Grounded in Grace

Restoring the Past, Welcoming the Future

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:30:32 GMT

REstoring the Past, Welcoming the Future

Generosity is in St. Mary’s roots. From Sarah Gibbs’ initial bequest to the recent renovation of the rectory, we have reaped the benefits of past generations and shared our own gifts for future ones. Recently, Lynne and David Burke continued this legacy by making possible the restoration of the door on the south side of the historic church.

While Lynne and David may be newer members to St. Mary’s, their roots are deep here. Lynne’s grandfather, the Rev. Canon Arthur Roebuck served as the tenth rector of St. Mary’s, and Lynne’s mother Ellen Anne Roebuck was born during that time and went from the hospital to the rectory. Lynne’s mother, grandparents, and aunt and uncle and their spouses are all buried in the church yard.

When the need to restore the church door, which is over 100 years old, arose, Lynne and David stepped forward to fund the project in memory of Ellen Anne Roebuck. Lynne shared, "We have made this gift to celebrate my mother’s deep Christian faith and lifetime bond with St. Mary's and as a reflection of her warm and welcoming personality."

As in any home, the front door of St. Mary’s is the first impression of our commitment to both the community that has gathered and prayed in this church for almost two centuries as well as to those who come to worship today. Allyson at Scott Doors and Windows of Warren went deep into the bones of the doors to skillfully restore them.

The work on the doors involved carefully removing the doors so as not to damage the old latches and hinges and bringing them to Allyson’s shop. At the shop, she was able to pull off some of the relief and assess the damage. There was extensive rot where water had accumulated behind the moldings as well as at the base of

the door. Allyson replaced the rotting portions of the door core, scarfed new veneer onto the areas that were beyond repair, and then created a finish that blends the old with the new. The epoxies that were used in the repair of the doors should provide a long-term repair that future generations can enjoy.

St. Mary’s has been an important part of Portsmouth and the surrounding community for 179 years. We are blessed to be stewards of this property and for maintaining and preserving it for future generations. The costs of doing so go beyond the routine cost of operation, and the generosity of parish members such as the Burkes that allows us to take on projects like this.

The door before and after the restoration.

The Keys to the Kingdom are in our Hands

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:41:47 GMT

THE KEys to the Kingdom are in our Hands

The classic 1944 movie, The Keys of the Kingdom , starred Gregory Peck as an elderly Scottish priest, Fr. Francis Chisolm retired from many years as a missionary to China. He had returned to become pastor of his home parish. In the opening scene, an officious monsignor has come down from the diocesan office with a plan to remove Fr. Chisolm from the parish partly because of some unorthodox messages in his sermons. Reportedly, Fr. Chisolm has suggested such ideas as that Buddhists might have something to teach us and that there might be room in heaven for atheists.

The core of the movie unfolds in flashback when the monsignor finds and reads Fr. Chisolm lifetime diary recounting his years of struggle in China and his humble, loving, sacrificial service. Having the full story of Fr. Chisolm’s zeal and humanity, the monsignor changes the order to retire the former missionary. Here was a case in which a Hollywood film could steer us toward a more complete understanding of this weekend’s gospel message about the keys of the kingdom.

The reading from the Hebrew scriptures can introduce the theme. In the passage from Isaiah, the prophet speaks to a people who have spent two generations as exiles in Babylon after the destruction of the Jewish kingdom. He assures them of the promised return and rebuilding of Jerusalem. They should place their hopes and confidence in the power and compassion of God.

In the gospel Peter, representing the community of disciples, proclaims his faith in Jesus. In response, Jesus promises Peter “the keys of the kingdom.” This passage has unfortunately prompted countless wrongheaded cartoon interpretations. They show Peter standing at the pearly gates deciding who gets admission to a cloudy heaven. In reality, the image of keys of the kingdom has a much earthlier meaning.

I am not a fan of rewriting scripture or making my own unauthorized edits to the Book of Common Prayer . But Sunday after Sunday, I wish I could make one minor edit to the Lord’s Prayer, just moving one punctuation mark. (This is legitimate, I argue, because the original scripture texts had virtually no punctuation parks.) Here is my minor rewrite: from “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” to “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”.

My punctuation emphasizes that the heavenly kingdom comes when the will of God is done here on earth. In parable after parable in the gospels, Jesus gives us images and stories expressing the meaning of the kingdom. The common thread is that the kingdom is filled with the mercy, love, and compassion that Fr. Chisolm sacrificed so much for during his mission in China. (Incidentally, we will be exploring that common thread this coming fall in the parish Friday morning bible study on the Parables of the Kingdom.)

When I was a boy, we would sometimes experiment with toy magnifying glasses. Taking the light from the sun, we would concentrate it enough through the glass to set fire to leaves or scrapes of paper. I find in that an image of the presence of our loving God in Jesus. The light of God is so concentrated in the compassion and love of Jesus as to set the fire of the Spirit ablaze in the world. In the church, disciples of Jesus have the power to spread the blazing love of the Kingdom here in our place on earth. Through its outreach and pastoral care St. Mary’s spreads that love in many ways, and I have been a grateful recipient over the past weeks following my surgery.

The great priest, scientist and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once expressed this visionary hope for the love of the heavenly kingdom here on earth:
Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for the second time in human history, man will have discovered fire.

Questions for Reflection:

When you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” what do you imagine God’s kingdom looking like in the world around you?
Fr. Chisolm’s life challenged conventional ideas about who belongs within God’s embrace. Where might God be asking you to widen your own understanding of welcome, compassion, or belonging?
What are some ways you have experienced the love and compassion of God through the actions of another person or a community?
If we have been given “the keys of the kingdom,” how might you use your own gifts to help unlock God’s mercy, love, and compassion in the world this week?

The Gift of Being Seen

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:10:07 GMT

THE GIFT OF BEING SEEN

Many of you have read the book, Theo of Golden . One of the gifts Theo offers the other characters in the book is the gift of being recognized. After purchasing their portraits on the wall of the coffee shop, he bestows these works of art to the people whose image has been drawn. In these meetings Theo tells the people what he sees in them - their qualities, their gifts, even their sadness. It is interesting to notice how the gift of being recognized transforms them.

Sometimes being seen, especially through the eyes of another's loving kindness, can help us to see ourselves with more care and confidence.

This week the miracle stories continue in the Gospel of Matthew. We move from the feeding of the "more than" 5,000 to the miracle of Jesus walking on water. The disciples are in a boat being battered by wind and waves. Jesus comes toward them, but they do not recognize him!

They think that the one walking on water is a ghost. Perhaps the unsettled waters and wind along with the distance from shore robbed them of their imagination. They couldn't imagine Jesus coming to their help because they were anxious and worried. As fear often does, it clouded their vision and dimmed their hope. They did not recognize Jesus, their leader, their teacher, their friend. In their stress they made something up about seeing a ghost.

How quickly they had forgotten what had happened in the presence of Jesus the day before! Not only had Jesus healed the sick, thousands of them, but he had fed the multitudes with nothing but a couple of fish and five loaves of bread. It had been day of miracles after miracles!

We can't blame them, because much of the time, we don't recognize the presence of the divine when it is in our midst. We get caught up in our fears far more easily than we remember the blessings and security we have in Christ.

This is one of the reasons our life together in community is strengthening for our faith. In our fellowship we remind one another to recognize God at work in our midst and in each other. When stormy, grievous and fearsome things arrive, we calm one another with loving kindness. We pray for miracles and sometimes we experience them. We practice recognizing one another as those made in the image of God, and this transforms us.

This week we have had a great time together sharing fellowship with each other and the wider community at our Garden Party and again at the outdoor concert with Barfly. Next week, we will discuss Theo of Golden and share fellowship at the rectory. Perhaps this will strengthen you in some way as you recognize yourself as one who is made in the image of God. And this might just open your eyes to more of the miracles God is bestowing.

Reflection Questions:

Who has helped you see yourself with greater kindness or confidence? What did that person recognize in you that you may not have recognized in yourself?
When fear or uncertainty takes hold, what becomes harder for you to see? Like the disciples in the storm, are there times when anxiety has made it difficult to recognize God’s presence or remember past blessings?
How does being part of a community help us recognize God at work? When has another person helped you see hope, grace, or possibility that you could not see on your own?
What might change if we practiced truly “recognizing” one another as people made in the image of God? Who in your life might need the gift of being seen, valued, or reminded of the goodness you recognize in them?