Folks,
This Sunday's lessons are (as common in the Easter season) are all from the New Testament, including Peter in the Book of Acts defending the disciples for their good deeds and the Good Shepherd lesson from John's gospel. But this day I was struck by the power of this passage from John's first epistle: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him." In this lesson I see (and many of us experience) the self-condemnation of our hearts being over-whelmed by the greatness of God. May we all come to trust in this greatness of God's heart which lives in ours and enables us to help those in need. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events Once again we want to remind folks that events can be found in online location we have mentioned, including especially the Calendar at the SLO Deanery website, www.sloepiscopalians.org and the parish pages there, along with parish websites all over the Diocese, nation and world. At the same time we remind all that our own and most local parisih, St Matts in San Ardo, will meet for worship this Sunday at our NEW TIME, 11am at the chapel in San Ardo (corner of Railroad St and Jolon Rd). As well though we want to speak of some event(s) of interest that might not be found in those sources. To that extent and as we mentioned last week this past Thursday we enjoyed very much the Earth Day presentation and discussion event put forward via Zoom by EarthCare movements in our diocese and especially at St Benedicts Church, Los Osos, along with the online movie, "Sacred Ground", which featured care of our soils. This week we would like to feature an event at St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego (and online) which has tranferred their Earth Day event to this Sunday as "Creation Care Sunday" where caring for Creation will be a featured part of both the worship events (at 8am, 10:30am and 1pm, though the Evensong program will be pre-recorded) and especially their Adult Forum which takes place at 9am via Zoom. They describe the Forum event further as "Creation Care Sunday Rising in Faithful Challenge: Simpler Living ministry members Erika Morgan, Joan Reese, and Diane Lopez Hughes will share three climate change solutions in their efforts and invite discussion to increase our commitment." For full details on this and other of their events go to https://stpaulcathedral.org/calendar/ Also note that other parishes will have follow-on EarthDay events, such as the artworks presented at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in a program called "Unearthed for Earth Day" from Jim Hodges, a retrospective of the original 2019 presentation and including a monumental uprooted tree stump. Mr Hodges was in Artist in Residence there in 2019 and that resulted in a series of musical performances and a public reading which were recorded and will be viewable at the Cathedrals websites, including at https://gracecathedral.org/calendar-events/unearthed-for-earth-day/ From the Diocese We hear that Celebrating El Camino Real's Honoured Women took place TODAY. While we were too late to include the Zoom event in this weeks NEWS, we commend all the women thus honoured, this year and in the past, including several from St Matts (and the many we honoured in the past before such an honourific and event was available. Bp Lucinda was to be featured and the event hosted by ECW (Episcopal Church Women).
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Folks,
The lessons this Sunday include Peter addressing the crowd of Israelites and recounting more of the events of the Resurrection, and from the first letter of John emphasis on knowing God the Father as well as the nature of sin, and from Luke's gospel very direct words that it was Jesus himself those assembled were seeing ("for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”) and who went on to have a fish dinner! But this week my musings take me to our liturgical calendar and its seasons. Soon we will be in the long "green" season (called Pentecost from its starting day but basically corresponding to summer) but right now we are in the Easter season - more or less coinciding with the end of winter and the first appearance of the "resurrection" of plans and animals all around us. However, we cannot help but wonder in this Earth Month about the changing of the climate as has been reported in several places. For example, in Japan the "Sakura" (cherry blossom) bloom seems to be happening the earliest this year in its 1200 year history (check out the article at The Economist). There are many more such climate change reports and we ourselves at the ranch note the coming of what is in much of California the brown season as the grasses are already showing a tawny hue. In the midst of those thoughts I go back to the lesson from 1 John and note that it says "See what love the Father has given us". That love is clearly visible in all creation, and we hope to show it forth to all as we care for that creation. We hope you all will join us in letting your thoughts turn to the beauty and love visible in God's creation around us, even as we witness changing climate situations and consider their long-term effects. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony! and for all of us at St Matts!) Events As we mentioned last week, as the parishes, both in the SLO Deanery and farther away, are "opening up" there are many more choices of events and we strongly encourage you all to look to the various calendars including at the SLO Deanery website, www.Sloepiscopalians.org for a more complete rundown, along with the parish websites in the Deanery and beyond. We note that many parishes are having "in person" events, following the various rules to help prevent spreading disease. In that vein we hope you all have a chance to do some "visiting" (safely) as we did just yesterday. We have been fortunate to be with each other here at the ranch thru this pandemic and with lots of time outdoors, so I had forgotten what a joy such visiting can be (I often say that "people are the best things in life" and yesterday's visit was just such an experience, with wonderful friends over great food in a beautiful spot of God's creation). Thus it is natural that we at St Matts will also be "opening up" and opening our doors to all for services in San Ardo at the chapel at the corner of Railroad St and Jolon Rd, and note that we are changing the time of services to 11am as a trial so see how that works out. Note that we are limited as to occupancy so check with us if you have been to services recently to make sure we can accommodate you. As for other events, we mentioned that we are limiting mention of events to things out of the ordinary that might escape your attention, including special diocesan and SLO Deanery events (see below - and remember that the regular building of community at your local parishes constitute the most important event). Also note that some parishes, like our friends at Good Shepherd Church near Salinas, have been having spiritual hikes in the surrounding countryside - a great way to appreciate God's Creation in community - for all of Good Shepherd's events go to https://www.goodshepherdcorral.org/ But with Earth Day occurring this coming Thursday (Apr 22) we want to reiterate the details of the Honoring Earth Day event at 7pm being put on by Don Maruska and the Earth Care group at St Benedicts Church in Los Osos that we mentioned last week - for full info and to register, go to http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001wvaLKWkeDJKS05B4arqA3hQAkZimTeQXTCSej1ioRJ2MxKfUE8ZkoCKFttch4WdrsA_kEpjgc5lQAwfkv7xoA9-qZDTLBBEPK0NHRl4HoJMwKRNbcA0zRfIGSd3xYNBC0-IBZXOHt1CzeEev62Wt__90FCV6CLC10ZSKfnT5HW4149OOPv6bcfmWk_Ia_J0uV18Rr_v49ByCBmTKRALEvWuVhl2_SitRPyho7DttZlfbx_MAqIyAy86V04jTaHb57jMz5ACJ0qrE_vV1tQi05KHOl1L-hGwEgGoQ0Mw-cc-GShw6p04LJvMWMMFuhXMFENBv8YK5u0iJgA8uF30CMxPHyslGNLtqoOk-aPa6iLxFeCr_5E4yKzNFySGSOBqfVfSw-4VWNOHorM9wC3emwjoJkUxPMQ8O__jQVLLAE8ChbSQF-aYgPighWFdypASWiIm393oOzzHAZprlaoI50Y4q-aDiLI62aYXkXNcwUiGO72WbDbh_ZlBmNky8gb7g69RX_q9TontUtdoNIXj-9Vm3blkJ8cY-EtibuTAdWKHX8GD4Mv2gJOWlvS0X3exsEkhfta0OgywUSYn53DF7SYtfkDbf3q-lLIQtHegja3Jse4nJoi5CDsVJPLwK57FbJgRxHR_8V_y6czW27ulavJY9offeSaS2E3_55aut6b0O0pEV1uefF0WaxLCgCDHvrvch54uQ5K5rZg4WfKvQ3eA9hnWAAuIs9HQMB114ThstaB95nHPSaA==&c=BFFqHijX4xI56th8mg7SazGpJGT6gJUO0MaEwJt4Z4jdPw--R1jPNQ==&ch=FWhOD99dgNaZ9PfdvhI2HF3nK6dw4FOxav4X3Yx2TtrqqtfJEwzZJg== Note that we are delighted to mention that there will be many other Earth Month / Earth Day events, including at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, where their weekly Forum this Monday, Apr 19, will host Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center, at 6pm who will discuss the group's efforts to help California serve as a model for the rest of the country and world. (More info is available at www.gracecathedral.org) In addition to Grace, many other leading parishes and groups are having special events for Earth Month / Earth Day such as this week's Adult Forum at St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego which is called "Honing Spiituality for OneEarth Ways". For full details go to www.stpaulcathedral.com Deanery The San Luis Obispo Deanery will have a presentation by Kathy Veit of All Saints Church in Palo Alto (the most northerly parish in our Diocese) on Sun, Apr 25 on Cristosal, a human rights advocacy group working in Central America (as you know, the news is filled with stories of people from the region seeking refuge in other countries, inclding the US). It you want to attend this Zoom event, contact Deanery Convenor David Ottesen at ottesen2@icloud.com. Folks, This Sunday's lessons continue the topic of renewal of life in community beautifully, especially with Psalm 133 ("Oh, how good and pleasant it is, * hen brethren live together in unity!") and the Readings, including Acts (the lesson some suggest has "communist" notions but definitely takes a "communal" view with possessions held in common such that "There was not a needy person among them ...". The lesson from 1 John continues this communal view with the writer emphasising that it is "We" who are writing the letter for the community of believers: "We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." Note the writer is included - "our joy may be complete" so it is the community writing to the community - a tremendous unity. Even Thomas, in the gospel lesson from John, is present in the community, doubting though he may be! To me this illustrates a key thing about living in community. We are not giving up ourselves, our individual thoughts and beliefs. Rather we are working together for the common good. These lessons are most apt for a Sunday om which may parishes, synagogues and mosques are carefully "opening up" for in person events, as Fr Filemon of St Marks Church in King City tells us, recounting the diocesan rules. They also are apt for "Earth Month" as many in the environmental movement call April, and Earth Day (April 22 - and see the event below) a project which needs us all to pull together to tend the world we all live in. May we find it in ourselves to work together for the common good this month as we consider the future of Earth, "our island home" as in the Prayerbook prayers - and to take some spring time to enjoy it! Our love to all. Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts Events We have been referring you to the many websites and especially calendar pages to see the events on offer at parishes near and far, including our SLO Deanery pages at www.sloepiscopal.org and at websites for farther parishes like Good Shepherd in Salinas and cathedrals in San Francisco and San Diego. As the details will become even more important as we open up, we ought not list so many of the events here, but rather refer you to these several webpages. We would like to emphasise that in this beautiful, if dry as it is here at the ranch as we saw on yesterday's hike, spring time, many Earth Month educational events including the full details from our friend Don Maruska and the EarthCare group at St Benedicts Church in Los Osos of such an event - and please note that you will need to REGISTER for this event: How we tend our gardens and grow our crops can make a huge difference not only in the quality of the food we eat but also in the ability of our soils to sequester carbon. Join us to learn what you can do to help heal the planet from the ground up. "Sacred Ground -- what we can do for healthy soils and a healthy planet" 7-8:30 p.m. PDT, Thursday, April 22 Open to all. Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcud-urrT8qGtxasQ4JCR1yTPP9HpJ11Thg Topics and presenters: 1. How we manage our lands and grow our foods can heal the planet. Role of regenerative agriculture, Tim LaSalle, co-founder, Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems, Adjunct Professor of Agriculture, CSU Chico 2. What we can do in our own backyards. Examples from local growers: Teresa "Tree" Lees, garden educator 3. What we can do to expand healthy soils for carbon sequestration to heal the planet. Legislative advocacy, Greg Haas, District Representative, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA 24th District, member of House Committee on Agriculture) Your questions and answers. This graceshop (called that because climate solutions from healthy soils come via the grace of creation) is offered by the volunteers on the Earthcare team at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church and open to the whole community, near and far. The sacred ground theme comes from Interfaith Power and Light, which includes all major religions (www.interfaithpowerandlight.com ), for Faith Climate Action Week, April 16-25. On behalf of the Earthcare team at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church, Los Osos, CA www.stbenslososos.org We look forward to your participation. More detailed biographies for presenters. Tim LaSalle, co-founder, Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems, Adjunct Professor of Agriculture, CSU Chico Tim LaSalle has served as the first CEO of Rodale Institute, Executive Director of the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, consultant, advisor, and research coordinator for the Howard Buffett Foundation in Africa on soils and food security for smallholder farmers. He is Professor Emeritus of California Polytechnic State University, and former President/CEO, of the California Agriculture Leadership Program where he arranged educational leadership programs in more than 80 countries with heads of state, ministers, and community leaders. Teresa "Tree" Lees, Garden Educator Teresa has firsthand experience in permaculture, classroom teaching, Garden Based Learning (GBL) in school gardens and nature based education. She has woven together a career that combines her love for children and their education with her love for the planet. Teresa, aka "Tree" is the CREEC Network Coordinator at the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education where she serves as the clearinghouse for environmental education curriculum and green schools throughout Region 8 (SLO, SB, Kern and Ventura counties). Teresa connected kids to nature in the Laureate School garden where she was the Life Lab teacher for three years. She also served as the Chairperson of the GBL committee with the San Luis Obispo Master Gardeners for ten years, conducting teacher trainings in the Sunshine Demonstration Garden, disseminating curriculum resources and providing consultations to local school gardens. She also has been both a classroom teacher and a Naturalist for outdoor schools. Teresa also spent a decade as the Children's Education Coordinator at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden where she created interpretive garden areas and kids' programs including a children's Food Forest, Native Peoples & Plants garden, solar fountain, and straw bale benches. She currently organizes the SLO Permaculture Guild and the Global Family children's garden at City Farm where she conducts the FARMGIRLS Summer Camp. She also is a Garden Nutrition Educator with the UCCE CalFresh program. She is the facilitator of the GEE Symposium, bringing together all school garden and farm to school stakeholders in our region in October 2017. Congressman Salud Carbajal, U.S. House of Representatives, CA 24th District In Congress, Salud has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting our natural environment and resources, enhancing public safety, creating economic opportunities, and working regionally to address our transportation, housing, and workforce challenges. A long-time advocate for our environment, Salud's first act in Congress was the California Clean Coast Act which bans future offshore oil and gas drilling on California's coast. He also is a member of the bi-partisan Climate Solutions Caucus, which serves as a working group dedicated to advancing proposals that will mitigate and reduce climate change, while at the same time encouraging economic growth and job creation. Salud serves on the House Committee on Armed Services, the House Committee on Agriculture, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where he was elected to serve as the Vice Chair. Carbajal graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and also holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Management from the Fielding University. --- From us: Note that we are happy to send along news of EDUCATIONAL events offered by parishes and other orgnisations on topics of importance to us all as the church is primarily a community-building spiritiual organisation which entails education on community topics. We hope many of you will take the time, as we mentioned above we did, to enjoy the land in spring time earthly beauty. In this we can commend such hiking programs as have been offered by some of our parishes (such as the Lenten hikes at Good Shepherd Church near Salinas). Note that a great place to do so is the Episcopal Bishop's Ranch near Healdsburg, where our friends tell us of a special Walking Retreat on April 24 - see the details at https://mailchi.mp/bishopsranch/a-new-contemplative-walking-retreat-at-the-bishops-ranch?e=7ea56651b4 and also note that the Bishop's Ranch also encourages individual and group stays and retreats - see their websites for full info. From the Diocese As noted above, with churches hoping to "open up" after the pandemic, Bp Lucinda has been issuing more helpful rules for parishes to do so. To see more about this and other diocesan news, to www.realepiscopal.org Folks,
We are now in the midst of the Great Triduum of Easter, which began on Maundy Thursday evening (commemorating events in the Garden of Gethsemane) and continue thru the Great Vigil on Saturday night. (As most of you know, the Jews of Jesus' time reckoned each day as beginning in the evening.) Again their are multiple choices in the Lectionary and again it seems good to seek out the less frequently heard ones to complement those you will hear in religious services. Thus I chose those of the "Early" service. Thus the Old Testament I note is from the Book of Job, perhaps the most "philosophical" book in the bible. Of special interest here is that Job note that some trees, apparently near death, can be rejuvenated by resources - especially water and pruning off dead branches, etc. With an old almond orchard on our home hill at the ranch, we have seen this happen - it is amazing how elderly almond trees can sprout new growth with the right support! Yet Job says for humans this is not possible. Again, with spring happening all around us (little wonder the church in setting out its calendar chose to place Easter in springtime) we see this - it is a joy to see the oaks on the hills, bare thru winter, starting to expand their buds and then we see the first appearance of new growth! Some would concentrate on the inevitability of death (I tend to dismiss them with the phrase "ever the optimist") not because they are wrong in physiological fact, but rather wrong in spirit. The tetimony of God in Creation is that life is ever emerging, blooming, growing. Thus it is that Paul's letter to the church in Rome says that we need to be united with Christ in death that we might be resurrected with Christ and thus be "alive to God in Christ Jesus." The gospel lesson from Matthew goes on to that life with Christ for the disciples are told to catch up with the resurrected Christ in Galilee. We had the treat recently of a virtual tour of Galilee via Zoom presented by our friend Rev Barbara Miller of St James Church in Paso Robles, and the lush beauty of that region in Israel's north was stunning, and suggests that the gospel story, continuing in Galilee, is meant to remind us all of that ongoing life - may we all be thus alive to God in Christ! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) Events Note that we can hardly do a better job of recounting the events of this Holy Week and the weeks thereafter than by referring you all to the SLO Deanery Calendar, which can be seen at https://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/74061144/month/2021-03-01/2021-04-01 It is a delight to have so many great events to choose from, and as always we suggest you also consult the parish webpages at the "Our Parishes" tab for full details and "late reminders" of events not listed at the Calendar, eg St Stephens Church's "Good Friday Stations of the Cross" (noon) http://www.facebook.com/StStephensSLO/Videos and available to replay thereafter. Note that St Pauls Church in Cambria will have a Good Friday Tenebrae service this evening via Zoom at 7:30pm. We would also refer you all as well to services at churches further away, including San Francisco's Grace Cathedral (www.gracecathedral.org) and San Diego's St Pauls Cathedral (www.stpaulcathedral.rog), among many others. From the Diocese A reminder that the Great Vigil of Easter with "premiere" Sat Apr 3 at 6pm with Bp Lucinda Ashby - with service bulletin available at https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=54763bb738&e=f136cc0442 and the events itself viewable at the diocesan YouTube page at https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=bf4420d892&e=f136cc0442 They also sent word of the "PRESIDING BISHOP'S EASTER MESSAGE" “Our work goes on. Our labor for love continues,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in his Easter 2021 Message, “We will not cease, and we will not give up until this world reflects less our nightmare and more God’s dream where there’s plenty good room for all God’s children. Hallelujah anyhow.” View his message at https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=5ba66e594f&e=f136cc0442 |
WILLIAM BARTOSH
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