Letter from the Rector – October 19, 2025

Dear Friends of St. Paul’s,

Deacon Sue and I spent the past few days with about twenty other clergy from the Dioceses of Northern Indiana and Indianapolis—staring, for hours on end, at a block of wood that would eventually become an icon of Jesus the Pantokrator. The process required incredible patience and precise instruction—both of which, at several points, I wasn’t sure I possessed.

At one moment, I was convinced I’d finally succeeded in transforming Jesus’s mitten-shaped hands into something that actually resembled human ones—only to realize I had accidentally given Jesus six fingers! I dissolved into laughter, but my heart also sank, feeling momentarily like a failure. That feeling didn’t last long; a quick swipe of paint covered the extra finger, and the work went on. But it captured the range of emotions that marked the experience—frustration and joy, humility and wonder, all mingled together.

At the final Eucharist, all of our completed icons surrounded the altar. Though each of us began with the same line drawing of Jesus the Pantokrator, every icon was unique. Each one reflected its maker’s heart, hands, and prayers. It reminded me how God reveals God’s self to each of us in deeply personal ways.

When it came time to pick up our icons to be blessed, I almost didn’t recognize mine. Enough time had passed since I’d last stared at every imperfection that I could now see it differently—from a distance, no longer fixating on flaws, but seeing only Jesus the Pantokrator, Sustainer of the World.

May Jesus sustain us all.

In faith, love, and service,

holly+