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

    You can make an online donation via ACH Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card or PayPal account by clicking the button below!

    Please note, you may direct your contributions to a variety of funds through the online link.

    Donate Now

    This year we started discussing how Stewardship is about more than money. It’s about giving our time, talent and treasure to take care of the world that God has created for us.

    As God’s people we are stewards of God's creation.

    Consider Stewardship as giving back to God that which God has already given to us.


    Find out more about our 2022 Stewardship campaign

    Episcopal churches are self-funded. St. Paul’s relies on Stewardship pledges to fund nearly 80% of the operations of our church life.Your pledge allows the Vestry and Finance Committee to prepare a sound, realistic budget. Thank you for your commitment to St. Paul's. To learn more, visit our Stewardship page as well.

    Make your Pledge Online

    Altar flowers beautify the Church and are an excellent way to give in memory of, or in honor of a family member or a friend. Currently the cost of Altar flowers are $35 per vase. There are slots available for two vases per Sunday, except on Palm Sunday when there are only palms and on Easter and Christmas Eve when there are multiple donors. After the services, the flowers are given to those who are sick or shut-in, unless otherwise requested by the donor.

    Sign up to Donate Altar Flowers