Dear friends & family,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s probably passé to start these things with an apology for not writing sooner, or enough, but here we are. Much has changed and is changing for our family in these past couple months, and the discipline of habitual writing is one I’ve let guiltily slide. There’s far too much to say in one newsletter’s worth of content, so I’ll keep things (relatively) brief for now, and make a promise to devote myself anew to the good work of writing—more often, and better.
Here’s a picture of Eleanor and Ames in apology and hope:
A confirmation of calling
Last Sunday I officiated my first wedding.
There was a moment, immediately before the service, where I walked out of the 'green room' and stood alone in front of the congregation. I was waiting on the signal from the wedding coördinator to get things started, but everyone figured my entrance meant it was showtime, so a hush fell over the sanctuary and all eyes shot forward.
My general public-speaking strategy is to not think all that closely about what I'm doing until it's over. This is pretty much possible until you're in front of a silent room of more than a hundred people, and you realize, "Wait, I'm in charge here, aren't I?"
Several thousand deep breaths later, the wedding ceremony was actually underway. And as it began, I was given by the Holy Spirit a presence of mind and heart that I didn’t know I needed. Any nerves melted as the dew, all meta-cogitating on the monumental task was quieted, and I simply was a minister of Christ’s Church, doing the good work of preaching the gospel to which Holy Matrimony points.
It certainly helps that, as an Anglican minister, I get to lean pretty heavily on the Book of Common Prayer, with its stately cadences, its earnest wordings, its unrelenting gospel. But if you’ve been in many liturgical services, you know that the prayers can sound canned, the stately liturgy can become stultifying or stilted. But the Holy Spirit was so kind in letting the ceremony be a true and undivided prayer, and in letting me lead it with clarity, gravity, and grace.
I was present to the couple, to the congregation, and to the presence of God in that sanctuary. In leading the congregation through prayer and the couple through vows, and in preaching the gospel of God’s love which alone is stronger than death, I felt entirely confirmed in my calling as an ordained minister.
And I give God praise and honor for this good gift.
(If you’re interested in reading my wedding homily, it’s published here.)
The minister, the happy couple
Our Old Cahaba Home
Just over two months in, and we’re just beginning to settle in to our new Birmingham home, not far from the Cahaba River. The first thing to be said is that we’re genuinely, unreservedly grateful to have a home we can call our own. We’ve long longed for a place on earth in which to plant ourselves, and begin the patient work of settlement.
I will also admit freely, though, that this house has undoubtedly been our greatest source of stress. We’re probably just learning all the über-basic lessons of home ownership that literally every person who’s ever cared for a house learned long ago, but man, there’s just a lot that goes into running a house (from keeping the water out to getting the smells out).
The actual closing on the house was an unmitigated disaster (but makes for a rather dull story). When we finally got the keys, the power had been shut off for a week such that it was somewhere north of 87 degrees inside and the un-powered fridge had molded over. After a wretched night of bleach-scrubbing, we quickly learned that the previous residents had considered cleaning (of any sort) was really one of those optional things in life, and had opted to not.
So began a long month of deep cleaning—scraping and scrubbing and installing and painting and scrubbing again—interspersed with lovely, humid Alabama heat, the slow realization that many of the familiar trapping of life are gone, and an ER-visit-inducing illness (which thankfully was not COVID and which just I, and not Erin or the kids, received). My anxiety (about the house, the move, the trajectory of my entire life) got the better of me more than once, but Erin was a rock—stalwart, calm, pressing on with prudence and courage. And Eleanor and Ames provide a model to us all of receiving each day’s graces with faith and gratitude.
A guitar break, in between projects.
The projects are far from finished, but we’ve been, again, abundantly blessed with help—especially labor help from our families, and also some dear friends. About a month in we decided that, working bathrooms or not, it was time to have people over. So we’ve enjoyed our first forays into extending hospitality.
Furthermore, the weather is finally cooling—at least occasionally—and we’re able to spend time exploring our woods, dining al fresco, and having pretty much nightly bonfires. There are mornings when I look up from some seminary tome to watch Erin and Eleanor and Ames enjoying a morning walk around the property, and I’m filled to bursting with thanksgiving unto God.
Please come visit! Seriously, visit.
A course of study
And, of course, I should mention that my seminary studies—the putative reason for which we moved—are underway! And going exceptionally well! I’m taking four courses this semester: Patristics, Old Testament Theology, Greek Exegesis, and Spiritual Formation.
Each course has its own particular savor and substance, and it’d be wrong to pick favorites (but OT Theology is my favorite). I was expecting a lot of work, but seminary is a lot of work (at least if you’re doing it right, which I’m certainly trying to). I’m writing this at 10:56pm right now because I spent the day taking a Greek midterm, attending chapel, and attempting to read all of 1-2 Kings, associate commentary, and Athanasius’ On the Incarnation (plus answering response questions, and I’m procrastinating on my Spiritual Formation reading until tomorrow afternoon).
Again, I’ll be honest, I struggle often to rest in the fact that seminary study is my vocation these days—seminary, though a lot of hard work, is also just really fun. It seems like I should be having a worse time. But I’m not. I’m daily engaged and excited by new dimensions of the Bible, of the Gospel, of the character of our steadfast God. There’s so much beauty and truth in Christ, which has been diffused and refracted in so many ways through his Church, and I’m eager to share it all with the world. (Which I’ll hopefully be doing some more of here.)
Erin’s also a taking a theology course! It’s on the Megilloth (ask her what this is), with my Beeson mentor, Dr. Gignilliat.
Thanksgiving
Allow me to take a quick moment to thank you for your support. I can’t put all the emotions we’ve felt of late into adequate words, but in the midst of an ocean of anxiety and discomfort and doubt, we have undoubtedly felt the buoying love of your prayers and financial support.
We couldn’t (and wouldn’t) be doing any of this without you. Please know that we thank God for you, who have been a direct means of grace to us.
Prayer Requests
The best way to support us is to join with the Son in remembering us before the Father. If you’d like to pray with and for us, here are some things you can remember:
a continued healthy pregnancy for Erin and our child
that Eleanor and Ames would grow in the grace and knowledge of God, in love for one another, and in obedience to Erin & I
that we would find habits of life which grow virtue, kill vice, and make us a more sincere image of Christ
that we would settle fully into our home
that Erin would be able to start up her ceramics again in earnest
that we would make good friends in Birmingham
that we would be presented with opportunity to witness to our neighbors
that our financial needs would be met
that God would prepare the right part-time job for Zack
We’d also like to pray with and for you! If you’re reading this, you’re probably already in our prayers, but we’d love to know more specifically what we can pray for. You can text us, of course, or you can email us prayer requests at clemmonsonmission@gmail.com
Status Board
Reading: the Old Testament, mostly. Erin's working her way through Dickens' Great Expectations, and I'm revisiting Marilynne Robinson's Home in preparation for the forthcoming Jack.
Listening: I've been supplementing my Patristics class with the Century episodes (“The First Century,” “The Second Century,” &c.) of the Word & Table podcast. Also, both Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens just released new albums, so I feel like dissociating and I’m back in high school (in the best way).
Watching: Erin and I treated ourselves to a 7-day free trial of PBS Masterpiece so we could watch the new season of Endeavour which... was about worth the price of admission.
Food & Drink: We’re in the middle of painting our kitchen cabinets, so our cooking is in no small disarray. I will say, though, our parish here, Christ the King, stepped in with a meal train when I was in the ER and recovering from my illness, even though we’d only been in Birmingham a week. So, strong recommend on meal train ministries.
We’re the Clemmons family–Zack, Erin, Eleanor, and Ames–living & studying & working in Birmingham, Alabama for sake of God’s Kingdom.
If you’d like, you can support us financially as we navigate this new season on mission, without incomes.
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