Folks,
This episode of the News will again be brief as we are travelling for work. The lessons set for this coming Sunday include from Lamentations, Jeremiah being one of the few prophets who would be angry with God because he so loved the people of Israel who had been going thru so much suffering (we all on occasion lash out in a similar fashion, I expect) and a very short gospel lesson with two similes on the power of faith and the role of God's slaves. But it is again Paul's excellent notions in his loving letter to his younger disciple Timothy that I find most edifying, and especially this line: "... for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." Note that some have translated "self-discipline" as "a sound mind". In life there are many necessities, and as well much that is irrelevant to our attention. Our ability to steer a steady course to the good is of utmost importance. May we all find with the help of our faith the self-discipline / sound mind to keep our path and those of our families and communities in right ways! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts Events St Matts in San Ardo will have Evening Prayer at 4pm this Sunday. for other events please go to individual parish websites along with the SLO Deanery websites at www.sloepiscopalians.org Also note that on Sunday Oct 9 many parishes will be celebrated the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi including the "blessing of the beasts", an opportunity to acknowledge the key role pats play in the lives of many and animals more generally in our world.
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Folks,
The lessons for this Sunday include from Jeremiah a real estate transaction with deeds being filed in an earthenware jar (kind of like the Dead Sea Scrolls, et al), an absolutely beautiful bit of advice by Paul in his letter to Timothy (he does not command to be poor, but to tell the rich to avoid haughtiness and the yearning for earthly riches, but to "be rich in good works, generous and ready to share", but urges "godliness combined with contentment"). Also, from Luke the gospel with Jesus telling the parable of poor Lazarus and an unnamed rich man who after both die, finds himself in Hades and Lazarus in heaven This rich man begs favours from "father Abraham" including informing his kin of the life in Hades but (presumably referring to Jesus himself) hearing in reply that ".... if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead" - quite a contrast to the Epistle. Again both need to be balanced (and with the full testimony of scripture, tradition and reason) for our understanding. As these lessons speak for themselves however, I'd like to take a moment to mention the fairly recent deaths of two friends, one a member, Rich Hungerford, at St James Church in Paso Robles - a wonderful guy who "leaves behind" his widow Carol, along with the earlier death of our even longer time friend Diane Porter Cooley of All Saints Episcopal Church in Watsonville. In Diane's case, for an article covering what seems to me a truly "good life" in the sense of the above scriptures we suggesting reading Diane's obituary at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/diane-cooley-obituary?id=33595529 In both cases we miss them, but at Rich's memorial service I started thinking, as many of my "secular" friends do, "Is that all there is?" (There have been songs with this line). In Rich's case the funeral was literally about nothing since neither his body nor even his ashes were there. Yet I could not help but sense that Rich was right there and Carol, far from grieving was comforting others who mourned. In the same vein, when we take our walkabout at night here at the ranch and marvel on these moonless dark night at the Milky Way above (our home galaxy) we know folks who might assert that the universe is composed of nothing but unspiritual matter following the laws of physics, perhaps to an ever-expanding omega point of dark coldness and saying that's all there is. But for our part the love of our communities, including little St Matts in San Ardo, and of my life partner Tony(!) convince me that there is "more than we can ask or imagine." in the words of Tony's favourite dismissal from Evening Prayer. May we all be open to the life of the Spirit even as we work in this world, knowing spiritually that there is more! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) Events St Matts will be meeting at 4pm at the chapel in San Ardo tomorrow for Evening Prayer, and fellow missions St Lukes in Jolon and St Marks in King City will be meeting at 10am at their respective chapels. A special event TOMORROW will occur at St Pauls Cathedral - they say "Cathedrals are the traditional locations for occasions of public celebration and mourning, and as Episcopalians we have a close relationship with the Church of England, whose supreme Governor, Queen Elizabeth II, died on September 8. St. Paul’s will offer a solemn Choral Evensong on Sunday, September 25 at 5:00 pm, with readings, prayers, and music selected to honor the memory of one who lived out the vocation of a Christian monarch with great grace and dedication. All are welcome to join us for this service, which will be followed by a simple reception." Educational Events From our closest semina we hear of the following event: Friday, September 30, 9am - 4:30pm Hosted by Church Divinity School of the Pacific as part of the seminary's community organizing curriculum, this session is open to all faith leaders. It will be taught by senior organizers with the Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation’s oldest and largest organizing network dedicated to strengthening institutions, non-partisan political action, and making democracy work. For full info see https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=dc4937a10b&e=f136cc0442 Calvary Episcopal Church Hosts Community Forum: All About Labyrinths The event will take place at Calvary Parish Hall at the corner of Lincoln and Cedar Streets on Saturday, October 8, 1:00 - 4:00 pm, and will feature Lars Howlett, a leading expert in the design and creation of labyrinths. * Explore the definition of labyrinth and the history of labyrinth designs * Discover how to create sacred space * Discuss ways labyrinths transform communities * Participate in creating a temporary labyrinth on the Calvary Grounds * Join in a facilitated walk of the labyrinth * Illustrated with many examples of labyrinths from around the world Calvary Episcopal Church 532 Center Street, Santa Cruz 831-423-8787 • office@calvarysantacruz.org For more info go to https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=6225e2a4fc&e=f136cc0442 (We are among the many who have meditated while using a labyrinth and recommend it.) The Diocese is sponsoring "Lay Worship Leader Training". This is good news given the need for clergy especially at our smaller or more remote locations. For full information, contact Martha Korienek <canonmartha@RealEpiscopal.org> We wanted to make special mention of a recent event we experienced at St Stephens Church in San Luis Obispo which, as part of their St Stephens Day events included a 7pm Saturday night service largely sung by St Stephens "Choral Scholars" with Broadway showtunes of spiritual substance. It was great to see Bp Lucinda there! We couldn't stay for Sunday events on the parish's 155th birthday (third oldest parish in our diocese) but hear that there was rock music, flamenco dance and of course barbecue after morning services. Folks,
The lessons for this Sunday include from Jeremiah, now lamenting the fate of God's people, along with a lesson from Luke's gospel with much about wealth (and perhaps a devious suggestion from Jesus). And (for Paul) a brief passage from the letter to Timothy. Note that in the letter Paul urges prayers, thanksgivings, etc, "for everyone, for kings and all in high positions". This brings to mind my suggestion to invite not just the poor but everyone to your banquets. Note that thru these many lessons we have been "harping" on hyperbole, the figures of speech which exaggerate to extreme for effect. We can only pray that the alternative Old Testament from Amos is such hyperbole as it describes how the wealthy and powerful "trample on the needy" and ending with an oath that "The Lord will never forget an of their deeds". The amalgam of these reads leads me to suggest an need for balance when reading the scriptures. Sometime the lessons are indeed wild hyperbole, sometimes quiet understatement - it is ours to ponder them in as complete a context as possible and make them, as Paul says elsewhere, "useful". (Some, like the gospel passage are indeed ponderable, though Jesus offers a clearer bottom line - have a habit of being faithful.) NOWEVER (and note that this is a big "however") just because the scriptures are filled with hyperbolic language doesn't mean we need not pay heed to them - the needy are indeed often trampled, it is difficult for the rich to enter heaven, give money and goods as you are able to those in need and meet aggression with mildness while sizing up the situation. May we all discover God's presence in the joy of such quiet meditation while we ponder these lessons! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events Our own St Matts will be meeting Sunday at 4pm at the chapel on the corner of Railroad and Jolon in San Ardo at 4pm. Our fellow missions St Lukes in Jolon and St Marks in King City will be meeting at 10am at St Lukes for services. Our friends at St Barnabas Church Arroyo Grande tell us that their Parish Camp Out at Lopez Lake will be Next Week! Join them at Lopez Lake for our annual campout Friday, September 23rd at 3:00 pm to Sunday, September 25th at 11:00 am. Saturday and Sunday food is provided. There is no cost to you for the campout just sign-up in the Narthex or Office, or send an email to the office at saintbarnabas.ag@gmail.com. For full info of St Barnabas many events please see https://saintbarnabas-ag.org/ For more info on the parishes in the SLO Deanery please go to www.sloeppiscopalians.org Our frined Aom From the Diocese LAMBETH CONFERENCE Q&A WITH BISHOP LUCINDA Bishop Lucinda has returned from attending and representing our Diocese at the recent 12-day Lambeth Conference and will host an informative question and answer session to share her experiences and insights. This one hour session will be held via Zoom on Sunday, September 18th, and begins at 4:00 pm. The Lambeth Conference only happens every 10 years and is a gathering of the Anglican Communion of which The Episcopal Church is a member. Please take this opportunity to learn about the conference and the important ministry and mission of our global church. Join the Bishop for informative slides, pictures and impressions of the work of this larger body. Bishop Lucinda looks forward to seeing you and sharing her experiences. Please click here for the zoom link. Episcopal Relief & Development Partners with The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe to Aid Ukrainian Refugees The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, the European presence of The Episcopal Church, has a long history of ministry to refugees dating back to before World War I. Since the late 1980s, the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC) – based at Saint Paul’s Within the Walls in Rome – has provided direct service to refugees from countless countries, helping them rebuild shattered lives. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund will help the organization and its partners continue to provide assistance to people displaced by the crisis in Ukraine. See https://www.episcopalrelief.org Folks,
The lessons this Sunday seem to have the common thread of sin, with Jeremiah railing away about the sins of the Jewish people, while the epistle in 1 Timothy has Paul telling his friend and co-worker that he was "formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence" and adding that he had been "foremost" among sinners. The gospel lesson from Luke offers hope however in a story about Jesus spending time with the tax collectors (St Matthew had been one), considered sinners by the Pharisees and scribes at the Temple. They criticised Jesus for socialising with such sinners, but he explained God's mercy extends to such when they turn to him, much as the shepherd who finds that lost sheep or the widow her coin. While the lessons are powerful in themselves, it seems useful to note that within the appointed Psalm 14 the first line says "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." As most of us know such a claim, called atheism, goes beyond simple agnosticism, the stance where people say they do not know. As we have said before however, faith is not a matter of knowing - that is province of science. Rather faith is a growing trust in God's goodness. Apart from such faith we are indeed all technically "agnostics" because none of us "know" of God in a scientific sense. But how does such trust grow? As in the gospel lesson, some of the ways include the love evidenced by those around us. And the loving efforts of folks like some in the church, including Jesus, Paul, and you and me, are the means of providing such evidences, just as the search for the lost coin or lost sheep. May we all be some of those who provide that evidence of God's love to the world. Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events As mentioned previously, the SLO Deanery's first episode of "A Storied Pilgrimage on Race” (see last week's News for more explanation). Stories, like those in this Sunday's lessons, are often the best way to teach, and a great example in the case of racial injustice was the story on television of the arrest of a black man who was watering his neighbour's garden while the neighbour was away (he was observed by a white woman who called the police, who made the unfortunate assumption that he might be a vandal) and so asked for his ID to see if he did indeed live next door. Fortunately the black man's his wife came out with his ID and saved the day. The black man, a local pastor, also unfortunately assumed the police were "bad guys" and so would not offer to go get his ID. As the black reporter said, "Mistakes were made all around". ZOOM LOGIN 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/81150369907?pwd=Yzd5UTFwWXl2d2pTWk80NU1Tak5NQT09 [us02web.zoom.us] To dial in call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 811 5036 9907# and when prompted for a password put in 136424#, and then hit # a second time. Our fellow missions St Lukes in Jolon will have Morning Prayer led by our friend Susan Raycraft this Sunday at 10am, and St Marks in King City led by Fr Filemon Diaz at 10am, while we at St Matts in San Ardo will have Evening Prayer at 4pm. Elsewhere, the Earthcare Group has started a program of studies at St Benedicts Church in Los Osos. The second episode will be this Sunday and the total program is as follows (and contact Don Maruska don@donmaruska.com for details): It’s not enough for us to proclaim our love for creation. We also need to act to demonstrate our stewardship. During the Season of Creation September 1 through October 2, members of the Earthcare Team will be highlighting what each of us can do to make a difference. They will draw from their own experiences to give you practical ideas. Here’s a quick outline of planned topics. September 4 “Measuring and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint” with Don Maruska The Episcopal Church pioneered offering a free online tool to measure our carbon footprints and learn what we can do to reduce them and save money. Learn how you can take a few minutes to join this effort and benefit from it. You can sign up at www.SustainIslandHome.org or get help during coffee hour or online. September 11 “Choosing Environmentally Friendly Products” with John Horsley Choices in the food we eat and the products we buy can make a big difference. Hear how members of our congregation have enjoyed shifting their choices. September 18 “Keeping Plastic Out of Our Waste Stream” with Bob Pelfrey Plastics not only use fossil fuels but also damage our land and ocean ecosystems. Simple alternatives can give you the convenience of plastic without the negative consequences. September 25 “Joining the Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign” with Mike Eggleston As The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas has shown us, we can be political (even in church) without being partisan. Learn what you can do to help get out the vote among people who care for a healthy climate and a healthy democracy. October 2 “Learning from an Olive Tree” with Alice Welchert Hear how an olive tree can be a joyful way to support a healthy climate and thriving planet. The St. Benedict’s community is doing a lot, and more needs to be done. Let’s be a “shining community in the valley” for what’s possible. Folks,
We will be travelling for work this weekend, so this will have to be short. The lessons for this Sunday include from Jeremiah using the potter / clay analogy with God shaping the people but also an admonition to turn from evil ways as God was "a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you" and encouraging them to turn from evil, thus including both the ideas of free will and predestination. From the letter to Philemon we find a beautiful loving letter by Paul (in a fatherly role) and Timothy to his co-workers Philemon et al, concluding with "knowing that you will do even more than I say." The gospel lesson has some stern words by Jesus, expecting his followers to family members and even life itself to be his disciple. He goes on to cite an analogy to estimations, in construction projects and even in waging war, to the project of being God's disciple. The stern words are intended to make sure we all realise that NOTHING should stand in our way in terms of the material world to discipleship in the spiritual life. Sometimes people do not realise the relatively insignificant value of the things of this life, including LIFE ITSELF (for we all die eventually) compared to the tremendous value of a lively spirit, even when we approach our ends. May we all truly LIVE in the Spirit! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) And for all of us at St Matts! Events Besides encouraging to worship in person or online with our spiritual communities we have just one event to mention which is the beginning of a Deanery-wide seminar: Storied Pilgrimage with Race This is a series that I invite you to participate in. Our Diocese has put together a 12-session series which explores the personal stories of those across the diocese on issues of race. It is a holy offering of video interviews, education, action items, and room for reflection. Many of the leaders and clergy in the Diocese have been through the series, and we are offering the series to all those in the SLO Deanery. Each session will be one hour on Zoom and will be led by the clergy of the Deanery. Zoom login information and session pre-work information are below. Each session is stand alone, so you are welcomed to attend even if you have not attended prior session. No reservation is needed, just join the Zoom meeting shortly before 7pm. Thursday, September 8th at 7:00pm The first stage of our "Storied Pilgrimage with Race" series, Bishop Lucinda Ashby interviews Brett Wormley of St. Andrew's Saratoga about his life and experiences. "I'm not concerned with names or labels ... I care about what is in people's hearts." RESOURCES: View a sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, delivered to the 2019 conference of the Union of Black Episcopalians in Pasadena, Cal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUw5sBk_SA&t=0s A documentary and interview with Pauli Murray, examining her vision of the Church. examining her vision of the Church. https://www.episcopalarchives.org/chu... ACTION: Visit the Museum of the African Diaspora online, take a virtual tour, explore past exhibits. https://www.moadsf.org/ REFLECTION IDEA: Listen to Stevie Wonder's Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away. Using the same tune, write some lyrics in response to his song after all that you’ve seen, heard, and learned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIE6unjkXmc&t=0s ZOOM LOGIN 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/81150369907?pwd=Yzd5UTFwWXl2d2pTWk80NU1Tak5NQT09 To dial in call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 811 5036 9907# and when prompted for a password put in 136424#, and then hit # a second time. FULL SCHEDULE: Thursday, September 8 Thursday, December 1 Thursday, September 22 Thursday, December 15 Thursday, October 6 Thursday, January 5 Thursday, October 20 Thursday, January 19 Thursday, November 3 Thursday, February 2 Thursday, November 17 Thursday, February 16 |
WILLIAM BARTOSH
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