Folks,
Deuteronomy 18:15-20 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 Psalm 111 The lessons for this Sunday include from Deuteronomy Moses saying that God would raise up his replacement since the people wanted such a leader, and from Mark's gospel, telling of a healing by Jesus in the Temple. They also include the famous notion (and a favourite of mine) in the Psalm that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; * those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever." where "fear" is often understood as "respect", which the website catholicstraightanswers.com augments as a "reverential fear", and a "gift": "So, we begin with the gift of fear of the Lord. This gift enables a person “to avoid sin and attachment to created things out of reverence and love of God.” Primarily, this gift entails a profound respect for the majesty of God who is the supreme being." But today, as so often, it is Paul's writing to the church in Corinth that catches my interest, with its particular warning about the (false) pride of those who think they have all knowledge. In particular, this line "Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him." seems to me once again a clear warning against that false pride that might leader into claiming they no more than they do, and in particular with reference to matters spiritual, the real subtext when speaking of food. We all seem to like to find a leader with self-assurance who can calmly sort out our situations and lead us as Moses had done for so many years with the tribes of Israel. But Paul's message is a clear warning. Paul goes on to add another warning, that this pride of limited human knowledge might become a stumbling block to others. He tells of those whose "conscience" (thought process) is weak who could be swayed by a strong leader like him, and vows therefore to "never eat meat" (here from a temple offering, but indicating a spiritual meat as well) not wanting "one of them to fall", them being his family, the body of the church. We would encourage all to test our leaders - and ourselves - to make sure such a false pride in (limited) knowledge will not cause harm to ourselves and family - the family of God in Christ. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts Events As always, we refer everyone to the Deanery calendar at https://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/74061144 a part of the SLO Deanery websites at www.sloepiscopalians.org This week, as an example, we single out the events at St Pauls Church in Cambria where in that calendar we see St Pauls has regular services this Sunday at 10am with visitation by Bp Lucinda Ashby, as well as Morning Coffee Mon 11am via Zoom, Tues Book Club at 10am, and Wed Coffee at 10am. Other events in the Deanery include at St Stephens Church San Luis Obispo, where the 10am Sunday service is Live via Facebook followed at 11:15am Coffee Hour via Zoom, as well as Wed Morning Prayer at 12:15pm (good for you late risers!) via Zoom and Facebook Live. Note that full details of these events can be found by clicking on the entry in the above calendar. Looking ahead, we see in the St Stephens Church, SLO, newsletter that they are having a "Do It Yourself Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper" via Zoom on Feb 16 from 5:30-6:30pm where "Pancakes not required, but a jovial spirit will do! For full details go to St Stephens website under "Our Churches" tab at the Deanery website indicated above. St Barnabas Church in Arroyo Grande will again have their outdoor in the courtyard service at 9am, and at 10:30am they will have a Eucharist service at Facebook viewable later at their YouTube channel - see their websites under Our Churches at the Deanery calendar for details. Note that this Sunday their Social Coffee Hour at noon will be replaced by their Annual Meeting (and see parish website for annual meeting, etc details). St Barnabas continues with other services listed at the Deanery Calendar including the joint Wed Evening Prayer service at 6pm with St James Church and Fri Centering Prayer at 4pm, both via Zoom. St Peters Church in Morro Bay continues with a Service of Word, Song and Worship at 11am via Facebook - see details at their website as above. St Lukes Church in Atascadero continues with Sun service at 9am, Tues Evening Prayer at 5pm, Wed Bible Study at 11am and Thurs Evening Prayer at 5pm - as above, see their website / contact Fr Merritt for Zoom invites. St James Church in Paso Robles and others in the Deanery are participating in studying "Love is the Way" by Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry via Zoom with breakout subgroups (ours was with Mtr Barbara of St James) - we highly recommend this event details for which are at the parish website St James Sunday worship will be online via Zoom this Sunday at 9am, followed by Coffee Hour at 10am. Besides the Wed Evening Prayer with St Barnabas mentioned above, St James will have Bible Beat (Study) at 11 am on Thurs via Zoom. And looking ahead on Feb 17 St James tells us Deanery wide services for Ash Wednesday with Imposition of Ashes will be at noon via Zoom with a Facebook Live service at 7pm. St James asks that you come to their office on Shrove Tuesday for ashes and communion between 9:30am and 1pm or they can deliver them to your home by request to that office. If you come to the office, please deliver dried palms from last year to make the ashes by putting them in a bag on the door or in the mailbox. In their newsletter, St Benedicts Church in Los Osos lists the following EARTHCARE – ZOOM – 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 2:30pm. Discussion/action group seeking local solutions to environmental concerns. HEALING SERVICE – FACEBOOK - A time for prayers for healing at the 10:30 service on 5th Sundays. HOLLISTER INSTITUTE – ZOOM – Opportunities for stimulating discussion and thoughtful exploration. Currently: "Becoming Wise" book discussion Tuesdays at 10:15; and Bible Study of Romans Thursdays at 11am. LAUNDRY LOVE - Helping low-income families with funds, soap, and friendly assistance at Osos Clean Laundry. 4-6pm on last Wednesday PEOPLE’S KITCHEN – Providing and serving lunch at 40 Prado, 1st Saturday of even- numbered months SATURDAY EUCHARIST – Facebook – Evening Eucharist on 2nd Saturdays at 5:30pm And events on Sunday, Jan 31 at St Bens include 8:00 am – Worship service (Zoom) 9:30 am – Outdoor Service in church parking lot – weather permitting 10:30 am – Live-streamed worship service w/ healing prayers (FaceBook) 11:45 am – Annual Parish Mtg (Zoom) As above see details at the parish website/Parishes tab at the Deanery website mentioned above. Don't forget events on offer from the websites of some parishes further afield, such as Good Shepherd Church, Salinas and St Pauls, San Diego. Have a great week!
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Folks,
The lectionary lessons for this week include from Jonah, wherein "God changed his mind" about destroying Nineveh (and the narrator certainly was impressed by this large city - 3 days' walk across), along with I Corinthians, wherein Paul says "this world is passing away" - perhaps suggesting the Second Coming, but also a lesson in non-attachment, and Mark's gospel, which tells the story of the calling and ready response of several disciples, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” We were gladdened by the many expressions of UNITY at this past week's inaugural events, including the sight of three former presidents of both major parties standing together for unity. And the newly inaugurated President according to folks who watched for these things included more expressions seeking unity than any past president, beating the former leader in that department, George Washington in 1793, when he sought to hold together those 13 states. All this reminds us of the motto we quoted in this emails subtitle - E Pluribus Unum. Note that such a motto is also a good one for the church, meaning "from many, one" and emphasising how we come together with the Spirit of God> But now when all the celebrations are over, we need to be with ourselves a bit for meditation - for in such quiet moments we find our way to our God. Thus I find of great interest the appointed psalm, a portion of Psalm 62, which begins "For God alone my soul in silence waits * truly my hope is in him." The psalm goes on to give some good advice, including not putting trust in either those of high degree nor even those of low estate etc. Note that often the "bigger picture" emerges better when we withdraw from the subject a bit, and for both the church and the nation this may be just the time to do so, considering notions from folks with many viewpoints. All of the above is a good reminder that even while we do well to consider all sides of arguments, when we put our ultimate trust in the Spirit of God the description "of many, one", across all nations, will indeed be fit. May we all put our trust in the Spirit of God! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events As always, we recommend going to the Deanery at www.sloepiscopalians.org which contains links to the parish websites, and the Deanery calendar at https://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/74061144 and note that January is usually "annual meeting" season so those parish websites will contain details of the various parish annual meetings. St Barnabas Church Sunday worship includes an in-person service at 9am outdoors in their courtyard (be sure to bring your own chair), as well as online service at 10:30am at https://saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=debb1b33eb11372203a975524&id=70bed76b4d&e=acee3ced34 The congregation also has several services during the week including a "Biblical Roundtable" at 9:30am via Zoom - go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87865134138?pwd=VnV3YnVuWEFsU21vczYxRWVnUmFzUT09 [saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com] To dial in call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 878 6513 4138# and when prompted for a password put in 365072#, and then hit # a second time. Wednesday Evening Prayer with St. James at 6:00 pm – If you have a Book of Common Prayer at home that will be useful to have on hand. We will use the Zoom video conferencing service for this gathering. Click this link to attend via your computer or device: https://zoom.us/j/97618986631?pwd=QUF6aUduWE9vUFJlQ2lzbnNYaWplUT09 [saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com] To dial in call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 976 1898 6631# and when prompted for a password put in 820301#, and then hit # a second time. Friday afternoon Centering Prayer at 4pm – Each Friday afternoon at 4pm we will hold a Centering Prayer Service. After first gathering for a few minutes we practice our 20 minutes of silent Centering Prayer. Following the practice we will be reading and discussing a passage from Henri Nouwen, a modern spiritual writer. We’ll be using Draw Ever Closer, an edited collection of his prayers and reflections. We will use the Zoom video conferencing service for this gathering. Click this link to attend via your computer or device https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86777561670?pwd=OEV0ajc1WXhuSGJINTIwbU1LUWR6Zz09 [saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com] To dial in call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 867 7756 1670# and when prompted for a password put in 034979#, and then hit # a second time. St Lukes Church in Atascadero this Sunday will have morning worship at 9am and a 7pm Taize service (with wonderful singing for all!) as well as Tues Evening Prayer at 5pm, Wed Bible Study at 10am, and Thurs Evening at 5pm. All of their services us Zoom - email them at office@stlukesatascadero.org they will send you invitations to these events or go to the parish website www.stlukesatascadero.com and click the "Sign Up" button yourself. Fr Diaz at St Marks Church in King City along with St Lukes Church in Jolon tells us their Sunday Service at 10:00am will be via Zoom, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4777200535 [us02web.zoom.us] St James Church in Paso Robles has cancelled all in person events for now, but is meeting online at 9am for worship and 10am for coffee hour as well as Wed Evening Prayer at 6pm jointly with St Barnabas (see above) and "Bible Beat" bible study Thurs at 11am. For full details go to www.stjamespasorobles.org St James also tells us that they are participating in a six week study of Presding Bishop Michael Curry's new book, Love is the Way, Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times, 4pm Thursdaus via Zoom, all are welcome - go to https://zoom.us/j/92360069923?pwd=M1BEcjczamtmZkt0QnNRVTc2dXN4QT09 where the Meeting ID is 923 6006 9923 and Passcode is 980841 and note that St Lukes Church in Atascadero and St Stephens Church in San Luis Obispo are participating in this study as well! St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego will again have Evensong this Sunday at 5pm with the St Cecilia Choir of Girls and Men re-broadcasting from Cathedral Day of 2018 with music mostly of American composers. St Pauls also will have a discussion of the words from the Nicene Creed, "we believe in the Holy catholic church" even though they are Episcopalians, on Tues Jan 26 at 6:30pm. And for fun, St Pauls will gather online via Zoom to watch the movie "Ratatouille" at 6:30pm this Sunday. For their full calendar of event details, go to http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001IwBSB78gAaZRrzTs7vZv6dHlUCM6GBxFYNlbKDIsnDghptxMpcEivU6D7JxYH3SNILZaCJxl5YKDBHFCWoKPy5LbqSTfpZGTCFwAdmhFBDOlg7YtAktHhTkDC4KR6BgefSuLJQCb30ZleybF90Ch0FYI9bopFN3JgmkvHMKc1P0=&c=08mYfXvpsLvvj_7URuGdjR16vetbnfPZk46W6EghaC3MPwk8v2hjZA==&ch=bjwEEX1QyiF94V8mrsYpojmpou2GW8x_PpYI6Feus9yNBlqw9pXghQ== This past week we took in the EarthCare event with folks from St Benedicts Church meeting via Zoom and we recommend them to all interested in climate change might join in - they meet twice monthly (see St Bens calendar at https://www.stbenslososos.org/ et al for EarthCare See details for all of St Bens events, including tomorrow's worship at 8am and 10:30am on Facebook with virtual coffee hour following via Zoom. Note that while the 8 and 10:30 Eucharists are virtual, distribution of the elements will be available afterwards (no in person services this Sunday). St Ben's Hollister Institute on Becoming Wise continues Tues at 10:15am and they also have 5:30pm Vespers Tues and 11am Bible Study Thurs with a special Healing Service this Thurs at 2pm. St Peters Church pastor Padre Sid, always interested in the arts, recommends a virtual tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art called "The Met Unframed" which is available only by cell phone. Use your phone browser to search for that title and follow the instructions. More Church Humour As we mentioned some time ago, humour is an important part of being human together, and Sheila Vossler sent us a photo of a church sign which reads "TOO HOT TO KEEP CHANGING SIGN SIN BAD JESUS GOOD DETAILS INSIDE" (at Holy Trinity ROman Catholic Church in Westmont, Illinois) Folks,
Since last week the News emailings covered lessons for both that Sunday and this (with special appropriateness for this Sunday, the last Sunday before the Inaugurations and just before Martin Luther King, Jr, Day) we thought we might turn to other lessons. Warning: The subject is COMPLEX! Today we received an email letter signed by the bishops of the six California dioceses (see below for text) which struck me as an excellent prayer. The letter included a phrase once used by President Abraham Lincoln, "the better angels of our nature". It is a saying I have always liked, and which became the title of a book by Stephen Pinker. In general, the phrase suggests that we have within us a potential for good. The letter goes on to commend non-violence when working for justice much as Dr King practised, a notion I strongly agree with. But I would add that we should ask for the law to be enforced, even as President Lincoln was charged with enforcing the laws that bound these "united" states. I would also add, as those non-violent demonstrators practised, that such demonstrators, when breaking existing laws to try to change them, be willing to accept the consequences of their actions, however unjust - recall that one of our more modern saints, Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Myrick Daniels, died, trying to undo racist "Jim Crow" laws - see https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2015/08/13/remembering-jonathan-daniels-50-years-after-his-martyrdom/ Generally, Jesus followed the temple laws of his time (the very laws St Paul refers to in this Sunday's lesson, as well indicating the importance of discretion). But Jesus was martyred for "trumped up" charges, whereas those who have committed crimes in our nations capitol, including incitement, were clearly proud of their law-breaking. They need to be willing to accept the consequences of their actions. Note that I said to my sister about this that "It feels odd advocating FOR prosecution when so much of the church's modern history had been demonstrating to undo unjust laws." I appreciated her response, which emphasised the need for gentle debate and humility as well as compromise as indeed Lincoln was seeking when he used the "better angels" phrase. We also need to remember that none of the foregoing denies us the right and indeed commandment to forgive, even while the results of law-breaking are played out - such forgiveness will come from our "better angels". We believe those "better angels" are indeed in the natures of most of us - let us pray at this key moment in our nation's history that they might come forth to enable us to witness an orderly transition in Washington in accordance with the law, and yet be ready to act to ensure it will be so, while finally moving forward in unity. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events Because of the length of the "meditation" above, as well as the prayer below, we'd like to focus on just one event, even while we direct all as usual to the online event calendars of individual parishes in the SLO Deanery and the Deanery's own calendar page at www.sloepisocpalians.org - and as well as the many other parishes online as refer to on occasion. BISHOP LUCINDA TO LEAD ONLINE PRAYER SERVICE ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 19 Bishop Lucinda and the diocesan staff will livestream a noonday prayer service for peace and unity at the Presidential Inauguration. Visit the diocesan YouTube page at 12 noon on Tuesday, January 19 located at https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=b81fd700ee&e=0779c2848f From the Diocese A PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE EPISCOPAL BISHOPS OF CALIFORNIA We, the Episcopal Bishops of California, have watched the events of January 6th and following days with deep concern. As Christians we follow Jesus, who is the Way of Love. This weekend, when we remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we call upon the leaders of our cities, states and country to stand firmly in the place of non-violence, truth-telling and mutual respect. To lead from the place of non-violence is not passive acceptance of wrongdoing; it is an active call to summon the “better angels of our nature (Abraham Lincoln, 1861).” We know of the difficulty Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced, even among his own followers, as they resisted hatred and physical violence with prayer, song and marches for justice. We call on all people to embrace words and actions that are non-violent. To lead from the place of truth calls us to resist misinformation and convenient half-truths, and embrace what is real. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:32).” To do otherwise is to incite, to inflame and to spread lies. We honor the many thousands of election workers and officials of both parties who worked tirelessly, honestly, and at times in peril, to shepherd our nation through the election process. We call on all people to search for truth. To lead from the place of mutual respect is to stand against racism in any form. We cannot, any of us, ignore the role that our nation’s sad history with race has played with events in our country. As Christians, we remember that each person is someone’s child, someone’s beloved, God’s creation. When we fail to remember that, we dehumanize our brothers and sisters. In our Baptismal Covenant, we vow to “respect the dignity of every human being.” We call on all people to practice mutual respect. As we approach Inauguration Day, we ask our leaders to dig deeply into their consciences and to act with integrity to preserve, protect and defend our fragile democracy. We call on all people to pause and pray for the peace of our country, a peace rooted in the Way of Love. “The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In hope and prayer for peace and grace, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Andrus Bishop of California The Rt. Rev. Lucinda Ashby Bishop of El Camino Real The Rt. Rev. Diane Jardine Bruce Bishop Suffragan of Los Angeles The Rt. Rev. David Rice Bishop of San Joaquin The Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Brown Snook Bishop of San Diego The Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor Bishop Diocesan of Los Angeles The Rt. Rev. Megan Traquair Bishop of Northern California Dear Friends,
As I hope most of you know, we believe seriously in the separation of church and state and we endeavour to keep separate our spiritual message from our political inclinations. Finally however, the recent events in our nations capitol (and for many around the world the beacon of intelligent democracy) has moved me in an unexpectedly big way and I have to say, along with Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris, in a general response to "where do we go from here?" kinds of questions for her, "Oy!" We arose Thursday not fully aware of yesterday's proceedings in DC, and tired after nearly a weeks work and the travel to do it. Listening to our (limited) news sources however reminded me very much of the dazed feeling I felt in 1962 when President John F Kennedy was assassinated and our high-school classes were dismissed (I walked home, about 4 miles - probably good for me). As more information became available, the enormity of what happened, the blow to our system of democracy and representative government became more clear. Looking back on then still-forming attitudes towards the collective lives we lead, it seemed clear that our spiritual lives must inform our secular lives - and in particular our political lives. Note that at the end of this email we have a short message from our Bp Lucinda and another from our friend Rev Caro Hall of St Benedicts Church in Los Osos, both suggesting useful prayers at this time. The lessons for this Sunday include from I Corinthians wherein Paul says all things are lawful for him, but might not be beneficial, from I Samuel establishing him as a trustworthy prophet and John's gospel wherein Jesus, an obviously charismatic leader, gets several disciples to follow him. Such charisma is worth considering, because we have many charismatic leaders today and they along with Paul seem to think all things are lawful for them. But we are indeed called by God to evaluate leaders. religious and secular. And Matthew's gospel contains the guide "You will know them by their fruits" (Matt 7:16). The passage goes on to analogies with trees producing good and bad fruit. It seems clear that the good fruit would include bringing people together in mutual respect and love while eschewing violence. I hope at this point we can all breathe deeply and with a collective "Oy!" begin to sort out our national leadership, how we got to this point, and how we can move forward. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events While caution is key in these (hopefully) last few weeks before a large enough number of people to provide "herd immunity" have been vaccinated, several parishes are carefully proceeding with in-person events, including at St Benedicts Church in Los Osos for their 9:30 in-person service in the parking lot, followed by a 10:30 Facebook service and 11:30 virtual coffee hour. Other parishes, such as St James Church in Paso Robles, have cancelled their in-person services until further notice. For this reason we urge all to consult parish websites (SLO Deanery parish websites are located at the Our Churches tab under the Our Deanery tab of the website www.sloepiscopalians.org which includes a "Deanery Event Calendar" tab as well. Note that this month is the time for parish annual meetings, most of which will occur online at different dates and times - see the parish calendars. St Lukes Church in Atascadero will continue with their Zoom only events - see the Deanery Calendar and contact Fr Merritt Greenwood for more info at merrittgreenwood@gmail.com for details, along with the parish website. St Barnabas Church in Arroyo Grande will have an in-person service on Sunday at 9am outdoors in their courtyard. Online Eucharist is at 10:30am. See their websites for full details, including their Zoom coffee hour. St Barnabas' Wednesday Evening Prayer jointly with St James Church in Paso Robles will be at 6pm. This is the sort event bringing together yet more people that is beautifully enabled by the Zoom service. The folks at Good Shepherd Church in Salinas tell us of their monthly Forum, with this month's topic being Uplifting Humor and Goodness. The event takes place WEDNESDAY January 13, at Noon where author Reg Henry will speak on his new book "Love in the Late Edition." See full details at: https://www.goodshepherdcorral.org/monthlyforum Once again St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego will feature Evensong sung by the St Cecilia Choir of Men and Girls TOMORROW at 5pm. Light is the theme for this Sunday that falls within the Octave of the Epiphany. The introit, "Heavenly Light" is by Alexander Kopylow. The evening canticles are from the St Paul's Service by Stephen Sturk, and the anthem is the sublimely beautiful "Christus est Stella" by Will Todd. For events details go to http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ZQ7qgNRNQCWwDWyBDoMk_iGsHOs0jERl1Y-YwVJGdOZj7haEAvoR-fGNY3-cDBNakUTLPVN0tZ6G2NrD4xDDsVXAcxuTzw8T3lb-c-F3LyrqKPYT17MHnAxtWlYZ1qAVSyWPm8-giyRRDjSN98qanbB8ulhbu6I2GQ5MzOyRbe0=&c=unCXYf9_-BSQ-xa5rksZi7jloI91HsmhBs1DpbxyItp8R8Aj9c5SBA==&ch=sxacPxR0fKiGJfRrmRS1ozpDUl8CCgGDl-8EgP8YgRgOo-HjqRTOUQ== We at St Matthews will be meeting outdoors in our courtyard at 9:30am as well - bring your masks and remember extra social-distancing! Collective Prayers for the nation from the Book of Common Prayer: In a brief but heartfelt note to the Diocese, Bp Lucinda suggests "Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (Prayer for the Nation. (BCP p. 258) Rev Caro adds (also from the BCP) "Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." and "O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to your merciful care, that, being guided by your Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace. Grant to the President of the United States, the Vice-President, the leaders of Congress, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen." and Pastor Linda McConnell of Good Shepherd Parish in Salinas offers ""For those in positions of public trust that they may serve justice and promote the dignity and freedom of every person, we pray to you, O Lord." Book of Common Prayer, Prayers of the People, pg. 390 "Lord, keep this nation under your care; and guide us in the way of justice and truth." Book of Common Prayer, Morning Prayer, page 98 Pastor Linda also commends the video by our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry, on the recent events of this week. You can find it at: https://episcopalchurch.org/ Folks,
Tommorrow's lessons include from Isaiah further emphasising God's familial relationship with His people (in poetic fashion): "for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." and Paul praising the church in Ephesus, along with THREE choices for the gospel lesson, two from our patron Matthew and one from Luke. But I also want to note this Sunday's Collect (collective prayer): "O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen." I note this prayer emphasising human dignity because of the wonderful even while humble thing it tells us humanity is - something "special" in all of nature, even while very much a part of nature! Of the three gospel lessons, the two from Matthew revolve around Chapter 2 and are primarily about the situation of the messianic prophecy and King Herod's worry (remember that he was not born a Jew but imposed ry Rome). The passage from Luke however does not mention Herod, but rather is a sweet family story from Jesus' boyhood. He had disappeared and both Mary and Joseph searched for him for three days, at last finding him, with an apparent spiritual inclination, in the Temple. He asked why they did not realise he must be "in my Father's house?" It also tells the fulfillment of two geographic prophecies re Bethlehem and Nazareth, where the Family next located after the Passover festival (why they were in Jerusalem). Luke says His parents were "astonished" to find Him in the Temple. But if we all of us have that spiritual bit inside, it should not surprise us so much that we might naturally be in the temple. May we all let ourselves spend some time in our chosen temple, whether in a church with a congregation or out on a mountain trail, or eve while we are at home doing dishes - for then can we realise that "dignity of all". Our love to all - and a Happier New Year! Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events As always we remind folks to go to the various parish websites of interest including spiritual groups of many paths, including especially the Deanery website - www.sloepiscopalians.org - and its calendar page at https://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/74061144/month/2020-11-01/2021-01-01 (see the calendar above and the parish websites as listed at the Our Churches tab for the Deanery parishes) Besides their regular Sunday services at 10am followed by coffee hour, the crowd at St Pauls Church in Cambria has Coffee Time on Mon at 11am and Wed at 10 am (via Zoom) and Book Club at 10am next Tues (see parish site). St Benedicts Church in Los Osos tells us that a new Hollister Institute program will begin on the book (by Krista Tippett) and topic "Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living" Ms Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. The series begins Tues Jan 5 and succeeding weeks at 10:15am, preceded by Morning Prayer. This event is on Zoom [us02web.zoom.us]. The class is preceded by Prayers for the Morning, starting at 9:45. am. See parish website for Zoom details at https://www.stbenslososos.org/ and for more on this event at www.https://www.stbenslososos.org/event-items/becoming-wise/ Good Shepherd Church in Salinas tells us that besides their many other wonderful events (see their websites beginning )at https://mailchi.mp/e330981320c0/peaceandjoy-1428592?e=cc1155f723 they will be starting a "Phone Circle" to keep parishioners in touch. As well, they tell us that they will observe Epiphany on Jan 6 by baking King's Cake (to commemorate the visit of the Magi). Besides their other many wonderful services and other events, St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego (see details at https://stpaulcathedral.org tells us that their Forum TOMORROW at 9am will have Diana Y. Chou presenting a a pictorial view via works of art of stories from bible stories. Grace Cathedral in SF tells us their Christmas service can be viewed (with its excellent music and Bp Marc Andrus and Dean Malcom Young) at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjDtNRnR8zoAt2bIz4924-rX068NI3NeM From the Diocese We hear from the diocesan office that our friend, Rev Canon Jesus Reyes will be stepping down. Jesus has been a real friend to us at St Matthews and to many other places in the Diocese and he will be missed. Note that an article, including a photo of Jesus and several San Ardo denizens, in the diocesan magazine's end-of-year edition can be seen at https://mailchi.mp/realepiscopal.org/news-from-the-diocese-of-el-camino-real-dec28?e=f136cc0442 A Note about Creation Care Our friend Kathryn Bumpass, in St Stephens Church, San Luis Obispo's newsletter offers these thought about our abiving environmental concerns: CREATION CARE REFLECTIONS I want to talk about the climate, not climate change, but the climate crisis. Even now the world stands at a point where, given the amount of heat-trapping gasses already in the atmosphere, we are facing hotter tempera-tures, the likelihood of more frequent and more severe hurricanes and land-based storms, flooding, sea level rise, drought and devastating wildfires. If, on January 1, 2021 we stopped all additions of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, these effects, which we already are seeing, would be “baked in” to our climate future. Many scientists think we have only a short time to avoid a tipping point, beyond which we could see runaway global warming with catastrophic effects for the entire planet. So what’s a Christian to do? Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has a suggestion. God loved the world and so should we. The Church’s Creation Care Ministry applies Jesus’s Way of Love to the Earth, and offers many ways in which we can act individually and in our parishes, to love the Earth. Some possible actions have been surveyed in the Creation Care committee’s monthly articles for The Witness. But our actions will have to be orders of magnitude greater and much faster if we are to prevent the worst effects of global warming. This requires a paradigm shift for us individually and as a society. Can we turn from an extractive attitude towards the Earth and adopt instead an attitude of cooperation with Earth’s natural systems, of living in harmony with those systems? This will require a great deal of humility on our part, something in short sup-ply in our society right now. We need to be asking ourselves how we can put the Way of Love into practice on behalf of Creation. What environmental policies will we support in our cities, our state, our nation? What sources of energy will we promote? What sort of vehicle will we drive? Our answers to these and similar questions have serious consequences for the climate and environmental degradation more broadly. Just as Jesus came to bring hope and comfort to the poor and marginalized, we need to be mindful of the impacts of the climate crisis on those who lack political and economic power in our own day. These are the people who contribute least to global warming and environmental degradation, but who feel the effects most acutely. Our care for the climate must include environmental justice. Just as Jesus challenged political and religious authorities with his vision of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of justice, peace, hope and love, we can challenge our elected officials to pursue these same goals as they debate the fate of the Earth. It’s easier than you might think to get in touch with local, state and even national leaders. They need to hear our sense of urgency about the climate crisis. Most of us make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. This year, in addition to the usual resolutions about our personal needs – such as eating better and exercising more – may we resolve to seek the wisdom and will to care for this “fragile Earth, our island home”. |
WILLIAM BARTOSH
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